Avanesyan Stops Taylor In 2

European Welterweight champion David Avanesyan successfully made the fourth defense of his crown by scoring an impressive second round stoppage of Liam Taylor on Saturday night at the Wembley Arena in London, England. Taylor had some success in the opening round by landing some body shots on the champion, but Avanesyan as is his custom, applied steady pressure on his challenger and dropped Taylor late in the first round with a short right hand to the head. At this point in the fight, Taylor made a decision that seemingly said that if he could not box against a steady pressure fighter like Avanesyan, his strategy would be to go toe to toe.

This proved to be very costly for the challenger as trading punches with the champion played right into Avanesyan’s hands and following a right hand, left hook combination that appeared to momentarily make Taylor go limb, Referee Mark Lyson stepped in and stopped the fight before any further damage could be done. Official time of the stoppage was 2:18 of round two. David Avanesyan advances to 28-3-1, with 16 Knockouts. Liam Taylor falls to 23-2-1, with 11 Knockouts.

Also on this card:

Women’s Featherweight Ebonie Jones successfully made her professional debut in scoring a six round decision over Vaida Masiokaite. Jones pressed the action from the outset and with consistent pressure and combination punches, she was able to get the decision victory. As all non-title bouts held in the United Kingdom and Ireland that do not impact regional or world rankings are scored solely by the referee officiating a bout, Referee Chas Coakley scored this bout 59-55 in favor of Jones. Ebonie Jones advances to 1-0, with 0 Knockouts. Vaida Masiokaite falls to 2-11-4, with 1 Knockout.

In a British English Super-Middleweight championship elimination bout, Germaine Brown outworked Jamal Le Doux to earn a ten round decision. Referee Lee Every scored the bout 99-92 in favor of Brown. Brown now moves in position to challenge current English Super-Middleweight champion Charlie Schofield in a step that should lead to a British title challenge if he were successful against Schofield. Germaine Brown advances to 10-0, with 3 Knockouts. Jamal Le Doux falls to 8-2, with 4 Knockouts.

Cruiserweight Richard Riakporhe had a stern test on his way to improving to 12-0 in his career by scoring an eight round decision over Krzysztof Twardowski. Twardowski made things difficult for Riakporhe including bloodying his nose throughout, but Riakporhe held his ground including landing a flush right hook to the head that dropped Twardowski late in the eighth and final round. Referee Chas Coakley scored the bout 78-72 for Riakporhe. Richard Riakporhe advances to 12-0, with 8 Knockouts. Krzysztof Twardowski falls to 9-3, with 6 Knockouts.

Undefeated Middleweight prospect Linus Udofia scored a third round stoppage of Xhuljo Vrenozi. Official time of the stoppage was 2:39 of round three. Linus Udofia advances to 17-0, with 9 Knockouts. Xhuljo Vrenozi falls to 17-4, with 4 Knockouts.

Unbeaten Cruiserweight Mikael Lawal scored a third round knockout of Benoit Huber. Official time of the stoppage was 1:36 of round three. Mikael Lawal advances to 14-0, with 8 Knockouts. Benoit Huber falls to 7-2, with 5 Knockouts.

Originally, this bout was to be headlined by former two-time IBO Super-Middleweight world champion Chris Eubank Jr., who was to have faced Anatoli Muratov. Despite both men weighing in successfully yesterday, the bout was cancelled on the morning of the fight due to what was reported by numerous Boxing media outlets outside of this one including Boxing Scene as medical concerns surrounding Muratov that was raised by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC). While as of this writing there is no further information as to why the BBBofC stepped in seemingly at the eleventh hour to cancel the fight, the absence of Eubank-Muratov on this card allowed a fighter who was originally supposed to be the co-main event attraction to step firmly into the spotlight.

The 147lb. Welterweight division is some might argue in a period of transition with the retirement earlier this week of future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao as well as many top fighters in the division all vying for the number spot at the top of the Welterweight mountain. David Avanesyan has flirted with the top of the division before having previously held interim/regular champion status in the World Boxing Association’s (WBA) Welterweight ratings. Now on the strength of five straight victories and four successful title defenses of his European crown, where he has scored impressive knockouts in all five of those bouts including the fight where he won the European championship, he has made a strong argument as being possibly a potential challenger for the winner of the upcoming WBO Welterweight world championship bout between undefeated champion Terence Crawford and former two-time Welterweight world champion Shawn Porter. While there is certainly no shortage of potential challengers for any of the current world champions in the division, five consecutive knockout victories in a relatively short timeframe is just about as convincing an argument as a top world contender could make as having earned an opportunity against the upper echelon of the division.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

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McGregor KO’s Guerfi In 1 To Win European Bantamweight Championship

 Undefeated Bantamweight contender Lee McGregor scored a devastating first round knockout over European Bantamweight champion Karim Guerfi to win the European Bantamweight championship on Friday night at the Whites Hotel in Bolton, England. McGregor nearly ended the fight as quickly as it started dropping Guerfi with a flush left hook to the body that sent the champion down and kicking in pain. Guerfi was able to beat the count and got up at nine, but McGregor pressed forward with the calmness of a tiger stalking its prey. McGregor dropped Guerfi for a second time with another left hook to the body moments later. The champion again beat the count, but simply had no answer to keep McGregor off of him. A follow-up barrage sent Guerfi down for a third and final time in the round resulting in the fight being stopped. Official time of the stoppage was 2:43 of round one. Lee McGregor advances to 10-0, with 8 Knockouts. Karim Guerfi falls to 29-5, with 9 Knockouts.

 

 

Also on this card:

 

In a battle for the vacant British Lightweight championship Maxi Hughes scored a controversial eighth round knockout over Paul Hyland. A fight that was fought in close quarters from the outset, Hughes consistently landed the harder more accurate punches. The controversy came midway through round eight when Hyland appeared to go down from a body shot, but quickly got up and turned his back, Referee Mark Lyson appeared to instruct the two fighters to continue. Hughes rushed forward and landed a short right hand on Hyland, who still had his back turned knocking him down where he was subsequently counted out by Lyson. Hyland’s corner was irate with the stoppage, but as of this writing the call stands. Official time of the stoppage was 1:20 of round eight. Maxi Hughes advances to 23-5-2, with 5 Knockouts. Paul Hyland  falls to 20-3, with 7 Knockouts.

 

Jr. Welterweights Jamie Robinson and Billy Allington fought to an eight round draw. The bout was competitive from the start with both fighters having their share of moments throughout. Neither fighter however, was able to stand out clearly from the other in a bout that did not offer much in the way of highlights, but remained competitive. As all non-title bouts fought in the United Kingdom that do not have an impact on regional or world rankings are scored solely by the referee officiating a fight, Referee Howard Foster scored the bout even 57-57 resulting in the draw. Jamie Robinson advances to 10-4-2, with 3 Knockouts. Billy Allington advances to 8-1-3, with 0 Knockouts.

 

Jr. Middleweight Nathan Bendon outworked previously undefeated Eryk Apresyan over six rounds to earn a decision victory. The highlight of the fight came in round three when a barrage of punches had Apresyan badly stunned, but he managed to stay on his feet and survived the round. Although the fight remained close, the determining factor turned out to be a point deduction against Apresyan in round six for pushing and leaning, which he did throughout the bout. Referee Mark Lyson scored the bout in favor of Bendon by a single point 57-56. Nathan Bendon advances to 4-3-1, with 1 Knockout. Eryk Apresyan falls to 7-1, with 5 Knockouts.

 

Lightweight Sean Duffy advanced to 4-0 in his career by scoring a third round knockout of Paul Holt. A fight that saw several heated exchanges of punches between the two fighters, with Duffy mostly getting the better of the action, the end came when a combination of punches to the head and body of Holt sent him down for the count on one knee from what appeared to be a delayed reaction to a right hook to the body. Official time of the stoppage was 1:03 of round three. Sean Duffy advances to 4-0, with 2 Knockouts. Paul Holt falls to 7-10, with 2 Knockouts.

 

Undefeated Jr. Featherweight prospect Shabaz Masoud began the evening by scoring a fourth round stoppage of veteran Louis Norman. Masoud implemented a tactical approach from the opening bell strategically placing his punches well to the body and gradually mixing offense to the head of Norman. It was this approach that resulted in a knockdown of Norman late in round three with a combination highlighted by a left hand to the head. In round four Masoud stepped up his pace and scored two knockdowns both with right hands to the jaw of Norman, which caused his corner to throw the towel in to save their fighter from further punishment. Official time of the stoppage was 1:12 of round four. Shabaz Masoud advances to 8-0, with 2 Knockouts. Louis Norman falls to 14-9-1, with 2 Knockouts.

 

 

This card, which was promoted by MTK Global, will possibly go down as being the night that a new star emerged on the scene in the sport that Boxing fans and experts around the world need to take notice of. While it is unusual to saw a fighter with only ten professional fights might be ready for a world championship bout, there is certainly no doubt that Lee McGregor’s performance in winning the European Bantamweight championship was both “Star-Making “ as well as “Statement-Making.” The type of performance that surely will have everyone in the sport paying attention to the what will be next for the new champion.

 

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

 

The Boxing Truth®️ is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

 

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison