Conor Benn vs Chris Algieri weigh-in results
All the live round by round reports from the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool as Conor Benn defends his WBA Continental Welterweight Title to former World Champion Chris Algieri and Katie Taylor guards her hoard of Undisputed Lightweight World Titles against WBA Mandatory Challenger Firuza Sharipova, live worldwide on DAZN.
16:00 GMT LIVE ON BEFORE THE BELL
4 x 3 mins International Super-Bantamweight contest
JOE MCGRAIL vs FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ
Product of the talent-laden Everton Red Triangle Gym in Liverpool, debutant Joe McGrail kicked off the show and his pro career with a confident KO win.
The 32-year-old Andalucían was down once in the second stanza and retired before the third could start.
Trained by Paul Stevenson, Joe was a standout amateur alongside his brother Peter, experiencing over 50 bouts and winning a European Junior silver medal as well as becoming a National ABA champion in 2018. He looks like he could carry that success into the paid ranks with that stunning performance.
He trains alongside unbeaten pro's Nick Ball (14-0, 7KOs); Andrew Cain (8-0, 7KOs); Bradley Strand (6-0, 3KOs), who have described their teammate and sparring partner as 'a killer'.
6 x 3 mins International Super-Lightweight contest
CALUM FRENCH vs RUSTEM FATKHULLIN
North East sensation Calum French was the next in line to kick off his pro career against Russian Rustem Fatkhullin (8-16, 3KOs).
The southpaw was busy and effective, his lead jab landing plentiful.
He landed lots of body shots in the fifth round. His active style means that he catches a shot back cleanly on occasions, in the penultimate round an uppercut rocked his head back.
The Gateshead boxer was busy and energetic and won comfortably with a sole card of 60-54.
A talented amateur, the European bronze medalist once went on five years and 35 fights unbeaten streak, before suffering a loss in the 2017 World Championships semi-finals. He represented England in the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
8 x 3 mins International Featherweight contest
JORDAN GILL vs ALAN ISAIAS LUQUES CASTILLO
Jordan Gill started the contest against Alan Isaías Luques Castillo exactly as expected, with plenty of lateral and side to side movement, and evasive tactics to avoid any trouble. His opponent recently went eight-rounds with hard-hitting Anthony Cacace in 2019. The Argentinian has only won once from his last five fights.
Gill looked to be upping the tempo in round three but the former South American champion was matching the Brit for workrate. The doctor had to take a very close look at a nasty head cut on Gill, which was spewing out blood relentlessly, then the contest was righfully waved off on medical advice. Even with the work done in the corner, as soon as the bell sounded for round four, Gill's face and body was covered in blood again as it freely flowed from the open wound.
Because the mandatory four rounds duration had not been completed, the contest was ruled as a technical draw to the disappointment of both boxers.
4 x 3 mins International Super-Welterweight contest
PADDY LACEY vs VASIF MAMEDOV
Super-welterweight scouser Paddy 'Power' Lacey was the final fight before the main card takes place on DAZN from 7pm.
32-year-old Russian opponent Vasif Mamedov has only ever been stopped once in 11 fights.
Paddy started sharply and was looking to land big shots from the off. He stood in close to fight at mid-range sometimes taking half a step back to be in as close as he wanted to be. He missed a few times during the round, more towards the end, but he pulled out a lovely lead left hook in the last few seconds to end a bright opening round.
Lacey was putting his shots together well in the second and was particularly looking for the body shot.
In the third, Lacey was getting tagged frequently with Mamedov's left hand while they traded at range. The Chester boxer tried to land big straight rights but they were just glancing his opponent's head without landing fully. A lovely sheck left hook was the best shot of the round and the fight so far. He whipped in two neat body shots in the dying seconds then finished the round on a lovely left hook.
Lacey took advantage of Mamedov boxing with his hands low to land a left hook on his head in the fourth and final round. He then took the opportunity to land a hook to the head and body when he was doubled over. The Liverpudlian was really turning up the heat in this final segment and was really wearing his man down but the final bell sounded for yeat another points win for Lacey, who moves up to 3-0.
19:00 GMT LIVE ON DAZN
10 x 3 mins vacant WBA International Middleweight Title
CAOIMHIN AGYARKO vs NOE LARIOS JR
With Alan Smith and Eddie Lamm in his corner, Caoimhin Agyarko was powerful from the off, his left hook causing the most damage.
'Black Thunder' was really loading up with his left hand by the end of round two.
He started round three where he left off, with audible gasps from the crowd when that powerful left hook landed. Unbeaten in 14 fights, the Californian was poised and firm and landed a few hard counters of his own, but a sneaky shot rocked his head back right as the bell for the end of the third sounded.
Noe begu round four with a double jab, neither landing. They stood off each other for the opening moments, trading jabs. It was a more tentative round than others, perhaps each fighter earning the other's respect. Larios landed a lovely lead left hook midway through. A left hook to the body followed up on the same side to the head was the best punch combination of this segment. During the last 15 seconds, Agyarko landed a few solid hits to body and head.
From ringside, Tony Bellew had Agyarko up 40-36 as round five begun. It's a close contest but the Irishman is outlanding his American counterpart. He started to look in control by the fifth, landing a lovely counter left hook on the two-minute mark. The left eye of Larios beginning to look marked. The 25-year-old from Belfast switched to southpaw and trapped Larios in the corner. He jumped on him and almost had him over but the bell sounded for the sixth.
A lovely lead left hand from the southpaw stance kicked off the sixth section. Agyarko slipped a jab to his right to fire back with an uppercut, but he missed with a lead left hook soon after. He again missed with a right hook but followed uo in the same combe with a straight left which landed flush. His southpaw jab was effective in knocking Larios Jr's head back, but at the end of the round Agyarko paid for having his hands down when he copped a swiping shot to his chin, with no effect however.
Noe looked to be uncomfortable going against the southpaw stance, pawing out his jab to try to get past his guard. Larios had a lot of success during the round but Caoimhin finished the round strongest and again the Californian looked like he was about to go over as the bell chimed.
In round eight, Larios continued to land his shots consistently. Caoimhin's left hook was still causing trouble. Larios unloaded a volley of body shots in the last seconds of the section, but Agyarko blocked most, but still it could have swayed the round in his favour, as the home fighter wasn't as active.
Agyarko was better in the ninth and showed off his strong jab. Then, he hurt his man with another of those left hooks that had been landing all fight long, immediately went in for the kill and referee Howard Foster stepped in while he was trapped on the ropes. Noe Larios Jr was in the fight but was never going to win, so Foster's early intervention was well needed. Just the backwards stumble was enough to warrent an end to the contest.
Agyarko picks up his first pro title as the new WBA International middleweight champion, a belt formerly held by Jack Arnfield and John Ryder, and the first ever champion was Howard Eastman.
6 x 3 mins International Super-Bantamweight contest
PETER MCGRAIL vs ENGEL GOMEZ
Decorated amateur, Peter McGrail, landed a strong backhand seconds into the contest, pushing Gomez back instantly. His southpaw jab was landing consistently and the big right came into play often. The Nicaraguan could only go for the body with the head proving too difficult a moving target to hit. McGrail landed plenty in that opener. Trainer Paul Stevenson was calm and collected in the corner instructing his talented charge to keep doing what he's doing but also warning him to stay patient early on with this man and not get carried away.
In the second, the 25-year-old Liverpudlian was dipping in and out of range landing lovely one-twos. He did as instructed and boxed patiently behind his jab. In the second half of the round, he started to work to the body. Within one minute to go, he stunned Engel with a big left backhand to the head, he followed up with a strong right jab, then he feinted another jab to land another powerful backhand to knock the Central American down. Referee Bob Williams instantly tended to the fallen fighter after he had stopped the contest, dismissing any count.
Post-fight, the elated McGrail said, "To make things even better, my brother opened the show and got a second-round stoppage as well. Just want to keep the ball rolling and set myself up for a big 2022. It's going well, so I'll be pushing the rounds up next year."
Trainer Paul Stevenson added, "He's ready for a step-up in class, that fella in there was no mug, but definitely ready for the step-up, yeah."
10 x 3 mins vacant WBA Continental Super-Featherweight Title
JOE CORDINA vs MIKO KHATCHATRYAN
'Welsh Wizard' Cordina was super sharp in the opening seconds, landing swift jabs, moving in close to det up big shots early on. He drives home a strong one-two midway through after waiting patiently for the opening. He got through with a lovely right uppercut, Miko got a good jab to the body in as the bell sounded.
The 30-year-old Cardiff man again started sharply, landing crisp jabs. Khatchatryan is the reigning Belbian lightweight champion and his lateral movement during the second stage allowed him to avoid a lot of attacks coming at him.
It was the hunter and the hunted in round three, as Cordina tried to pin his man down who was constantly on his heels. Joe was really upping the tempo in this segment. He settled down slightly in the second half of the stanza, which allowed Khatchatryan to counter him. Then Cordina trapped him in the corner and landed big rights and lefts to the head. It was a clever feint to the bofy ollowed by a right up top. He did the same again 20 seconds later in the opposite corner drawing cheers from the crowd.
He continued the theme into the third and soon had Khatchatryan trapped in a corner again but the clevel Belgian wriggled free.Cordina knows this is his best chance to slow his man down by cornering him. Despite the identical records, it was a very one-sided affair. Khatchatryan had slowed slightly in the second half of the fourth and Cordina was able to land much more on the less mobile opponent who looked to be running out of steam already after all that running.
Khatchatryan sneaked a body shot in at the start of the fifth. He then ended the round as he started, unloading a volley of head shots largely blocked by Cordina who encouraged him to come on but the bell dinged.
A good earlier round enthused the Belgian, who let his hands go some more in the sixth. After a break, Cordina came on strongwalking his man down. The fight caught ire in this round, with Khatchatryan keener to engage for once. He landed a lovely right hand to snap Cordina's neck back- he tapped his gloves and leaned to left to unleash an overhand right that landed lovely. Cordina continued to hunt him down but now his opponent was staying in the pocket to fire back as opposed to getting on his bike like the earlier rounds.
The fight heated up even further in the seventh. Cordina landed a nice body shot which took the wind out of Miko's sails, visibly shaken, but he got on his bike again. The pair traded off at the end of the round.
Khatchatryan was throwing shots back at Cordina but with the sole purpose to keep Cordina off him, not to really land significantly. His ringcraft and durabiity had allowed the Belgian to get to this stage of the contest.
Cordina stepped in close right from the start of the ninth, trying to smother his man. He managed to get threes and fours in when catching him on the ropes but after that he would been gone again.
The Welshman tried to load up but Khatchatryan was forever moving. It was another one-sided round, must be frustrating for Cordina in there but a good learning fight.
Despite reaching the final round, Cordina's corner motivated him to finish the fight with a knockout in the last round. Cordina held the centre of the ring for a few moments, which was rare to see, waiting for Khatchatryan to make his moves. A few nice one-twos got through from Cordina. He worked away to the body in the closing seconds and the pair finished the fight scrapping.
It was a unanimous decision, as expected, to crown Cordina as the new WBA Continental super-featherweight champion. The scores were 98-92 twice and 100-90.
10 x 3 mins vacant WBA Continental Super-Lightweight Title
ROBBIE DAVIES JR vs HENRY LUNDY
After a scruffy opening, which saw both warned for punching on the back of the head, Lundy was badly rocked by a huge right hand as he lunged in near the end of the first round, which turned his legs to jelly. Somehow he stayed on his feet until the end of the round, but the end was not long coming.
Lundy, 37, did not look right at the start of the second round, and while Davies, 35, took his time, when he did threw, he didn’t miss. After a decent left landed, a body shot wobbled Lundy again and he followed it up with a ramrod right that sent Lundy falling back threw the ropes and onto the ring apron. The American hauled his way back, but referee Marcus McDonnell waved it off at 1:23 as he just beat the count.
“It is very satisfying, Hank has been in with a lot of big names,” Davies said. “I don’t think it was the best version of Hank Lundy but I don’t think anyone has done that to him recently.
“I went a bit gung-ho in the first round, I caught him with a shot that I didn’t know had hurt him until it wobbled him. Literally the shot Shane [McGuigan, his trainer] told me to throw was the one that stopped him.
“I’ve had two back-to-back KOs and if Shane says so I am ready to go with some big names.”
10 x 2 mins Undisputed Lightweight World Titles
KATIE TAYLOR vs FIRUZ SHARIPOVA
It was a spirited challenge from Firuz Sharipova but Katie Taylor remained unbeaten as the undisputed lightweight champion with unanimous scores of 98-92, 97-93, 96-93. The Irish queen moved up to 20-0 with the victory and called for Amanda Serrano fight in 2022.
12 x 3 mins WBA Continental Welterweight Title
CONOR BENN vs CHRIS ALGIERI
Conor Benn started brightly and maturely behind a crisp jab. Algieri landed a strong left hook that commanded Benn's respect towards the last moments of the opener.
'The Destroyer' started round two behind his jab again and soon whipped in two body shots. Algieri missed so Benn countered with speed, then he began to load up as he let his hands go. Algieri dancing in and out of range making the champion work. Then an hellacious left hook sent Algieri tumbling across the ring and into the ropes. The American stood up and shook his head to continue. He didn't beliebe it was a knockdown, citing that he had been pulled over but the replay showed it was legitimate.
Benn was really putting power behind every shot. Algieri looked improved but was still absorning damage, especially to the body. Algieri caught him with an overhand right midway through. He then landed another five shots in a row but Benn responded by putting in body shots with his man on the ropes. Good work from both boxers in round three, the contest beginning to heat up. Benn's left hooks were the best shots of the round.
Benn has landed 34 to Algieri's 21 punches by this point.
They fought in closer quarters in the fourth with a few furious exchanges at first. They swapped jabs towards the end of the round until an incredible one-two knocked Algieri out on his feet. He slowly crumpled to the canvas and there was absolutely no need for the count. What an amazing finish from Benn, who gets statement win he wanted.
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