Joe Ward W10 Artjom Kasparian... On the Zuffa boxing show in Dublin, Joe Ward (13-1, 8 KOs) rallied from a difficult start to earn a unanimous decision over Artjom Kasparian in their ten-round light heavyweight bout. The judges scored the fight 97-93 (twice) and 96-94. Returning after 659 days out of the ring, Ward fell behind early as Kasparian controlled the distance and timing during the opening rounds. Ward began to find success as the fight progressed, landing a straight left followed by a left uppercut in the sixth round. Kasparian went to the canvas late in the round, but the referee ruled that he had been pushed. Ward continued to come on in the second half of the fight and pressured Kasparian in the eighth, when Kasparian went through the ropes without a knockdown being called. Ward got the better of the exchanges down the stretch before earning the decision.
Connor Coyle W10 Mark Beuke... At middleweight, Connor Coyle (23-0, 10 KOs) earned a unanimous decision over Mark Beuke (13-4, 7 KOs) in a ten-round bout. The judges scored the fight 98-93, 98-92 and 97-93. Coyle had the better of the opening rounds before Beuke increased his pressure in the third. The fighters contested a series of close rounds, with Coyle's cleaner punches ultimately earning him the decision.
Louis Greene W6 Daniel Buciuc... Louis Greene (19-4, 12 KOs) earned a six-round decision over Daniel Buciuc (16-3, 6 KOs) in a middleweight bout. The referee scored the fight 59-55. Buciuc worked effectively behind his jab in the opening round before Greene began applying pressure. Greene increasingly attacked the body and appeared to hurt Buciuc with a body shot followed by a hook to the head in the fourth round. Greene continued pressing for a stoppage, but Buciuc made it to the final bell.
ADDITIONAL RESULTS
Sam Hickey (6-0, 3 KOs) knocked out Brad Axe with a right hand 27 seconds into the seventh round. Axe had success during the opening two rounds before Hickey began finding his range in the third. A five-punch combination that included four right hands dropped Axe at the end of the round. Hickey increasingly took control and nearly stopped Axe with a barrage at the end of the sixth. In the seventh round, Hickey landed a straight right that knocked Axe unconscious. Hickey immediately motioned for the crowd to stop celebrating while medical personnel attended to Axe and then checked on his opponent after Axe regained consciousness.
At middleweight, Stevie McKenna stopped Owen O'Neill 1:05 into the first round.vMcKenna attacked from the opening bell and hurt O'Neill with a pair of left hooks. He then landed a right hand that sent O'Neill to the canvas. O'Neill's corner instructed the referee to stop the contest. The victory was McKenna's second consecutive Zuffa Boxing stoppage in 65 seconds or less.
Patrick O'Connor (4-0, 4 KOs) stopped Juan Manuel Moriel at the end of the first round of their cruiserweight bout. O'Connor attacked the head and body throughout the opening round, with a body shot visibly troubling Moriel. O'Connor continued landing through the remainder of the round, and Moriel did not come out of his corner for the start of round two.
