In the first of three professional bouts in a vast IBA fight card at the Agenda Arena in Dubai, UAE, rising Russian heavyweight southpaw Mark Petrovsky improved to 7-0, with 5 KOs, after the fourth-round stoppage of former WBA heavyweight titleholder Lucas "Big Daddy" Browne (now 31-5, 27 KOs).
Petrovsky, 24, who is relatively small in this era of huge heavyweights, started at a measured pace. However, his first real strike - a one-two combo with an accent on the overhand right - put Browne down in the midst of the first. The Australian veteran, who is 44 years of age now, got up but soon was rocked again - this time with a left-hand punch - yet retained his upright position.
The drubbing of Big Daddy continued in the second round. Petrovsky landed another right cross to put Browne down. The Australian pulled it through but ended this stanza with his nose and right eyebrow bleeding. He shouldn't have gotten past the next three minutes, but the Russian amateur standout took the third off, allowing Browne some very modest success with mighty hooks that lacked both precision and quickness to trouble him.
Petrovsky accelerated a bit in the fourth; Big Daddy's face was already a battlefield in a miniature. One of his major right hands pinned Browne to the ropes in groggy conditions, and referee Roberto Ramirez Jr. jumped in. It hadn't been yet a knockout, just a standing eight. But the Australian fighter failed to respond properly, and the referee waved the fight off at 1:34 of the fourth.
The prizefighting part of the card, labeled "IBA Champions' Fight Night", is promoted by the Complete Decision and sanctioned by the UAE Boxing Commission.