Williams sustained a badly cut right eye in the third round at the Brentwood Centre in Essex, and referee Richie Davies halted the fight.

Under IBO rules, if a fighter sustains an accidental injury before the end of the fourth round, the fight is regarded as a technical draw and the champion retains his title.

Williams made a bright start in the opening round and hurt the Welsh challenger with several hard right-hand shots to the head.

Samuels got going in the second and Williams suffered a cut by the corner of his right eye after an accidental clash of heads.

Samuels won this round by virtue of his better work-rate.

He maintained his ascendancy in the third round, landing a hard left hook which opened another cut, this time on Williams' right eye-lid.

He followed up with more shots to the head and referee Davies jumped in to halt the action with blood streaming from Williams' right eye.

"I have a lot of respect for Richard," said Samuels after the bout.

"He is a good champion but I thought I was coming on strong when it was stopped."

A disappointed Williams said: "I have been out of the ring for seven months and I wasn't as sharp as I wanted to be."

Promoter Barry Hearn said he hoped there would be a rematch shortly.