| Last night on a Maloney Promotion at York Hall in London, European Champion David Haye pulled out a hard fought win against old amateur nemesis, Italy's Giacobbe Fragomeni, posting a ninth round stoppage but only after coming through numerous difficulties.
Fragomeni spent the first half of the contest walking Haye down, using his much smaller stature and bulldog-like frame to continuously bore in and he managed to block most of Haye's counter measures. |
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© Jane Warburton
Saddo Boxing
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In the fourth, Fragomeni had managed to close the distance Haye was trying to maintain and was beginning to land with his own offense but by the fifth, so was Haye. The towering European Champion landed some belting head shots in the sixth but the steel-chinned Fragomeni refused to go down.
The seventh saw both men close ranks and mount a pitched battle with Fragomeni whipping in two sharp right hands that cut Haye badly above the left eye at the end of the seventh. Haye fought through the eighth with his face a mask of blood but his rival was tiring and could not capitalize on the injury.
It was all over in the ninth when the champion surprised Fragomeni with a searing left hook to the midsection and followed it up with a full-on assault that had the challenger seeking refuge on the ropes. As soon as the referee pulled Haye off to issue a count, the Italian's corner threw in the towel.
David Haye, 18-1 (17), retains his European crown and will fight for the WBC title in early 2007. Giacobbe Fragomeni, 21-1 (9), suffers his first loss as a professional.
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