Joshua Buatsi stopped Marko Calic in round seven of their scheduled 12-round light heavyweight bout at Marshall Arena in Buckinghamshire, England.
In round three, Buatsi’s right eye began to swell.
In round seven Buatsi landed a hard right that sent Calic into the ropes. Calic was hurt bad, and ate a follow up combination that forced his corner to throw in the towel at 2:09.
Buatsi, 172.5 lbs is now 13-0 with 11 knockouts. Calic, 172.9 bs is now 11-1.
“His jaw was broken,” said Buatsi afterwards. “In the third round I felt my swelling. I thought ‘damn!’ You do what you’ve got to do. He went southpaw so I looped the right hand. He hid it, but he was hurt. This guy said he was coming to burst the Buatsi bubble. I was here to defend it.
“People didn’t know about him, the spectators and the public, but in our camp and within our team, we knew he was a good fighter. I was out for 400 days. We bit down on the gum shield and we got the win. This is a gentleman’s sport, big credit to Marko Calic. I wish him nothing but the best. I wish him good health. Maximum respect to him.
“He came in and he gave me a good run for my money. I hope he gets home safely to Croatia. It was a hard fight but I learned. He didn’t just come to make up the numbers. He was a good fighter, heading into our fight unbeaten. I couldn’t see his right hands, I adapted. I dealt with it. If the World Title fight in 2021 opportunity is presented, and I’ve had the right fights, then absolutely.”
Cameron Decisions Araujo; Wins Super Lightweight title
Chantelle Cameron won the vacant WBC Super Lightweight title with a 10-round unanimous decision over Adriana Araujo.
Cameron, 137.9 lbs won by scores of 100-90 on all cards and is now 13-0. Araujo, weighed in over the limit at 131.9 lbs is now 6-1.
“I’m absolutely buzzing,” said Cameron. “Jamie and Nigel were telling me off at times because I was taking a few risks. She was a lot heavier and I could feel the weight difference. It’s just instincts, I like to have a scrap! Winning this World Title is perfect timing for me. If it were eight fights ago or even five fights ago she would have beat me because I would have just stood there toe-to-toe. Since I’ve been working with Jamie and Nigel, I’ve learned to box more. They keep telling me to pace myself and hold myself back more. It worked.
“I can’t put it into words how it feels. I was nervous but my team kept me calm and it meant it was a good performance. I wanted this belt, so I had to keep my head on. She wasn’t professional enough to make the weight, but I knew no matter what I was becoming champion. Thanks to everyone for watching, I can’t wait to come back to Northampton with the belt. This is just the start.”
Trainer Jamie Moore added: “I’m over the moon for Chantelle. She’s worked so hard. The weight difference on the night was massive. I think she could have got her out of there if it was a level playing field. Tactically she followed the game plan brilliantly. This is the start for her now. She’ll be involved in some exciting fights.”
Udofia stops Harding in nine
Linus Udofia stopped John Harding Jr. in round nine of a scheduled 10-round middleweight fight.
In round nine, Udofia dropped Harding with a hard counter right. Harding got to his feet, but the fight was stopped at 2:07.
Udofia, 156.5 lbs is now 16-0 with eight knockouts. Harding, 156.2 lbs is 8-2-1.
“It wasn’t a bad performance having been out of the ring for such a long time,” Udofia told Matchroom after his win. “It was coming up to a year since my last fight, so it was good to get active again, especially during these strange times we are going through. I feel really good. I thought the performance went well, I was listening to Terry. I got caught with a couple of silly shots and we will work on that when we get back in the gym.
“I did a good enough job and we started to see him fade during the later rounds. That’s what we expected and we took advantage of it. I feel like we did well, but there’s a few things to work on. From what I saw I thought he was up after the knockdown. He got up slowly. I’m not going to argue with the ref because safety comes first. The stoppage was coming anyway. I might be being critical of myself but I think we’ve got a lot of things to work on if we’re going to move on to British and European level.
“I don’t think I showed 100% of what I’m about. We’re going to enjoy a couple of days off and chill out. Then we’ll get back in the gym and we’ll work on things. We’ll see what the next steps are. Like I said, I feel like I’ve got more to offer. I think I need to display more. It’s not about the opponents it’s about the titles, so if I’m going up the levels there’s a few things we need to work on.”
Aleb Babic remained perfect with a 3rd round stoppage over Niall Kennedy in a scheduled eight-round heavyweight bout.
In round two, Babic dropped Kennedy with a left hook. In round three, it was another left hook that put Kennedy on the deck. Kennedy got up, but ate a flurry on the ropes and the fight was stopped at 34 seconds.
Babic, 199.4 lbs of Croatia is 5-0 with five knockouts. Kennedy, 219.8 lbs of Ireland is 13-3-1.
“He was badly shaken,” said Babic after his latest KO. “Even two minutes after the fight he was still badly shaken. He was down two times. It was a hard situation. I was savage, but I wasn’t 100% savage. I’m a little bit annoyed at myself. I’m angry at myself for that. I wanted to bring something new because I knew I could control Niall.
“I was much lighter than him but you saw how I controlled the ring. I wanted to show more stuff but he was too hittable. He was easy to hit so I just went with my guts, I blasted him out to force the stoppage. I beat Niall at maybe 60% of me. I wasn’t shook up once. It was a very easy fight.
“Critics? I love you. Critics made me. They made me better. I will make you into my army. I will keep winning, I’ll have 10 fights and 10 KOs. Tom Little is next for sure. He should fight me. He is a cool guy; he is a warrior. It’s going to be a very fan friendly fight. The fans want to see it so lets get in the ring with Tom Little. I do all of this for my fans. I get so much love from my fans. Every single one of them is a part of my success.”
John Hedges won a decision over John Arden in a super middleweight bout.
Hedges, 165.5 lbs won by a 39-37 scores and is 1-0. Ardon, 165 lbs is 2-5.
“I feel like I did enough to get the win,” Hedges said afterwards. “It wasn’t a good performance from me in my opinion. I know what my ability is, and I know it’s better than that. No excuses really. There’s a better performance in John Hedges. You’ll see it next time, I can promise that.
“I rate my chin for my age. I didn’t feel the shots and I didn’t feel fazed by them. It’s the first-time boxing without a headguard and the first-time boxing with 10oz gloves. Everything is new and it’s what I wanted. I only found out about this opponent on Sunday night, so we didn’t have much notice – to add to the nerves. We were practising for an orthodox and a southpaw came in at the last minute.
“No excuses from me – I’m a better level than them boys. I got the win today but I’ve got a lot more to show. I’ll never forget this experience for as long as I live. It has been the best five days of my life, and the win has just topped it off. Thanks to Eddie Hearn and Matchroom for giving me the opportunity.”
In a battle of undefeated super featherweights, Aqib Fiaz won a decision over Kane Baker.
Fiaz, 131.3 lbs won by a 77-75 scores and is now 6-0. Baker, 130.9 lbs is 13-1.
“I’d like to thank the team at Matchroom for getting me on this show and keeping the trust in me after the incident last time,” Fiaz told Matchroom afterwards. “I’d like to thank my team, Jamie Moore, Nigel Travis and my brother. I love them guys to bits, and without them none of this would be possible.
“I thought I dropped maybe two rounds. It was my first eight rounder, last time I only fought over four, so it was a big jump up. We practiced pacing the fight. I was happy with my performance. I need to watch it back to score it and stuff but I’m happy enough with it yeah.
“I was pretty comfortable, I’m not going to lie. I knew he was going to bring it. I know what he’s about. He’s an all-action fighter, and I can be an all-action fighter too, but tonight was about pacing myself through eight rounds and gaining valuable experience for when I’m in title fights. We get the win and we move on.”
