Joe Cordina v Hakim Ben Ali
Joe Cordina started the exciting undercard off against Hakim Ben Ali for the Lightweight title. Cordina produced a convincing performance. A strong left blow had the Belgian on the canvas within 40 seconds on the clock. Moreover, then again 40 seconds later! Ben Ali hit the floor on three different occasions, and that was enough for the referee to call time on the fight. Cordina secured the win in round three in good fashion, and he is now the WBA lightweight champion! Joe Cordina is a young prospect with an exciting future and one to watch.
Josh Kelly v Carlos Molina
Josh Kelly who has a very promising future in boxing, put on a fantastic performance to secure his first professional title. The 24-year-old went on to win comfortably on points by 98-92,98-92,99-91 with a solid performance. Kelly out boxed his opponent Carlos Molina. Molina caused no real threat for Kelly and overall, Josh Kelly has full control of the fight and will go onto bigger and better things after winning his first world title. Eddie Hearn rates Josh Kelly very highly and believes he will be a star very soon.
Ryan Burnett v Yonfez Parejo
Ryan Burnett successfully defended his WBA Super World Bantamweight title against Yonfez Parejo and demonstrated his talent by outpointing Yonfez Parejo in convincing fashion. The 25 year-old damaged his right hand early in the fight but still producing a great performance. Burnett went on to win the fight on points 120-108,120-180,116-112. He boxed very well and looked very sharp. The 26-year-old is a huge prospect and worth looking out for in the future.
Alexander Povetkin v David Price
This was a very intriguing fight with a lot of talk regarding the risk that came with it for David Price. The fight saw Alexander Povetkin put David Price down in the early stages of round three, who to his credit got straight back up & recovered well. As the fight progressed, Price gradually gained confidence and caught Povetkin out in round three with a clean left hand.
However, the Russian went on to produce a vicious knock out against Price with a right hook in the fifth round on Saturday night in Cardiff.
Povetkin remains the mandatory challenger to Anthony Joshua’s WBA heavyweight title after ruining the hopes of popular Liverpool man (Price) with the fifth round knock out.
It was not meant to be for Price who started the fight well and looked confident going into the fight. However, the 34-year-old did at one stage catch Povetkin out in round three with a clean left hand but unfortunately the bell saved Povetkin from any further attack from Price which allowing him time to recover.
The question now is where next for the Liverpool man.
Anthony Joshua v Joseph Parker
The main event of the evening, which had high expectations, but it is fair to say the fight was overwhelming and did not live up to expectations the fans had for the fight. The referee was terrible on the night, did not allow both fighters to ever get up close. The 29-year-old (Joshua) added the WBO crown to his heavyweight titles with a unanimous points decision victory over the New Zealander in their unification bout in Cardiff. This put Anthony Joshua a step closer to becoming undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. However, it was the first time Anthony Joshua went the distance in his professional career.
The fight of the evening
Overall, the event was very entertaining with some great fights on the card. The fight of the night in my opinion was Povetkin v Price and I feel most fans will agree. Both fighters got hit with some brutal punches and certainly lived up to expectation. It was an even contest throughout the fight until Povetkin caught Price with a with a devastating right hand. Povetkin capitalised on and closed the show with a follow-up.
It will be interesting to see who Polovkin fights next with Dillian Whyte calling him out moments after his victory and also, he is the mandatory challenger to Anthony Joshua for the IBF belt.
What were your thoughts on the fight, comment below!
