Bektemir Melikuziev and Pierre Hubert Dibombe both suffered horror cuts in their showdown.
The pair met in a super-middleweight clash on the undercard of Devin Haney’s showdown with Ryan Garcia at the Barclays Center in New York.
But it was Melikuziev who was stopped from fighting on after a nasty clash of heads opened up a severe gash above his left eye.
The doctors ended the bout as the eighth round commenced, and the decision came down to the judges scorecards’ which read 79-73, 79-73 and 78-74 to the crowned winner Melikuziev.
Dibombe got in a dog-fight with his rival ‘The Bully’ in the early rounds, and suffered a nasty cut on his right eye from a clash of heads.
The pair’s heads collided on multiple occasions, and ‘The Bully’ was next to have a cut open narrowly above his left eye.
It was a nasty gash which required a doctor’s check in the fifth round as officials contemplated stopping the fight.
He was allowed to continue and pushed forward for a stoppage immediately, as he appeared to be on borrowed time with blood pouring from his head.
Dibombe was on shaky legs, and was hurt by powerful shots to both the body and head, but stayed in the contest with Melikuziev clearly in the ascendancy.
The doctor elected to check the cut again at the beginning of the eighth and stopped the fight, which went to the judges scorecards’ after the accidental head clash.
And they read in Uzbek favourite Melikuziev’s favour, with the French underdog perhaps unfortunate to have not had his chance at closing the show.
The contest was scored over the eight rounds, and ‘Bek’ was able to progress in a fight which he dominated for large periods.
Melikuziev was looking to get back on track at world level, in a division with the titles all held by pound-for-pound superstar Canelo Alvarez.
He will be eyeing a future shot at world honours, but will need to look more convincing if he is to catch the eye of the Mexican superstar.
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News Summary:
- Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia undercard fight stopped early as both fighters suffer horror cuts
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