Dmitry Bivol, Luis Arias Get KO Wins Photos Gallery - Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas - WBA Interim Light Heavyweight Champion Dmitry Bivol from Russia remains undefeated as he made quick work of Cedric "L.O.W." Agnew. Despite being only 26 years old Bivol demonstrated why he is quickly making a name for himself in the red-hot light heavyweight division.
Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas - WBA interim-light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (11-0, 9 KOs) dropped and beat down Cedric Agnew (29-3, 15 KOs) for a fourth round stoppage. Bivol came out pressing the action, throwing a stuff jab to work his way in and then using that punch to set up other opportunities for himself.
Although he has three times as many bouts as his opponent, including a world title fight, light heavyweight Cedric Agnew (29-2, 15 KOs) enters the ring a substantial underdog against Dimitry Bivol (10-0, 8 KOs) on the undercard of Ward-Kovalev II. A look at the fighters’ respective recent activity might be an indication why the bookmakers list Bivol as a roughly 10-1 favorite in this matchup.
Rigondeaux-Flores Weights Photos Gallery -Ward (31-0, 15 KOs), a 2004 Olympic gold medalist from Hayward, California, weighed in at 175 pounds, the light heavyweight limit. Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs), of Kopeysk, Russia, also came in at 175 pounds.
BoxingScene.com has been advised that a light heavyweight bout between Dmitry Bivol and Cedric Agnew has been added to the pay-per-view undercard on June 17th that is headline by the rematch between Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev. Bivol (10-0, 8 KO's), who is being moved quickly, fought on April 14th where he blew out Samuel Clarkson in four rounds for the interim WBA light heavyweight title.
Discussions are still ongoing to finalize the next opponent for Andre Ward, scheduled for November 21 at the Mandalay By in Las Vegas as part of the Miguel Cotto-Saul Alvarez HBO Pay-Per-View undercard.
Former light heavyweight world title challenger Cedric Agnew (28-2, 14 KOs) won a unanimous six-round decision over Kevin Engel (20-13, 16 KOs) but not before surviving a dramatic rollercoaster fourth round at the Bayou City Events Center in Houston. Midway through the round the switch-hitting Agnew dropped Engel with a short left to the solar plexus from a southpaw stance.
Since their losses to Russian power puncher Sergey Kovalev, former contenders Cedric Agnew and Cornelius White have struggled to get their careers back on track. Both light heavyweights will return to the drawing board fighting separate bouts in their home base of Houston on Thursday night at the Bayou City Events Center in Houston. Agnew (27-2, 14 KOs) will take on Kevin Engle (record unknown) in a six-round bout. Agnew, 28, was stopped in the eighth round by Kovalev via body shots last March. He rebounded with a meaningless first round KO over a 25-52-8 journeyman three months later but lost his next fight to Samuel Clarkson (12-3, 9 KOs) in February.
New York, NY - In front of a sellout crowd of his hometown fans, junior lightweight prospect Bryant "Peewee" Cruz, of Port Chester, NY, headlined DiBella Entertainment's Broadway Boxing debut on Friday night, in Westchester County, at the beautiful Hilton Westchester, in Rye Brook, NY. Cruz, 130, showed tremendous heart to recover from a knockdown in round two then engage Jorge Pazos, 128¼, of Guamuchil, Sinaloa, Mexico, in a slugfest the following frame. By the midway point of the scheduled eight-rounder, Cruz took back control of the contest, using his jab to set up combinations and outbox Pazos. Showing superior hand speed, Cruz used left hooks to punctuate flurries upstairs. By the seventh round, a bruised Pazos' face had swelled up from all the punishment he'd taken. After eight exciting rounds, the judges tallied 78-73 twice, and 77-74, all for "Peewee" Cruz, who improved to 14-0 (7 KOs). Pazos dropped to 14-8-1 (8 KOs).
Warriors Boxing proudly announces the signing of undefeated Mobile, Alabama, light heavyweight Michael Seals (18-0, 14 KOs). A latecomer, 32-year-old Seals started boxing at age 23, after a successful career as a linebacker for Alabama A&M University. But Seals has wasted no time catching up. "Boxing was something I always wanted to do as kid, but coming from the south, especially Alabama, it's all about football, so I played," explained Seals. "I never really had a chance to box. Once I got done with football, I found a gym in Decatur, Alabama, and started there. I fell in love after the first time I sparred. I said 'man, I should have been doing this my whole life.' I was wasting my time with football. I could have been world champion three or four times over by now."