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Stevie McKenna stopped Joe Laws in the third round at Barnsley's Oakwell Stadium last night. Alamy Stock Photo

Monaghan's Stevie McKenna gets off the canvas to win three-round 'Fight of the Year contender'

In Los Angeles, undefeated Terence Crawford beat Israil Madrimov to win the WBA’s super-welterweight title.

MONAGHAN’S STEVIE MCKENNA stretched his unbeaten professional record to 15-0 and won the WBC’s International Silver welterweight title in a three-round classic against Joe Laws in Barnsley on Saturday evening.

McKenna had his English opponent on the canvas early in the first but then found the tables turned as Laws sent him sprawling with a big left hook.

With that frenetic early pace unrelenting, McKenna recovered and asserted himself in the third where he knocked Laws down three times before the Newcastle man’s corner threw in the towel.

Sky Sports Boxing / YouTube

Meanwhile in Los Angeles, undefeated Terence Crawford made a triumphant super-welterweight debut on Saturday, dethroning previously unbeaten Israil Madrimov to capture a 154-pound world boxing title by unanimous decision.

Crawford, an undisputed champion at welterweight and light-welterweight, took the World Boxing Association crown on judges’ scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113.

The 36-year-old US southpaw, who has also been a lightweight world champion, improved to 41-0 while Madrimov, 29, fell to 10-1-1.

But Crawford’s streak of 11 consecutive stoppage wins over the past eight years was snapped, Madrimov taking him the distance for the first time since Ukraine’s Viktor Postol in 2016.

“Israil was a tough competitor,” Crawford said. “He’s real strong. He’s durable. He took a lot of good shots. He got me to round 12.”

Crawford’s jump from 147 to 154 pounds had included talk of trying to rise to super middleweight (168) and challenge Canelo Alvarez, but Madrimov came within a round of delivering Crawford’s first defeat.

Crawford called an Alvarez fight “another milestone to greatness” and added, “If the money is right, we’ve got to fight.”

Madrimov, through a translator, said he felt he did enough to win and sought a rematch.

“I fought the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and I felt I did enough because I am the champion, I was controlling the rhythm, I felt very comfortable,” Madrimov said.

“I did very well. At least I deserve a rematch.”

– Additional reporting © AFP 2024 

Author
Niall Kelly
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