Travis Kauffman (32-2, 23 KOs) took home a majority decision victory over Scott Alexander (14-3, 8 KOs) in a 10-round heavyweight matchup Sunday night on Premier Boxing Champions on FS1 and FOX Deportes from Pioneer Event Center in Lancaster, California.
In a wild first round, it was Kauffman who struck first, landing an overhand right while Alexander was pinned against the ropes that sent his opponent to the canvas in the final minute of the round. As Kauffman sought the finishing blow, Alexander landed a perfect counter left hook in the final seconds of the round that sent Kauffman sprawled out on the canvas before he narrowly beat the count and returned to his corner to continue the fight.
After the first round, Kauffman and Alexander exchanged combinations across the remainder of the fight, with both men switching often and effectively to counter and land on each other. Alexander’s speed and athleticism helped him control portions of the fight while Kauffman continued to press forward for 10 rounds attacking the body and looking to fight on the inside.
In the end, Kauffman narrowly took home the majority decision by scores of 95-95 and 96-94 twice.
Additional heavyweight action saw former title challenger Gerald Washington (19-2-1, 12 KOs) out box Wes Nofire (20-2, 6 KOs) on his way to a unanimous decision victory in their 10-round battle of towering heavyweights.
Washington rode a strong jab and straight right hands to keep Nofire at bay in a fight that saw the two men regularly tie up on the inside while trying to initiate their offense. The action inside eventually resulted in Nofire being deducted a point by the referee in the seventh round for excessive holding.
The persistent jab from Washington broke Nofire’s nose in the middle rounds and aided in wearing Nofire down on the way to a unanimous by scores of 98-91 and 97-92 twice for Washington.
In the opening bout of the telecast, once-beaten Michael Hunter (14-1, 9 KOs) walked down and eventually stopped Iago Kiladze (26-3, 18 KOs) in the fifth round of their heavyweight showdown.
Hunter worked off his jab and had big moments in the second and fourth rounds, stunning Kiladze with power punches with both hands. In the fifth round, Hunter connected with a straight right hand midway through the round that put Kiladze on the canvas.
Kiladze rose to his feet, but Hunter stayed composed and waited for his moment to strike late in the round, landing a crushing straight right hand that put Kiladze out on his feet and forced the referee to halt the bout at 2:52 of the fifth round.
