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Undefeated Artiom Karpets, 29, made a successful transition from the domestic arena onto the international fight scene by scoring a hard-fought decision over tough Italian veteran Tobia Guiseppe Loriga, 36. Karpets acquired a vacant WBA I/C light middleweight title in this twelve-rounder and improved his record to 19-0, with 6 KOs.
Karpets was a favorite coming in, as Loriga, best known for his spirited loss to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in 2008, was fighting just for the fourth time since a four-year long layoff. Loriga was predictably rusty in the opening round, eating jabs and right hands from the Ukrainian national champion. The fight saw a major turnaround in the second stanza, when Loriga was credited with an undeserved knockdown after a slip of Karpets. The determined and inspired Italian began to fight back with zeal and took the third as well. The midst of the fight was rather even with both boxers landing their best punches flush but being unable to hurt the opponent. Karpets was more mobile and his punches were a bit harder, while Loriga made up for those disadvantages with his heer activity. Karpets tagged and rocked Loriga several times, and both fighters were bleeding: Loriga from his nose, and Karpets - from a cut over his right eye.
The bout was up for grabs before the final third. It's when the Ukrainian boxer found some inner resources to turn back the tide. Karpets looked slightly superior to his opponent in the ninth and in the tenth stanzas, then suddenly exploded to wobble Loriga in the eleventh and finished the fight very well in the twelfth. All three judges were unanimous in their opinion: 117-110 (twice) and 116-112 - for the Ukrainian. BoxingScene is in agreement with the latter judge.
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Karpets was a favorite coming in, as Loriga, best known for his spirited loss to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in 2008, was fighting just for the fourth time since a four-year long layoff. Loriga was predictably rusty in the opening round, eating jabs and right hands from the Ukrainian national champion. The fight saw a major turnaround in the second stanza, when Loriga was credited with an undeserved knockdown after a slip of Karpets. The determined and inspired Italian began to fight back with zeal and took the third as well. The midst of the fight was rather even with both boxers landing their best punches flush but being unable to hurt the opponent. Karpets was more mobile and his punches were a bit harder, while Loriga made up for those disadvantages with his heer activity. Karpets tagged and rocked Loriga several times, and both fighters were bleeding: Loriga from his nose, and Karpets - from a cut over his right eye.
The bout was up for grabs before the final third. It's when the Ukrainian boxer found some inner resources to turn back the tide. Karpets looked slightly superior to his opponent in the ninth and in the tenth stanzas, then suddenly exploded to wobble Loriga in the eleventh and finished the fight very well in the twelfth. All three judges were unanimous in their opinion: 117-110 (twice) and 116-112 - for the Ukrainian. BoxingScene is in agreement with the latter judge.
[Click Here To Read More]
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