Artur Beterbiev successfully defends his title a second time.
Looking to make his third consecutive title defense, IBF light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev came out looking to make it a quick night against Radivoje Kalajdzic.
In the opening couple of rounds, the champion came out using nothing but physical strength, moving forward and landing hard left hooks. To his credit Kalajdzic looked to box from the outside using his reach advantage. However, he had little to no success.
Rounds three and four were all Beterbiev. He punished Kalajdzic who, by this point, had abandoned his game plan. Electing to stand and slug it out left him being knocked, albeit the ropes holding him up.
The conclusion came early in round five after a big overhand right from the champion hurt Kalajdzic sending him reeling back into the ropes. This promoted the referee, who had seen enough, to bring a halt to the fight.
Beterbiev improves his record to 14-0, 14 KOs. This win now puts him into position for an unification bout later this year against either WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk or WBO champion Sergey Kovalev.
By: Jerrell Fletcher
