Krasniqi scored a significant upset by stopping Dominic Boesel in the third round to win an “interim” title Saturday in Magdeburg, Germany.
Light heavyweight Robin Krasniqi turned his career around Saturday night.
Krasniqi, a 33-year-old who had fallen short in almost all of his biggest fights, scored a significant upset by stopping Dominic Boesel in the third round to win an “interim” title in Magdeburg, Germany.
Krasniqi (51-6, 19 KOs) put Boesel (30-2, 12 KOs) down with a big right hand in the final round. It was strangely ruled a slip by referee Oliver Brien but Boesel was clearly hurt.
Moments after Boesel was able to get to his feet he took an even bigger right hand directly to the chin, which knocked him flat on his back.
Brien stopped the fight without counting because it was clear Boesel couldn’t continue. The official time was 2:25.
Boesel entered the fight as the WBA’s No. 1-ranked contender, behind titleholder Dmitry Bivol and secondary titleholder Jean Pascal. Presumably, Krasniqi will now climb into the rankings.
Dominic Boesel (left) couldn’t recover from the huge right hand he took from Robin Krasniqi. Martin Rose / Getty Images
Krasniqi, a Munich-based native of Kosovo, lost a near-shutout decision to Nathan Cleverly in his own world title challenge in 2013.
Boesel had won six consecutive fights since he was stopped in 11 rounds by Karo Murat in 2017.
Krasniqi scored a significant upset by stopping Dominic Boesel in the third round to win an “interim” title Saturday in Magdeburg, Germany.
Light heavyweight Robin Krasniqi turned his career around Saturday night.
Krasniqi, a 33-year-old who had fallen short in almost all of his biggest fights, scored a significant upset by stopping Dominic Boesel in the third round to win an “interim” title in Magdeburg, Germany.
Krasniqi (51-6, 19 KOs) put Boesel (30-2, 12 KOs) down with a big right hand in the final round. It was strangely ruled a slip by referee Oliver Brien but Boesel was clearly hurt.
Moments after Boesel was able to get to his feet he took an even bigger right hand directly to the chin, which knocked him flat on his back.
Brien stopped the fight without counting because it was clear Boesel couldn’t continue. The official time was 2:25.
Boesel entered the fight as the WBA’s No. 1-ranked contender, behind titleholder Dmitry Bivol and secondary titleholder Jean Pascal. Presumably, Krasniqi will now climb into the rankings.
Dominic Boesel (left) couldn’t recover from the huge right hand he took from Robin Krasniqi. Martin Rose / Getty Images
Krasniqi, a Munich-based native of Kosovo, lost a near-shutout decision to Nathan Cleverly in his own world title challenge in 2013.
Boesel had won six consecutive fights since he was stopped in 11 rounds by Karo Murat in 2017.
Badou Jack is scheduled to face veteran Jean Pascal on the Gervonta Davis-Yuriorkis Gamboa card Dec. 28, his first fight in almost a year.
Consider the last seven opponents that former super middleweight champ Badou Jack has faced: Anthony Dirrell, George Groves, Lucian Bute, James DeGale, Nathan Cleverly, Adonis Stevenson and Marcus Browne.
Who faces a gauntlet like that in this day and age? Precious few.
Indeed, if any fighter deserves an easy opponent, it’s Jack. So who will the 36-year-old Swede fight on the Gervonta Davis-Yuriorkis Gamboa card Dec. 28 in Atlanta on Showtime? Jean Pascal, another tough veteran coming off an upset victory over Browne in August.
It never ends.
“I’m getting older,” Jack said on The PBC Podcast. “I might deserve a tune-up fight. When I fight better opposition, I step up my game more, I fight better. My first loss … I fought a journeyman (Derek Edwards). I wasn’t really 100 percent. And that’s when accidents happen. … I fight my best when I fight top guys.”
Jack (22-2-3, 13 KOs) fought a top guy last January, Browne, who won a wide decision at least in part because of a gruesome cut in the middle of Jack’s forehead – the result of an accidental head butt in the seventh round – that bled profusely.
Badou Jack is hard at work preparing for his fight against Jean Pascal on Dec. 28 in Atlanta on Showtime. Sean Michael Ham / Mayweather Promotions
Jack fought hard the remainder of the fight but, having fallen behind in the early rounds, he couldn’t make up the lost ground.
“I should’ve won that fight,” Jack said. “… He’s a front runner. He always looks good in the beginning. He’s fast, athletic. I break you down. Usually I’m better in the later rounds. He won some of the early rounds. I won maybe one round or two before the cut. And then I got the cut. I couldn’t even see for six, seven rounds. He still couldn’t do nothing.
“It’s in the past, a learning experience. I shouldn’t have lost that fight, though. It is what it is.”
Of course, Jack went into the fight with the reputation of being a tough guy – remember that gauntlet – but he enhanced his image with his determination to persevere through one of the worst gashes in recent memory.
“It’s crazy, people giving me … more credit for that fight than any of my good wins,” he said. “And that was my worst fight in my pro career. Just because I showed heart and kept fighting with that cut.
“That’s something you can’t teach. You’re either a fighter, you’re either born with it or not.”
Jack, returning from a bad cut, will have been out of the ring for almost a year when he takes on Pascal. Sean Michael Ham / Mayweather Promotions
Jack certainly remains a fighter, even in his mid-30s. He said he doesn’t feel a sense of urgency in spite of his age. The cut has healed well, he said. In fact, doctors cleared him to fight a few months after the Browne fight.
And he said he feels as if he’s back on track after the setback. He’s confident going into the fight with Pascal (34-6-1, 20 KOs).
“I don’t feel no pressure,” he said. “… I still feel young. Even though (Jean Pascal) is only a year older than me, he’s been a pro longer than me. I have only 10 year in the pro game and 26, 27 fights, whatever I’ve got. I don’t feel no pressure. But I definitely need to win this fight, of course.”
Jack has begun to think about the legacy he will leave. He held a major 168-pound title from 2015 to 2017 and won what the WBA calls its “regular” 175-pound title in 2017. Boxing Junkie doesn’t recognize that belt.
“I want to define my legacy,” Jack said. “I feel good. I feel good in the gym. I felt like s—t in my last fight because of some mistakes that happened in camp and this thing with (Adonis) Stevenson happened right before I started camp. I don’t want to make excuses.
“Right now, I feel great in the gym. As far as running, rounds, letting my hands go … I’m doing great numbers. On fight night we’ll see what happens. I’d love to become a three-division world champion.”
