BIRMINGHAM, England – Rising cruiserweight Pat Brown stopped Ivan Duka inside two rounds at the BP pulse Live.
The Paris 2024 Olympian, who is 2-0 (2 KOs) as a pro, came out for the first round with the intent of securing an early stoppage, with a date of July 5 already booked for his home city of Manchester, England. He immediately pushed Duka, 5-6 (3 KOs), back into a corner and whipped in a spiteful left hand to the Croatian’s body. Brown, 25, had no respect for what was coming back in the opposite direction and took several shots in their early exchanges. There was a huge gap in class, however, and it seemed only a matter of time before the finish followed.
It came early in the second. Brown whipped in another left to the body and followed it with a left uppercut that rocked Duka’s head back and knocked him down. Duka, 28, was hurt and tried to beat the count but was too late. The referee Kevin Parker waved off the action after 62 seconds of round two.
Earlier, Tiah Mai Ayton made an explosive start to her professional career with a third-round stoppage of Sara Orszagi. There are big hopes for the 18 year old from England who made her debut in the bantamweight division, and she showed why there is such hype around her. Undefeated in over 300 fights across several disciplines – including amateur boxing and mixed martial arts – Ayton flattened her opponent inside three rounds. A hard right landed early in the third and sent Hungary’s Orszagi tumbling to the floor; she returned to her feet but seconds later another landed and Orszagi was finished. The time of the stoppage came after 23 seconds of round three. Ayton moved to 1-0 (1 KO) with the win; Orszagi fell to 2-8.
Aaron Bowen recorded a fourth-round stoppage of Mykola Vovk. The talented middleweight, 6-0 (4 KOs), beat his opponent up from the first bell, and after several vicious body shots, Vovk’s corner rescued him. The towel came in at two minutes and 22 seconds of round four. Vovk had complained to both his corner and the referee, Parker, about the stoppage; he fell to 15-8 (9 KOs).
The highly-rated junior-lightweight prospect Giorgi Visioli defeated the tough Elias Federico Duguet over eight rounds. Visioli, 8-0 (6 KOs), has been dispatching his recent opponents with ease, but struggled to hurt Duguet. He finally made a breakthrough late into the final round, when dropping Duguet with a left uppercut. It proved too late, however – Duguet returned to his feet and survived. The referee Ryan Churchill scored 80-71 to Visioli; Duguet fell to 7-2-1 (2 KOs) with the defeat.
The junior lightweight Ibraheem Sulaimaan had by then been taken the distance by the experienced Brian Phillips. Sulaimaan, 8-0 (4 KOs), came out fast and tried to stop Phillips early, as he so often has in his recent contests. Phillips, 12-5 (3 KOs), however, used his experience to resist, and took Sulaimaan the full eight rounds – although he was well beaten. The referee Churchill scored 80-72 in favour of Sulaimaan.
The junior bantamweight Hamza Uddin recorded the biggest win of his professional career when stopping the former Olympian Leandro Jose Blanc inside seven rounds. Uddin was a class above throughout, and in the seventh unloaded a barrage of uppercuts that forced the Churchill to call a halt to the contest. The timing of the stoppage was 37 seconds. Uddin rose to 5-0 (2 KOs) with the victory, and Jose Blanc fell to 8-3 (3 KOs).