World Weekend Wrap Up: Kovalev Wins, Hall Keeps Title

Last night in Atlantic City, WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev lit up The Ballroom at Boardwalk Hall with a dominate victory over little known challenger Cedric Agnew.

Kovlev, 24-0-1 (22), started off in customary fashion by pressuring the challenger but southpaw Agnew, 26-1 (13), showed he wasn’t just there to be a punching bag, launching a few quick-handed counters that seemed to surprise the champion.

But the Russian slugger soon got the timing of Agnew’s ripostes and simply backed away when the challenger leapt forth. Agnew soon resorted to a high, tight guard featuring little offense after feeling Kovalev’s power.

The Chicago native was down in the second frame after being caught by a leaping left hook from Kovalev and it seemed a matter of time until the inevitable as the champion whittled down Agnew with body shots, jabs and hooks.

Agnew managed to pick off a lot of shots on his gloves but when Kovalev was cut above the left eye in the fourth by an accidental head clash, the WBO king began to step it up.

Absorbing serious punishment in the fifth, Agnew was stunned in the sixth with a straight left to the ribs and went down to a knee where he was counted out at 0:58 of the round.

Kovalev successfully defends his title for the second time and will ideally get a unification contest with heavy-handed Canadian Adonis Stevenson, who should come through his WBC title defense against Andrzej Fonfara in May.

Kovalev vs. Stevenson would be a huge showdown, likely taking place in the autumn world’s largest Hockey arena, Montreal’s 21,000 seat Bell Centre.

On the undercard in Atlantic City, heavily-hyped light welter contender Karim Mayfield, 18-1-1 (11), was derailed from an all but certain world title shot by former NABF welter titlist Thomas Dulorme, 21-1 (14).

At stake was the vacant NABF light welter strap but the much taller Dulorme used his edge in height and reach perfectly, keeping the explosive Mayfield on the outside with jarring left hooks that caught Mayfield in the early rounds.

The frustrated Californian never was able to get on track and force Dulorme to brawl as the Puerto Rican won a UD on the cards by margins of 98-92, 97-94 and 96-93.

At the Metro Radio in Newcastle, England, IBF bantam champ Stuart Hall, 16-2-1-1 NC (7), put his belt on the line against domestic rival Martin Ward, 18-2-1 NC (4).

Hall seemed to be on the verge of steamrolling southpaw Ward by the end of the first round when an accidental head clash produced a bad gash in Ward’s right eyebrow.

Just 35 seconds into the second round, the bout was stopped due to the injury, resulting in a No Contest, in which Hall retains his title for the first time.

Also on the bill, one of the UK’s top welters was in action as former British champion Frankie Gavin, 19-0 (12), had to come off the canvas to outpoint unheralded opponent Sacky Shikukutu, 18-3-1 (12), in an all-southpaw clash.

Interim WBO Africa titlist Shikukutu, of Namibia, gave Gavin, who was defending the Commonwealth crown, fits early on but the Birmingham man controlled the pace from the fourth round on, gaining a 118-109, 118-109, 117-111 win.

British cruiserweight titlist John Lewis Dickinson, 15-2 (4), won the Lonsdale Belt outright by making a third successful defense with a 10th round TKO of Neil Dawson, 12-3 (5).

At the El Cruce Social and Cultural Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Debora Anahi Dionicius, 16-0 (5), defended her IBF Female super flyweight belt for the fifth time with a fourth round stoppage of Neisi Torres, 11-2-1 (7).

On Friday in Argentina, Women’s top super bantam was in the ring as Marcele Eliana Acuna, 41-6-1 (18), defended her WBO title with a sixth round halting of former WBO bantam title challenger Estreall Valverde, 9-4-1 (1), at Anfiteatro Municipal in Villa Maria.

At the MBS Arena in Potsdam, Germany, Ramona Keuhne, 22-1 (8), retained her WBO/WIBF/WBF super feather belts when challenger Gina Chamie, 8-1 (4), retired after the sixth round citing an arm injury.