Isaac Chamberlain vs Dilan Prasovic LIVE results
The Fight Before Christmas
On Friday, December 10, cruiserweight Isaac Chamberlain (13-1, 7KOs) and world title contender Dilan Prasovic (15-1, 12KOs) clashed at the National Sports Arena in Crystal Palace live on Channel 5 and this is how it went, round by round:
Isaac Chamberlain vs Dilan Prasovic
In round one, Brixton's Chamberlain was very quick to establish his powerful jab, snapping Prasovic's head back early, dominating the first few exchanges.
There was a bit of a head clash that made both men blink for a second, but they carried on after a moment's respite, referee Bob Willias seeing no need to intervene.
Instead of charging in like many expected, 'IC' was boxing his way in and looking impressive, inevitably he got caught with a left hook to the head when in at mid-range, which is an area that suits the visitor. 'Chambo' tried to throw his straight shots from range, where he would be at an advantage, but Prasovic's bent arm shots and hooks were clever and connecting occasionally.
Then, Chamberlain sensed that he had hurt his man with a left hook to the body, so the Brit jumped forward and managed to catch him with another left hook to the body and the man from Montenegro went down and couldn't get up again. He did rise on the count, but clearly couldn't continue and took another knee after it was waved off.
It was very clever and professional from Chamberlain, who stepped in to unload but cleverly took half a step back to allow the room for his work.
Winner by knockout at 2:58 of round one, Isaac Chamberlain is now the new IBF International cruiserweight champion, sending a strong statement to the rest of the division.
Steve Bunce said at ringside that when you get hit with that shot, you are going down and it doesn't matter who you are, even reminding fans of Oscar De La Hoya when he lost to Bernard Hopkins after getting stopped in his tracks with a liver punch. The respected pundit described Chamberlain's performance as 'clinical'.
Although he doesn't want to be compared to other fighters, he notably blasted Dilan Prasovic out quicker than shared opponent Lawrence Okolie did.
Post-fight, Chamberlain called for a showdown with newly-crowned IBO World champion, Jack Massey.
The 27-year-old Londoner, who became a father earlier this month, signed off with a huge smile saying he will be enjoying a nice family Christmas.
Stevie McKenna vs Jack Ewbank
After the bizarre news of Stevie's original opponent coming in over 16lbs overweight, Ashford's Jack Ewbank bravely answered the call at the 12th hour, even after fighting only two weeks ago.
When that bell goes ding, an enraged bull comes charging out of the corner. Stevie rained in punches from all angles on Kent's Ewbank, who was like a rabbit caught in headlights.
The 'Hitman' relentlessly pummeled his last-minute stand-in opponent, who didn't really look badly hurt but just couldn't get a moment's rest. The attacks came from left and right, up and down, until referee Lee Every had no choice but to step in and save Ewbank from further punishment. The towel was thrown in by the corner anyway.
The contest was stopped at 1:08 of round one. McKenna moves up to 11-0 with 10 KOs.
After the fight, he called out Albanian king Florian Marku, saying he will go to his country or anyweher else to get the fight on.
Aaron McKenna vs Carlos Gallego
Due to coming into the WBC Youth World middleweight championship contest overweight, the title is only on the line for McKenna to win.
By round three, it was such a one-sided contest. McKenna loves fighting at close range and was landing shots for fun. His hooks and uppercuts were hugely successful but he still landed straight rights too. At the closing of the round, Gallago swung wildly with a left hook and almost fell over with the momentum of swiping thin air, so Aaron stepped forward to catch the man out while off-balance but the bell saved him from any attacks.
The Mexican was breathing heavily in the corner between rounds four and five. A right hook to the head followed immediately by a left uppercut was very effective all fight for the Irishman. A short lead uppercut from McKenna landed beautifully.
Midway through the sixth stanza, Gallegi was visibly tiring under the pressure, which Aaron senses. There was less and less coming back but the visitor was doing just about enough to stay in there. It was a brutal beatdown for three full minutes, another sweet short right uppercut was again the best shot of the round.
In the seventh, McKenna opened the segment with a crushing left hook to the body, then soon had his man trapped in the corner. Referee Ian John-Lewis was taking a good look. McKenna was changing the angles constantly to make room for his shots. Despite being in full control, the power was visibly sapped from McKenna's shots in the final minute of the round, but he kept shooting still.
Somehow the Mexican was still there for the eighth and final round. 'Ruso' managed to throw a few shots in the opening moments of the round, most missing but one or two connecting. McKenna poured it on and took a step back to land bigger shots from range. Because of his relentless attacks, it'd be easy to over look McKenna's defence which was sound. He managed to block or step away from so many of Gallego's shots when they rarely fired back, showing he was as sharp and switched on from the first bell to the last.
The Mexican, as tough as he was, was clearly overmatched as Aaron won the his first title on points and moved up to 14-0.
Aaron laid out his ambitions to add more titles in 2022.
Kaisee Benjamin vs Wiston Campos
The chopping short right hook from Kaisee Benjamin to down Nicaraguan Wiston Campos in round two was short, sharp and deadly. There was a slight delay as Campos was stunned by the shot, but the opponent who went 10-rounds with Josh Kelly was soon down and out after taking that devastating hit.
Idris Virgo vs Adam Trenado
Not to everyone's liking, Idris Virgo dropped his man with a right cross in the third round, but the Spaniard beat the count. When the brash boxer went in for the kill, he threw a crude right hand from about a mile away and missed wildly only for 'El Tornado' to fire back with a counter jab that landed so flush and heavily that the trash-talker was shocked, stunned and hurt, having to backpedal quickly to stay on his feet. It was a bizarre moment, highlighting the Love Islander's inexperience.
Despite the setback, he rallied back and and dominated the contest to win in round seven after three knockdowns. The final right hand finished the fight in spectacular fashion.
Steve Bunce praised the Brummie from ringside, likening the way he fights to 'Rocky Balboa', stating that he thinks Virgo is a lot better than people give him credit for, also detailing how well he has improved since working with trainer Scott Welch in Brighton.
The 28-year-old moved up 12 wins and one draw with the second knockout of his approaching four-year-long pro career.
Undercard
Naylor Ball W-TKO1 Andrea Pesce
Alfie Clegg W-PTS (39-37) Josh Anderson
Nathan Mizon W-PTS (40-36) Petar Aleksandrov
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