Florian Marku Claims Stoppage Win Over Chris Jenkins
In his most recent tour of duty, IBF International welterweight champion Florian “Albanian King” Marku (11-0-1, 7 KO’s) snatched up his latest victory. The former MMA and kickboxer pulled this off by stopping his foe, Chris “Rok’n’Rolla” Jenkins (23-5-3, 8 KO’s) in the fourth round of their scrummage. The win stood as the second defense of his secondary title that he usurped from the then undefeated Maxim Prodan back on September 25, 2021.
Unfortunately for him, this will now slam Jenkins back into the loss column as he was only one fight removed from his July 24, 2021 knockout defeat from Ekow Essuman. Rok’n’Rolla is now 1-2-1 in his last four matches. There is no question that he and his team will have to sit back down to the drawing board and have some tough conversations. As for Marku, he is now free to try to fight for a full world title. Yet, after the match, the only name that the Albanian King called out was Amir Khan.
SHORT NIGHT IN THE OFFICE
While neither fighter was reckless in their attack, both men started the match at a rather brisk pace. Each looked to work from behind their jabs but it was Jenkins who shined a bit brighter over the first couple of rounds due to his solid body work and compact combination punching. During the third round the champion suffered a cut over the left eye, due to headbutt, that both bothered him and emboldened Jenkins. Seeing that his opponent was distracted, Rok’n’Rolla put his foot on the gas and attempted to apply a great deal more pressure. The added aggression would come back to bite him though.
Despite the getting off to a slower start than Jenkins, the Albanian King turned things around in a hurry during the fourth. Here Marku nailed Rok’n’Rolla with a right hook temple shot that seriously hurt him. To his credit, Jenkins did not go down but his legs turned to jelly and Jenkins began stumbling around the ring. While trying to retreat, Jenkins more or less lost his balance and drunkenly swayed backwards into the ropes. Seeing how considerably impaired he was, referee Steve Grey called a halt to the action.
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By: Bakari Simpson
