Cheavon Clarke stops Chris Billam-Smith in seventh-round thriller
Cheavon Clarke settled his old amateur score with Chris Billam-Smith in emphatic fashion, dropping him twice in the seventh before the fight was stopped. Denzel Bentley had to work harder for his win over Shane Mosley Jr, while Umar Dzambekov’s knockout of Zach Parker was another big result on a card with plenty of movement.
Main Event: Cheavon Clarke stops Chris Billam-Smith
Cheavon Clarke (13-2-0) stopped Chris Billam-Smith (22-3-0) by TKO at 1:24 of round seven. Billam-Smith went down twice in the round, and the referee waved it off.
Clarke came away with the kind of win that changes the conversation around a rivalry. Billam-Smith had beaten the odds to reach the top as a pro after Clarke got the better of him in the amateurs; this time, Clarke left no doubt about the result.
Co-Main Event: Bentley outpoints Mosley Jr
Denzel Bentley (23-3-1) earned a unanimous decision over Shane Mosley Jr (23-6-0) after 10 rounds. Mosley Jr hit the canvas in round two, but the judges still had work to do: 96-93, 95-94 and 96-94.
Bentley handled business, though the cards show it wasn’t a walkover. That second-round knockdown gave him an important cushion in a close fight.
Key Fight: Dzambekov knocks out Parker
Unbeaten Umar Dzambekov (15-0-0) made a statement, knocking out Zach Parker (26-3-0) at 1:47 of round four. Parker had been ahead on all three cards after three rounds, making the finish an abrupt turn in the fight.
Undercard
Masood Abdulah (14-1-0) beat Adan Palma (14-2-0) by unanimous decision over eight rounds. Palma was knocked down in rounds one and six. The judges scored it 77-73, 78-72 and 76-74.
Da’Mazion Vanhouter (14-0-0) stopped Ivan Balaz (9-2-0) by TKO at 2:04 of round one, with Balaz going down three times.
Sam Hickey (7-0-0) halted Amaury Massenaux (16-5-1) by TKO at 2:31 of round five. Massenaux was down in the fifth; Hickey had been ahead 40-36 on all three cards.
Lucas Roehrig (10-0-0) stopped Connal McDonald (5-2-0) by TKO at 0:58 of round seven. Roehrig was leading 59-55, 59-55 and 60-54 at the time.
Kayla Allen (2-0-0) won a points decision over Julia Igel (5-3-0), with the sole listed scorecard reading 58-56.
Making his professional debut, Vinnie Kemp (debut) stopped Liam McElhinney (0-2-0) by TKO at 2:33 of round one.
Closing
Clarke’s stoppage was the night’s headline, but Dzambekov’s knockout and Bentley’s close decision gave the card a few more results to chew over.
Undercard Live Stream
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