LONDON – The cruiserweight prospect Lucas Roehrig, with former world super-middleweight champion George Groves in his corner, stormed to a third-round win over the outgunned Serbian Miloslav Savic at London’s Wembley Arena.
Roehrig looked poised and assured, firing out a pistol jab with force and menace early on. His left hand dictated the round, but Roehrig also landed a counter left hook near the bell that registered. There was an increasingly weary look to Savic in the second, when Roehrig’s strength and power started to take a toll.
Savic was down early in the third and the doctor examined him and looked into his eyes and ears. There was blood by the Serbian’s left ear and his corner climbed the steps to stop it but the fight continued. He was down twice more, both times from right hands as Roehrig moved in to close the show. When Savic went down a third time, it was waved off after 1:05 of the third.
Roehrig, who is also managed by Groves, is now 2-0 (2 KOs). Savic is now 9-9-1 (7 KOs).
On paper it looked like North London’s Jeamie “TKV” Tshikeva, 7-1 (4 KOs) and Michael Webster, 10-2 (6 KOs), Middlesbrough, could be set for 10 slow rounds and that is what they nearly delivered. Instead, due to the cumulative damage Webster had absorbed, particularly later on, his corner pulled him out after nine rounds.
The fleshy heavyweights were in a maul of no real highlights that had the disinterested crowd jeering the clinches and scrolling their devices by the third.
Webster complained of “TKV” coming in to their clinches behind a shoulder, which it looked like he was saying to the referee was responsible for the blood that had started to flow from his nose.
Webster caught “TKV” falling in behind shots in the fourth, and so starved for action were the fans that they rapturously cheered.
It was not one for the purists. Both were feeling the pace in the second half and both looked unhappy that various infractions, from being hit on the break to being hit behind the head, were ignored. But it was a tough watch.
Boxxer had left cans of a new energy drink at the desks for the media, and they were needed to get through this one – and by the seventh, with Webster’s face marking up, “TKV” started to take over. Webster was forced to hold more and he regularly appealed to the referee for support in the clinches, but received none, although “TKV” did pick up a warning for a right that landed on the back of Webster’s head.
As ugly as it was, it was hard. Sweat poured from both. They had swelling around their faces and Webter’s features were increasingly red and lumpy. This is not an easy living to make. Nobody said it was. Not every fight can be Ward-Gatti I, II or III. This certainly wasn’t. But these two gave what they had.
It was stopped after the ninth, Webster’s corner had seen enough and “TKV” admitted that through much of the fight he had smothered his work.
Garan Croft, one of the well-regarded twins from Wales and with his brother Ioan watching on, started working his left to the body from the first bell and soon bulled Dmittri Protkunas into the corner where he started raking him with right hands. That was just in the first session.
The pattern followed from there on, with Croft looking technically sound, skilful and talented, and boxing well within himself to win every round to secure a 40-36 decision.
Croft is 2-0 (1 KO); Estonia’s Protkunas 8-17-1
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