Paddy Donovan Beats Karen Chukhadzhian By Majority Decision After Late Pressure In Mannheim

Paddy Donovan got the win he badly needed in Mannheim on Friday night, but he definitely had to work for it late on as Karen Chukhadzhian came charging back into the fight during the closing rounds.

For most of the night Donovan looked the quicker, fresher and sharper fighter. His movement gave Chukhadzhian problems early and the Irishman repeatedly beat him to the punch with speed and combinations.

But the final rounds got uncomfortable.

Chukhadzhian sensed Donovan slowing down and tried to drag the fight back his way with pressure and steady work, but by then the earlier rounds had already slipped away from him. Too little, too late.

The judges scored it 115-112 and 115-111 for Donovan, while the third card somehow came back level at 115-115, giving Donovan a majority decision victory.

The win moves Donovan to 15-2-0, while Chukhadzhian drops to 26-4-0.

Main Event

Paddy Donovan (15-2-0) defeated Karen Chukhadzhian (26-4-0) by majority decision after 12 rounds in their welterweight main event.

Donovan’s footwork and hand speed controlled large stretches of the fight and he dropped Chukhadzhian in rounds six and eight, although the second knockdown looked more like a slip that was ruled a knockdown by the referee.

Chukhadzhian kept trying to apply pressure and had his best moments late when Donovan began to tire, but Donovan had already banked enough rounds to stay ahead.

The official scorecards read 115-112, 115-111 and 115-115.

Co-Main / Key Fights

Emanuel Odiase improved to 11-0-0 after crushing Nick Webb (19-4-0) by second-round knockout to win the IBF European heavyweight title.

This was short and nasty. Odiase landed heavy shots almost immediately and Webb never really looked comfortable once the pressure started building.

A brutal combination dumped Webb on the canvas in round two and he decided against beating the count. No surprise result by the end of it — Odiase looked levels above once he got rolling.

Devrim Goekduman (13-0-1) and Franklyn Dwomoh (9-0-1) fought to a split draw over 10 rounds for the IBF European lightweight title.

Close fight throughout and one that probably leaves both men frustrated. Dwomoh had success boxing at range while Goekduman kept forcing exchanges and trying to nick rounds with activity.

Other Title Fights

Alexander Okafor moved to 4-0-0 with a split decision win over Elija Uelkueseven (8-1-0) across 10 rounds to claim the BDB German cruiserweight title.

Bit of a risky step-up this early in Okafor’s career, but he got through it. Tight fight though and Uelkueseven made him earn every round.

Non-Title Undercard

Peter Kadiru improved to 23-1-0 after beating Senad Gashi (34-5-0) by unanimous decision over 10 rounds.

The judges scored it 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 in Kadiru’s favour.

Oluwole Jan Ciosek moved to 5-0-0 with an eight-round unanimous decision victory over Shae Green (9-2-1) at middleweight.

Viktor Jurk barely broke sweat, knocking out Edwin Castillo (13-3-0) in the opening round of their heavyweight clash.

Nelvie Tiafack improved to 4-0-0 after outpointing Mateus Munhoz Da Penha (7-3-2) by unanimous decision over six rounds.

Edmon Avagyan made a successful professional debut by stopping Patrik Fiala in round three of their scheduled four-round cruiserweight bout.

Odiase probably stole the show with the knockout, but Donovan got the result he came to Germany for and kept himself firmly in the world title mix, even if Chukhadzhian made him sweat for it late.