Da’Mazion Vanhouter KO1 Ivan Balaz... American heavyweight Da’Mazion Vanhouter continued his rise with a first-round demolition of former Czech heavyweight champion Ivan Balaz. Balaz, whose only career defeat came via fourth-round knockout to Johnny Fisher last December, came out looking to use his size to bully Vanhouter, but the 21-year old was in no mood to be pushed around. The American’s hand-speed advantage was there for all to see as he landed big, powerful shots on Balaz early while working behind a high guard to avoid being caught by one of the Czech’s clubbing counters. Vanhouter then switched targets from head to body and ripped a left to the liver that sent the six-foot-five Balaz down to one knee. The big Czech just about beat the count, but Vanhouter immediately pounced on him and sent him back to one knee after a heavy right to the body forced Balaz to fold up again. The referee delivered another eight-count, and with plenty of time left in the round, Vanhouter closed in, threw some big punches upstairs to bring Balaz’s elbows up, then buried another right to the body to put him down for a third and final time as the referee waved off the bout at the 2:04 mark. Now with his career standing at 14-0, with 11 knockouts, and 10 in the first round, Vanhouter is eyeing bigger opportunities. And with Dana White stating that he might find space for “Mazi” on the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua undercard in Cardiff, that opportunity could potentially come sooner, rather than later.
ADDITIONAL RESULTS
Undefeated Scottish middleweight Sam “Tricky” Hickey added another stoppage win to his record with a fifth-round finish of Belgium’s Amaury Massenaux. Faced with a mobile, scrappy opponent, Hickey bided his time and gauged his opponent’s timing and range through the first three rounds. Hickey found his mark in the fourth round with some solid counter shots and nasty shots to the body. Then, in the fifth, he had Massenaux in trouble early with some nasty shots to the midsection, though rather than administer a count when the Belgian took a knee, the referee instead gave Hickey a warning for pushing his opponent’s head down. Hickey made amends moments later as he landed more big shots that forced Massenaux to one knee once again. This time it counted as a legitimate knockdown as the Belgian received an eight-count. Hickey saw his moment and loaded up with heavy shots to the chin and body that sent Massenaux to one knee for the third time, and convinced the referee to step in and end the contest. Massenaux protested the swiftness of the stoppage, and he may have had a point, but at that point in the fight it was all Hickey, and a stoppage seemed inevitable. The stoppage gave Hickey his third straight win, and third finish, under the Zuffa Boxing banner as he improved his record to 7-0 with a mature, composed display.
England’s Kayla Allen continued her winning start to life in the pro ranks with a hard-earned decision victory over hard-hitting German Julia Igel in their six-round junior welterweight matchup. Both women loaded up and swung for the fences in a breathless opening round as they looked to impose their will on the other. In the end, it was Igel who had to take the first backward step of the fight, with Allen’s pace proving too hot to handle through the first round. In the final two rounds, Allen loaded up again and bloodied up Igel, whose face was starting to wear the damage of the English fighter’s relentless pressure. But Igel stayed in the pocket and continued to fire back with strong punches as she pushed Allen all the way to the final bell. After six rounds banked, and countless punches thrown, Allen got the nod from the scoring referee, whose scorecard read 58-56 to take her career record to 2-0. Igel’s output dropped significantly in round 2, but what she threw was heavy, and with intent to end the fight as she tried to ration her energy. It forced Allen to take some big shots, but she continued to pour forward, throwing punches in bunches, all the way to the bell. That pattern continued through the third round, but unsurprisingly, the pace dropped a little in the fourth, with Allen dropping her output and being more selective with her shots. It gave Igel the chance to up her own output, and it produced the closest round of the fight, which could have been scored either way after a closely contested two minutes.
In the main card opener, Lucas “Lights Out” Roehrig’s third straight stoppage victory improved his perfect professional record to 10-0, as he banked valuable rounds before putting away the durable Scottish cruiserweight champion Connal McDonald in the seventh. A protege of former super-middleweight world champion George Groves, Roehrig showed superior hand speed early as he settled into his work. But a couple of well-timed counters from McDonald served as a warning to the undefeated prospect not to get too confident, too early. Indeed, as the bout progressed through the first three rounds, McDonald proved to be a tricky proposition as he took the best of Roehrig’s shots without ever looking flustered, and came back with some decent shots of his own. With Roehrig holding the aces in terms of speed and conditioning, it meant the undefeated Englishman had to control his pace, power, and energy, and he did just that as he gradually worked over his opponent, then finished the job in the seventh round. with a relentless barrage of hooks forcing McDonald to his knees and convincing the referee to wave the fight off, rather than administer a count. It put the exclamation point on a valuable learning fight for Roehrig, who set his sights on bigger fights, with the 23-year-old name-checking former world champion Andrew Tabiti as someone he’d love to test himself against as he looks to make the next developmental leap in his promising career.
Undefeated light heavyweight Umar Dzambekov followed up his Knockout of the Year-worthy finish of Ahmed El Biali at Zuffa Boxing 3 with another highlight-reel finish as he stopped British veteran Zach Parker with a show-stopping body shot in the fourth round. Things didn’t start ideally for Dzambekov, who had to endure a tricky first three rounds as he was forced to deal with a host of body shots from Parker, who appeared to be targeting the Austrian’s midsection. But that all changed in the fourth round, when Dzambekov dipped his hips and connected with a crushing left hand to the body that folded up Parker and sent him to the canvas for the ten-count. The 28-year-old improved his perfect professional record to 15-0.
