Joe Joyce knocked out Joseph Parker at 1:03 of the 11th round of a scheduled 12-round heavyweight fight to become the mandatory challenger for Oleksandr Usyk’s WBO title.
Joyce ended the fight with a perfect left hook to the chin of the former champion, who went down on his backside and was hurt badly.
The Kiwi was able to get to his feet before the count of 10 but he was too wobbly to continue, which prompted referee Steve Gray to stop the fight.
Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs) stalked and outworked Parker (30-3, 21 KOs) until the stoppage, which gave him a lead on all three cards through 10 rounds.
A full report will follow shortly.
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Amanda Serrano defeated Sarah Mahfoud by a unanimous decision to unify three of the four major 126-pound titles in a 10-round bout.
The official scores were 99-92, 97-93 and 97-93. Boxing Junkie also scored it 97-93, seven rounds to three.
Serrano (43-2-1, 30 KOs) stalked Mahfound (11-1, 3 KOs) from the opening bell, outboxing and outworking her Danish opponent.
Mahfoud was never hurt and had some good moments — particularly late in the fight, when Serrano might’ve grown tired — but she didn’t have the punching power to keep Serrano off of her most of the fight.
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Heavyweight contenders Joe Joyce and Joseph Parker will meet to determine the mandatory challenger for Oleksandr Usyk’s WBO title Saturday at AO Arena in Manchester, England (ESPN+).
Joyce (14-0, 13 KOs) will be facing the toughest test of his career as he pursues an opportunity to fight for a world championship. Parker (30-2, 21 KOs) is a former titleholder determined to wrap another belt around his waist.
Also on the card, Amanda Serrano (42-2-1, 30 KOs) will defend her featherweight belts against Sarah Mahfoud (11-0, 3 KOs).
The card will begin at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (7 p.m. BST). The main event will take place later in the show.
Boxing Junkie will post results of the featured bouts on the card immediately after they end. Simply return to this post when the time comes.
Full coverage – a fight story, photo gallery and analysis – will follow on separate posts the night of the fight and the following day.
Enjoy the fights!
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