Zappavigna, Browne Win Big On Mundine-Rabchenko Bill

By Jake Donovan

Leonard Zappavigna picked up his eighth straight win after battering Misael Castillo into submission inside of seven rounds Wednesday evening in Melbourne, Australia.

The bout served as the chief support to Anthony Mundine's split decision win over previoisly unbeaten Sergey Rabchenko. 

Zappavigna dropped Castilo early and unloaded on his overmatched Mexican foe for much of the night. The fight was ultimately halted late in round seven, when Castillo was under siege and not firing back, prompting the referee to rightfully jump in and waive off the contest.

The official time was 2:46 of round seven.

Zappavigna improves to 33-2 (23KOs), and enjoying new life at 140 lb. after suffering back-to-back losses in his final two bouts at lightweight. The Aussie came up well short in his lone title fight to date, dropping a 12-round decision to Miguel Vazquez in March '11. An attempt to get back in the title fray was miserably thwarted just five months later when Ammeth Diaz stopped him in five rounds. 

Castillo heads back to Mexico having now lost two straight as he falls to 26-4 (24KOs). The one mark he left on the crowd and viewing audience was his bizarre haircut, featuring a patch of hair on the base of his otherwise bald skull. 

Lucas Browne remained unbeaten after forcing American journeyman Chauncy Welliver to retire on his stool after five rounds. 

The bout was mildly competitive for about a round before Browne realized he needed to pick it up a notch. The unbeaten heavyweight from Sydney took control of the fight, but was unable to floor Welliver, who at a beefy 304¼ lb. outweighed Browne by nearly 50 lb.

Five rounds of damaging punishment from Browne ultimately took its toll on Welliver, who was forced to quit on his stool after his left eye was swollen shot. 

The official time was 3:00 of round five.

With the win, Browne - promoted by former World 140 lb. king Ricky Hatton - improves to 22-0 (19KOs). Welliver, an American heavyweight now fighting out of New Zealand, falls to 55-9-5 (22KOs). The bout was his second straight 5th round corner stoppage due to injury, suffering a similar fate though in a far more competitive fight with Billy Wright in February.

Unbeaten super featherweight prospect Kye Mackenzie picked up the biggest win of his young career, stopping featherweight title challenger Clive Atwell in ten rounds. 

Atwell gave a good account of himself, but his best attribute - his ability to absorb punishment - proved to be his undoing. MacKenzie's only threat on the night was punching himself into exhaustion, as his best shots were enough to control the action but not get rid of the durable foe from Guyana.

That changed in round then, when Atwell was clocked and stumbled across the ring, with the fight stopped immediately thereafter. 

The official time was 1:11 of round ten.

MacKenzie improves to 13-0 (11KOs) with the win, going the deepest into any given pro fight to date after having never been extended more than eight rounds. 

Atwell is dealt his second straight loss as he falls to 12-2-1 (7KOs). His previous bout came in a failed title bid, dropping a technical decision to featherweight titlist Jhonny Gonzalez this past May in Acapulco, Mexico.

Anthony Mundine (47-6, 27KOs) SD12 Sergey Rabchenko (25-1, 18KOs)

Leonardo Zappavigna (33-2, 23KOs) TKO7 Misael Castillo (26-4, 24KOs) 

Cory Paterson (2-0, 2KO) KO1 Michael Lua Tama (0-1, 0KOs)

Kye MacKenzie (13-0, 11KOs) TKO10 Clive Atwell (12-1-1, 7KOs)

Lucas Browne (22-0, 19KOs) TKO5 Chauncy Welliver (55-9-5, 22KOs)

Anthoyn Buttigieg (7-0, 1KO) UD6 Joel Camilleri (6-3, 4KOs) 

Kane Watts (12-2, 6KOs) TKO4 Mick King (4-4, 3KOs)

Isileli Fa (1-1, 0KOs) UD4 Dylan Goddard (3-2, 2KOs)