By Alexey Sukachev
At Spartaplatz located in Prague in the Czech Republic, the best active boxer in the country, Lukas Konecny (46-3, 22 KOs), took another step towards his second world title shot with a convincing performance in the initial defense of his European light middleweight against determined but limited France-based Armenian Hamlet Petrosyan (29-7, 10 KOs). The WBO #4, IBF #5 and WBC #10 boxer clinched almost a clear sweap on all three judges' scorecards: 119-109 (twice) and 118-110.
It was a typical Konecny performance, who moved forward behind a tight guard and not even trying to establish a steady jab, but instead ducking under his opponent's counter fire. Konecny did his best at mid-range throwing numerous hooks to the body and opening a hole in Petrosyan's guard for his trademark (a bit slappy) left hook to the jaw. Petrosyan tried to box on his toes but was missing too much and was eating way too many punches from his determined rival. The Armenian did some work of his own with a sneaky jab and some power punches during the battle but it was ultimately not enough to give him any preferences. BoxingScene had it 119-109 - for the Czech fighter.
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Germany-based Albanian Haxhi Krasniqi (34-2, 11 KOs) continued his methodical rise to higher ranks and continues to build his record with an unspectacular yet effective eight-round decision win over Czech enforcer Jindrich Velecky (17-13, 16 KOs). The 23-year old Krasniqi is enjoying a lengthy 33-fight winning streak, which dates back to January 2006.