UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Sergey Kovalev stopped
former World Boxing Association light heavyweight champion Gabriel Campillo in
the third round of a scheduled 10-round bout on Saturday at the Mohegan Sun
Casino.
Kovalev, of Russia, dropped Campillo, of
Spain, three times in the third round before referee Michael Ortega stopped it
at 1:30. Kovalev was able to get through Campillo’s defense in the first two rounds,
landing one-twos to the head.
In the third round, Kovalev put a little
more behind his punches. He dropped Campillo for the first time with a counter,
landing a right hand that put him on the canvas. Kovalev threw three more left
hooks after Campillo got up, dropping the Spaniard a second time. The third
knockdown came after a right hand.
“He wasn’t easy for me,”
said Kovalev. “He was a difficult target. I saw he was wobbling after I landed
and I wanted to finish the fight early.”
Kovalev is now 20-0-1 with 18 knockouts.
Campillo is 21-5-1 (8). “It’s an important win,” Kovalev said. “We’ll see what
comes next.”
Curtis Stevens of Brooklyn, N.Y. won the
vacant North American Boxing Federation middleweight title with a first-round
stoppage of Elvin Ayala of New Haven, Conn.
Stevens, 23-3 (17), dropped Ayala twice
in the first round, both times with left hooks. A hard left hook to the head
put Ayala on the canvas. Ayala got up, was a little shaky and referee Tony
Chiarantano allowed the fight to continue. Stevens resumed his attack and
dropped Ayala again with a left to the body and Chiarantano stopped the fight
at 1:10.
“Usually I stalk,” said Stevens. “I saw
him overcommit with the right hand and I just sat in the bucket.”
After Stevens jumped up on a
corner post to celebrate, a fan jumped in the ring and pulled him down. A brief
dustup ensued with several people jumping into the ring before security
restored order.
“I don’t know what happened,” Stevens
said. “I felt somebody pulling on my shoulders and they didn’t let go. It’s
boxing. It’s emotional.” Ayala dropped to 26-6-1 (12).
Jimmy Williams of New Haven, Conn. made
his junior middleweight debut with a fourth round knockout against Noel Garcia
of Springfield, Mass. Williams knocked out Garcia with a right uppercut and a
left hook at 39 seconds of the fourth round. Chiarantano waved off a count.
Garcia dropped to 2-16-2 (1).
Debuting Edwin Cotto of Willimantic,
Conn. stopped Ian James of Brooklyn, N.Y. in the final round of a scheduled
four-rounder at lightweight. Referee Michael Ortega stopped the fight 18
seconds into the fourth. James
dropped to 2-5-1 (1).
Marcus Upshaw of Jacksonville, Fla.
stopped Vladine Biosse of Providence, R.I. in the final round of a scheduled eight-round
super middleweight bout. Upshaw dropped Biosse with a right hand with a minute
left in the eighth. Biosse got up but after a few more shots from Upshaw, Tony
Chiarantano stopped the fight at 2:25. Upshaw rises to 15-8-2 (7); Biosse is now
14-2-1 (7). Upshaw also dropped Biosse in the fifth round and was ahead 68-64
(twice) and 67-65 at the time of the stoppage.
Jason Sosa of Camden, N.J. stopped Chip
Perez of East Hartford, Conn. in the fourth round of a scheduled six at super
featherweight. Sosa, 8-1-3 (4), dropped Perez with a right hand followed by a
left hook in the final minute of the fourth round. Perez, 10-2 (3), got up but
was on wobbly legs, prompting referee Johnny Callas to stop the fight at the
2:10 mark.
In a four-round heavyweight bout, Jarrell
Miller of Brooklyn, N.Y. and Joey Dawejko of Philadelphia fought to a
four-round draw. All three judges scored the bout 37-37 with two points deducted
from Miller. Dawejko is 7-1-2 (3); Miller is 4-0-1 (4).
Bantamweight Shelito Vincent
of New London, Conn. outpointed Nydia Feliciano of the Bronx, N.Y. in a
six-rounder. The scores were 58-56 (twice) and 59-55. Vincent is 7-0; Feliciano
is 5-4-3.
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