KENYA’S DENZEL ONYANGO STOPPED IN ROUND ONE
WBC Boxing Grand Prix LIVE: Day 4 Heavyweight Results From Riyadh Season Tournament.
Alija Mesic (2-0, 2 KO) def. Denzel Onyango (5-0, 3 KOs)
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Alijs Mesic completely destroys Kenya’s Onyango in a couple of minutes, landing clean right hand after clean right hand, forcing the referee to step in with the Kenyan staggered back onto the ropes.
The final day of phase one of the WBC Boxing Grand Prix in Riyadh saw the heavyweights take centre stage.
The featherweight, junior-welterweight and middleweight divisions all had their turns to impress on the first three days, but the big boys came to town on Sunday, and there were NINE knockouts in total.
Paris 2024 Olympian Lazizbek Mullojonov, the highest-profile name to grace the BLVD City Global Theater, scored a stoppage of his own, but there were also victories for Americans Devon Young and Dante Stone.
Dante Stone (18-1, 12 KOs) def. Indalesio Teran (3-1-1, 1 KO)
American Stone books his spot in the second round with an easy night’s work against Teran, who wilted under the first wave of pressure he faced. Stone landed a few innocuous shots onto Teran’s guard and that was enough for him to get down on one knee and take the entire 10-count. Stone KO2.
Kevin Ramirez (9-0-1, 4 KOs) def. Brian Zwart (6-1, 4 KOs)
The shortest fight of the night as Ramirez gets his opponent Zwart out of there in 27 seconds with a vicious body shot. Ramirez KO1.
Lazizbek Mullojonov (6-0, 6 KOs) vs. Marvin Mendoza (6-2-1, 1 KO)
Mullojonv, the Paris 2024 Olympic gold-medallist gets the win against a severely overmatched teenager in Mendoza, who appeared to have broke his nose in the first round. He lasts a round-and-a-half more before the referee waves things off in the third following a brutal Mullojonov uppercut. Mullojonov TKO3.
Youness Baalla (3-0, 2 KOs) def. Morten Giskov (4-1, 3 KOs)
Baalla edges out the victory over Giskov after six very tight rounds of action. Both men landed heavy shots throughout and after all was said and done, all three judges scored things even at 57-57. To the enhanced scoring system the decision went, and it was Baalla left celebrating in the middle of the ring with scores of 5-3 twice and 6-5 in his favour. Baalla UD6.
Marko Milun (1-0) vs. Emrullah Kaya (6-1, 4 KOs)
KO of the day! Milun crushes Kaya with a left hook a couple of minutes into the first round and that’s all she wrote. Milun TKO1.
Keaton Gomes (11-3, 9 KOs) def. Roberto Medina (5-3, 1 KO)
Another quick knockout as Gomes lands a blistering right hand on Medina’s temple to send him tumbling to the canvas. The referee waves it off almost immediately. Gomes TKO1.
Reagan Apanu (2-0, 1 KO) def. Pavol Hrivnak (5-2, 2 KOs)
Apanu celebrated wildly after getting the decision in a close fight with Hrvinak. One judge had things even 57-57, but the other two scored it 59-55, 57-55 to the Congolese fighter after six tightly-contest rounds. Apanu MD6.
Vitaliy Stalchenko (10-0, 6 KOs) def. Dylan Rajic (0-1)
A wild fight at times but in the end Stalchenko stamped his ticket to the next round with a decisive points victory over professional debutant Dylan Rajic. 57-52, 56-53, 56-53 were the scores. Stalchenko UD6.
Emiliano Mendoza 4-0-1, 1 KO) def. Wu Peng Yang (1-0, 1 KO)
Mendoza grabs the win after a back-and-forth fight with Yang. Both men traded power shots throughout but it was the Argentine who landed the crisper punches, securing a unanimous decision win with scores of 57-56, 58-55, 58-55. Mendoza UD6.
Ahmed Krnjic (4-0, 3 KOs) def. Yordy Valenzuela (6-3-1, 2 KOs)
Valenzuela started the fight well, landing some big counter-shots, but Krnjic’s size came into play in the third. The Bosnian upped the pressure and landed huge shots to the body and head, sending Valenzuela to his knees in the process. He got up at the count of nine, but the referee decided to wave things off. Krnjic TKO3.
Devon Young (8-0, 7 KOs) def. Paulo Yuskiv (6-1, 2 KOs)
Brutal stuff as American Devon Young destroys Yuskiv in the second round with an absolutely huge right hand. Just before that, young had landed three rights in a row which stumbled the Ukrainian backwards before the fourth one sent him crashing to the canvas. Young TKO2.
Davide Brito (7-1, 3 KOs) def. Clement Gillet (7-2-1, 2 KOs)
Another straightforward victory as Brito beats Frenchman Gillet by unanimous decision. The fight was fairly pedestrian throughout, with Gillet struggling to threaten his Italian adversary, who used his front-foot pressure and power shots to win every round on the judges’ cards. 60-54 x3. Brito UD6.
Jonathan Vegara (8-2, 4 KOs) def. Steven Torres (7-2-1, 7 KOs)
Argentine Vegara picks up an easy win, jabbing and power-punching his way to a dominant win on all three cards, each of which read 60-54. Vegara UD6.
Peter Lacz (12-0, 9 KOs) def. Michael Pirotton (10-0, 4 KOs)
He was shattered by the end of the fight, but Peter Lacz prevailed with scorecards of 59-55, 59-55, 59-55 to beat Michael Pirotton, advancing to the second round in the process. Lacz UD6.
Tsotne Rogava (11-0, 8 KOs) vs. Lewis Clarke (6-2, 3 KOs)
In our first fight of the day we already have our first stoppage. Rogava launches a blistering body attack on his Australian opponent, who takes an eight count before getting back up to face more punishment, only for the referee to stop proceedings a minute later. Rogava TKO2.
Courtesy Ring Magazine and Tapology
