One of the hottest prospects in boxing, light welterweight phenom Levan ‘The Wolf’ Ghvamichava, tore apart former European and Italian champion Giuseppe “The End” Lauri (52-9, 31 KOs) en route to a second-round victory by technical knockout last Friday night in front of an excited, packed crowd at Wishaw, Scotland.
“The Wolf,” who is already rated No. 66 by Box Rec after only six pro fights, dropped Lauri three times before the referee jumped between them in the second round to rescue the courageous Italian in the biggest upset loss of his 61-fight pro career.
It took former world champion Ricky Hatton five rounds, and ex-European titlist Paul McCloskey 11, to stop the rugged Hungary native Lauri who lives in Italy.
“He has devastating punching power in both hands and has the best reflexes and speed I have ever seen,” Lauri said after his fight against Levan.
Initially floored by a straight right, left hook combination in the opening round, Lauri managed to beat the count, rising at nine, only to be dropped once more in round one. “The Wolf” calmly stalked his prey before finishing his attack in the second round
Lauri was visibly shaken and surprised by the power of Ghvamichava, the spectacular Georgian power puncher who now lives in Belfast, Ireland, where he’s trained by the masterful father-and-son duo of Paul and Sean McCullagh.
“It has been almost impossible to match Levan because the word is already out that he is a multi-talented fighter with devastating punching power,” Ghvamichava’s manager, Irishman Gary Hyde, noted. “It will even be harder now but we don’t need to build-up this kid fighting journeymen. He is ready to fight anyone in the world at 140 pounds. Once he gets a little more professional experience, he will be challenging current European champion Denis Shafikov, from Russia, who needed eight rounds to stop Lauri.
“I am delighted with Levan’s explosive performance against a good experienced opponent such as Lauri, especially considering ‘The Wolf,’ who is 26 years old, only made his pro debut this past January. Few, if any, fighters with six fights are rated higher than Levan.”
American boxing fans will soon have an opportunity to watch Ghvamichava in action. His U. S. sports visa has been approved and plans call for him to make his American debut before the end of this year.
