Moses Itauma (13-0, 11 KOs) destroyed journeyman Dillian Whyte (31-4, 21 KOs) by a first-round knockout in a sure slaughter in the heavyweight main event on Saturday night at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Itauma dropped Whyte with a right hook around the side of his head. The fight was waved off by the referee when a very old-looking Whyte staggered to his feet, looking like he was mentally gone. Whyte tried protesting the stoppage, but it was clear that the referee had done him a big favor. The time was at 1:59 or round one.
Nick Ball (23-0-1, 13 KOs) held onto his WBA featherweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Sam Goodman (20-1, 8 KOs) in a clash that appeared to be almost even at the end. Ball was cut over his left eye from some blistering combinations from Goodman in the twelfth round. The judges scored it 117-111, 118-110, and 115-113. Of the three, the latter was the more accurate one. Ball appeared to narrowly win. Goodman boxed Ball’s head off in many of the rounds, jabbing, landing beautiful left hooks to the body, and getting the better of him on the inside.
Hayato Tsutsumi (7-0, 5 KOs) massacred Qais Ashfaq (13-4-1, 5 KOs), stopping his hapless opponent in three rounds in a super featherweight contest. Tsutsumi dropped Ashfaq face-first on the canvas with a perfectly placed right hand. Moments later, the fight was stopped after Tsutsumi hammered the hurt Ashfaq with shots.
Filip Hrgovic (19-1, 14 KOs) looked like gold tonight, easily beating David Adeleye (14-2, 13 KOs) by a lopsided 10-round unanimous decision. The judges scored it 99-91, 99-90, and 99-90.
Hrgovic had too much talent for the heavy-handed Adeleye, hitting him nonstop with hard punches, and avoiding most of the wild return fire. In the only round that was competitive, Hrgovic flattened a badly hurt Adeleye with a right hand. Adeleye came back strong, unleashing a flurry of punches that had Hrgovic in trouble and holding on.
Hrgovic came back in the ninth round to stagger Adeleye with a left hook and hit him at will with everything he threw. In the 10th, Hrgovic hurt Adeleye with a perfectly placed left hook counter, causing him to stumble. The remainder of the round saw Hrgovic connecting with big shots on the depleted-looking Adeleye.
Raymond Ford (18-1, 8 KOs) won a questionable 10-round unanimous decision over his replacement opponent Abraham Nova (24-4-1, 17 KOs) in a super featherweight contest. Nova fought with a lot of energy, attacking the lighter, hitting Ford with nonstop shots, and getting the better of him in most of the rounds. The power and the pressure of Nova were impressive. Ford focused on holding nonstop as his main line of defense to neutralize Nova’s offense. The referee allowed it. The scores were 96-94, 97-93, and 97-93.
Mohammed Alakel (5-0, 1 KO) stopped Yumnam Santosh Singh (3-7, 1 KO) by first-round knockout in a lightweight bout scheduled for six rounds
DAZN PPV Fight Details:
Tonight’s event begins at 12:45 p.m. ET on DAZN PPV for $49.99 for U.S viewers and £19.99 for viewers in the UK.
