WBC Boxing Grand Prix Third Stage Fights: Heavyweight
Devon Young (USA) 9-1 (7 KOs) vs. Keaton Gomez (South Africa) 13-3 (11 KOs)
Judges: Glen Dawson, Guillermo Moreno, Marcin Pawlak. Referee: Bela Florian.
Keaton Gomez didn’t disappoint and started the quarterfinal round with a first-round TKO.
From the moment the fight began, the South African started throwing powerful punches to the American’s face that landed clean. After one minute of fighting, Young fell to the canvas, only to get back up and receive more punishment. Florian stopped the fight after a powerful right hook.
Piotr Lacz (Poland) 14-1-0 (10 KOs) vs. Kevin Ramirez (Argentina) 11-0-1 (4 KOs)
Judges: Glen Dawson, Alan Krebs, Jon Llona. Referee: Laurence Cole.
In a very close decision, the judges declared the Argentine, Kevin Ramirez, the winner via “enhanced scoring system” after a very tight fight that was tied until the fourth round. It was a very competitive fight from the first round. The Pole, Lacz, was constantly moving forward, trying to punish Kevin, but although his punches looked more powerful in the first round, as the fight progressed, Ramirez evened the score cards with good combinations and accurate shots. Both closed the last round in a great way, leaving everything in the hands of the judges.
Ahmed Krnjic (Bosnia) 6-0 (4 KOs) vs. Tsonte Rogava (Ukraine) 12-1 (8 KOs)
Judges: Guillermo Moreno, Alan Krebs, Marcin Pawlak. Referee: Nobuto Ikahara.
In a close fight where both left their hearts in the ring, Ahmed Krnjic won the fight by majority decision. The fight started cautiously on both sides, but as the first rounds progressed, both fighters began to loosen up. The Bosnian sought to control the ring with good punches and by cornering his opponent, but Rogava counter-attacked well. As fatigue set in, the Ukrainian slowed down a bit and Krnjic took advantage to close out the final rounds better.
Dante Stone (USA) 21-1-0 (13 KOs) vs. Youness Baalla (Morocco) 2-2-1 (2 KOs)
Judges: Glen Dawson, Marcin Pawalak, Jon Llona. Referee: Bela Florian.
Dante Stone took the victory by unanimous decision against Youness Baalla and with that, he secured his ticket to the semifinals. It was a very close fight in which the American, Dante Stone, showed better defense against the Moroccan, Youness Baalla. In the first rounds, Stone was effective with his fists, and although Baalla kept moving forward, he had a hard time finding his opponent, as the American simply seemed to vanish.