In what was a major event in Italy, former WBA "regular" super middleweight champion Giovanni De Carolis (30-10-1, 14 KOs) turned back the clock to score an unexpected stoppage of previously undefeated Daniele Scardina (20-1, 16 KOs) in five rounds.
A packed crowd of 6,000 at Milan's Allianz Cloud went wild when the contest was officially stopped during the fifth round.
The 37-year-old De Carolis was thought to have been past his best, but he looked like the favorite in the early rounds. He landing the heavier, more accurate punches on the younger, less experienced Scardina.
During the fourth, a series of heavy punches sent Scardina down hard in the final minute of the round. The referee should have stopped the contest at this point, as Scardina looked completely gone, but he was saved by the bell and allowed to continue.
When the fifth began, De Carolis came out firing and gave Scardina no time to recover his wits. He continued to land more hard punches to score a second knockdown in the bout, which quickly prompted the referee to wave things off. Scardina was able to get to his feet but was very wobbly and seemed to be mentally gone.
De Carolis picks up his third win in a row after suffering a twelve round decision loss to Lerrone Richards in an EBU title fight in May of last year.