Callum Smith struck a late winner as Raith staved off a determined Morton fightback to claim a 3-2 victory in the Scottish Championship.

Rovers made a flying start, scoring twice inside the opening 15 minutes to leave their opponents on the back foot.

Jack Hamilton’s close-range shot opened the scoring before a Lewis Vaughan penalty made it 2-0 following a foul by Darragh O’Connor.

Morton needed a quick response and it duly arrived through a 17th-minute header from Robbie Muirhead and the visitors had more to celebrate when Robbie Crawford equalised after 71 minutes.

Back came the home side, though, in a thrilling contest as Smith’s goal five minutes later secured all three points.

Callum Smith is set to challenge Artur Beterbiev for the unified light heavyweight world titles in Canada on August 19.

Beterbiev currently possesses the WBC, WBO and IBF belts and will aim to defend them against challenger Smith in Quebec City.

Two-time Olympian Beterbiev enters the bout with a 100 per cent knockout ratio (19-0, 19 KOs), while Liverpool’s Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) is a former WBA super middleweight world champion.

“I’m excited to finally get my opportunity to become a two-weight world champion,” Smith said.

“I’m no stranger to fighting on away soil, having boxed in Saudi Arabia twice, across America, and now heading to Canada on August 19.

“There was no hesitation from me going to Canada to fight Artur Beterbiev, and I will be returning to Liverpool as a world champion once more.”

Beterbiev added: “Quebec is my second home, so I’m very happy to finally defend my titles on home turf.

“When you are world champion, everyone wants the opportunity to take your belt, and that’s especially true in my case, with three titles at stake.

“I’ve already started my training camp, and I’ll be ready to not only defend my belts, but to also put on an impressive show August 19.”

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