American Jose Zepeda beat Belarusian Ivan Baranchyk in an epic bout of eight knockdowns in Las Vegas.
Baranchyk, 27, put Zepeda on the canvas twice in the first round of the light welterweight fight and both scored a knockdown apiece in the second.
Zepeda floored his rival in the third and fourth rounds and, after he was put down in the fifth, he got up to knock out Baranchyk later in the same round.
“I feel great because I won the fight,” said Zepeda, 31.
“It was a hard fight, and I’m thinking: ‘Man, boxing is hard. It’s no easy game.’ Boxing, it’s tough, and you have to give it 100% because it’s a hard sport.
“Both of us are climbing up, and somebody had to stay. I was able to win the fight, and I told him: ‘Thanks for the fight. It was a great fight.’
“I know I’m tough [but] I didn’t know how tough I was. Tonight, I showed myself, too. I’ve never been in a fight like this – it was a great learning experience.”
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