WBO #10 heavyweight Ali Eren Demirezen (17-1, 12 KOs) scored a hard fought ten round unanimous decision over Adam Kownacki (20-3, 15 KOs) in the Garcia-Benavidez co-feature on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Kownacki overwhelmed Demirezen with non-stop punches the first two rounds. Demirezen started to turn the tables in round three and he scored the cleaner punches as the bout progressed. Kownacki got a brief second wind in round eight, but Demirezen did more in round nine. Both had their moments in round ten. Scores were 96-94, 97-93, 97-93. Three straight losses for the popular Kownacki.
Unbeaten super lightweight Gary Antuanne Russell (16-0, 16 KOs) scored a controversial sixth round TKO against two-division champion Rances Barthelemy (29-2-1, 15 KOs). Barthelemy gave Russell all he could handle for five rounds. After Russell dropped Barthelemy in round six, Barthelemy easily beat the count but referee Shada Murdaugh waved it off. Time was :50. The crowd booed and the Barthelemy side was livid.
37-year-old middleweight contender Sergiy Derevyanchenko (14-4, 10 KOs) pressured Joshua Conley (17-4-1, 11 KOs) for ten rounds and came away with a 99-91, 99-91, 98-92 unanimous decision.
20-year-old welterweight prospect Vito Mielnicki Jr. (12-1, 8 KOs) was victorious when his bout against Jimmy Williams (18-9-2, 6 KOs) was stopped in the sixth round due to a cut. Time was 2:12.
Unbeaten super middleweight Junior Younan (17-0-1, 11 KOs) blew out Dauren Yeleussinov (10-2, 9 KOs) in the first round.
Awful! Shame on the ref!!! This is what ruins the sport.
That referee of Russell vs Barthelemy needs to be investigated. I can’t recall a worse stoppage.
Looked suspicious like Russell was supposed to win and it was looking like it possibly wasn’t going to happen.
i agree a rematch is in order barthelemy was robbed of finishing the fight referee should not ever be allowed to referee a match again
Unreal. I liked Barthelemy’s chances. I guess the ref did too…
This so-called referee should be disqualified
Barthelemy was clearly hurt, but he deserved a chance to keep fighting as a boxing veteran..
Unfortunately, Barthelemy veered to the left when the referee told him to walk directly towards him. When the referee was able to guide Barthelemy directly in front of him, the referee asked him something, but it appears the referee believed Barthelemy’s response (head nod only) was not sufficient – I wonder if there was a communication issue when the referee asked Barthemely something?. Nonetheless, I believe the referee performed a bad stoppage.
Anyhow, GAR has problems with with a fighter in the southpaw stance because he looked uncomfortable trying to figure out offensive and defensive approaches. I still have concerns about GAR, especially defensively. GAR better hope he does not deal with too many “lefties” at 140. GAR has more gym work to do.
I’m enjoying this heavyweight fight. Not sure the Turk can get a decision in NY, though.
You think that’s a good fight?
The heavyweights were entertaining. Altogether they threw over 1,700 punches!
I’m trying to understand your logic, You don’t think a fighter from Turkey can get a decision against a Polish fighter in New York? How so?
Because Kownacki is from NYC. Kownacki been popular in NYC during his Golden Gloves run. Kownacki was the hometown fighter. That is the reason for the statement about Demirizen possibly not getting the decision I believe.
Wait, how did you comment before the post was posted? I don’t know of you did it on purpose, but that was funny. Had a great laugh, thanks.
Konacki is done. It looks like Helenius damaged him in those two fights. He’s not the same.
Kownacki’s offense was busy in the first of the fight. However, he still remains flat-footed, arm punches with minimal commitment, and does not move his head enough to defend himself. In my opinion, those ingredients add up to shorter career since he is hittable. Yes, Helenius did do throw bombs on Kownacki and really put some damage on him. I do admire Kownacki’s attitude as a fighter. He always seems positive and keeps pushing on.
Kownacki was never good to begin with. A high volume puncher with weak defense.
Thanks Clyzer, the truth finally.. Kownacki was never going anywhere to begin with. An out of shape punch catcher with heart.. wonder how they turn out? The blood and guts crowd loves sloppy B and C guys like Kownacki.
Demirezen’s a pretty tough guy, in general, and definitely a tough one to fight coming off of two losses.
Is Kownacki’s wife pushing him to fight? She’s going to get him killed, he’s already destined for some kind of permanent damage.
If you were to combine the two Polish heavyweights,
I really like the Benevidez bros!
Combine together Andrew Golata (skills) & Adam Kownacki (heart & determination), you’d have a world champion!
Love the comment. Very creative and yes, very true.
Benevidez needs to throw more than one punch at a time and use his height and reach. He also needs to stop saying “whooo!” And shaking his head “no” and get busy.
It’s crazy that this Benavidez was considered “the prodigy”!
Let’s talk about mental health for 20 minutes with Jim gray.. gtfoh
Bad stoppage. If a fight is competitive does it warrant the stoppage? Even if you thought he was really hurt give him an opportunity to turn it around. Then stop the fight. Total BS home fighter stoppage. Gives boxing a bad look. NY always pulling the plug because scared of lawsuits. Total joke.
But this is what makes this such a horrible stoppage. Rances didn’t appear to be particularly hurt. He got hit with a nice shot, but got right back up, he wasn’t wobbly at all, and looked clear-headed.
The other suspect thing about the stoppage was the quickness with which he stopped it, like it was obvious that he couldn’t continue.
Kownacki looks done.
he is done should think about another occupation
Two 2 guy’s will not make it to fight a top 10 contender they are good for bout opening or for a fighter like butterbean
He never did come to the the ref as instructed; the the ref had to grab him
Three losses in a row now for the Pole who looked absolutely awful last night. Looked like an average club fighter. I’d be surprised if he even bothered to continue his career after this, Helenius damaged him for good.
That stoppage was blatant. Barthelemy was hurt when he got dropped, but was well enough to continue. It was so pathetic, I couldn’t help but laugh in disgust. Murdaugh had a look on his face like “did I just do that? I’m just going to look straight ahead and pretend everything is ok.” He followed his script as instructed.
Russell and Barthelemy went at it for 5 rounds with Russell up 3-2. In the sixth round he drops Barthelemy who was up at 3. Referee looks into his eyes and waves it off. Premature stoppage and the fans went wild due to the stoppage.
Prior to the stoppage, I thought Russell was losing the fight. I only gave Russell 1 round.
With that said, I agree with the stoppage. I paid VERY close attention to Rances Barthelemy. He was KTFO, and if the ref allowed this fight to continue, Rances, a super cool guy, would have been killed.
Gary A. Russell has tremendous potential. He does not need a death on his record or his conscience. The result was FULLY justified. I applaud Shada Murdaugh for doing an A+ JOB.
Now I am sure many of you low life no talent Karens are going to say I don’t know shit about boxing. Newsflash, I don’t. It is your pedestrian punk ass that does not.
I know plenty about boxing, Karens. So if you say I don’t, you don’t know shit about me.
Speaketh … Le Karen James
Because Lebron James is a KAREN.
Let’s be honest. Both Demirezen & Kownacki royally suck. I have seen better performances by guys with 0-3 records. Neither has a future in this business. These 2 clowns might be seen working security at some strip club in Manhattan.
I hope Rances Barthelemy gets a quick rematch. Dude was doing some good things in there.
Kownacki takes too much punishment in an unforgiving sport. Without real power he needs defense which he doesn’t have., He will continue to take punishment in every competitive fight he is in until he can no longer fight competitively.