By Barry Holbrook: David Avanesyan put on an impressive display of punching power in retaining his EBU welterweight title with a second round knockout victory over challenger Liam Taylor at The SSE Arena, Wembley, England.
Avanesyan (28-3-1, 16 KOs) knocked Taylor down in the first round, and in the second, he hurt him with a booming left hook to the head that made it necessary for the referee Mark Lyson to stop the fight with Liam still on his feet.
Some boxing fans complained about the quick stoppage, but Taylor (23-2-1, 11 KOs) looked hurt, and Avanesyan would have dropped him hard if the referee hadn’t acted.
Avanesyan put everything he had in that left hook, and it momentarily stunned Taylor. Immediately after, Taylor fell up against the ropes and instinctively covered up.
The referee Lyson decided that he didn’t like how Taylor was looking at that moment after eating that left hook, and he opted to end the contest rather than letting it play out to the bitter end.
In the first round, Avanesyan stalked Taylor, 30, around the ring and knocked him down with a right hand to the side of the head. The shot didn’t hurt Taylor. It was more of a case of Avanesyan hitting him with a punch that he wasn’t ready to take.
Taylor was slightly crouched over as if he was expecting to be hit by a left hook to the body from Avanesyan because he’d been landing those shots repeatedly during the round. Instead, Avanesyan surprised Taylor with a chopping right to the jaw that sent him over.
In the second round, it was a pure firefight with both fighters exchanging hard leather. Taylor wasn’t trying to get away from Avanesyan because he might have understood that his chances of outboxing the Russian fighter were slim.
With the way Avanesyan was staying on top of Taylor with his unrelenting pressure, he wasn’t going to get away for long.
It was three minutes of pure action and one of the most exciting rounds that this writer has seen in a long time. Taylor was trying to get Avanesyan’s respect by staying in the pocket to keep him off.
Avanesyan was coming forward like a machine, throwing murderous power shots with both hands and missing up his punches to keep Taylor guessing.
Liam knew what he was getting himself into by choosing to trade at close range with Avanesyan, but he was betting that he would get the better of him. Avanesyan had been outgunned before by Lamont Peterson and Egidijus Kavaliauskas.
Avanesyan was landing on the body and head of Taylor with shots that would knock out anybody at 147, including the top dogs Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford.
The win for Avanesyan was his fifth consecutive since losing to Kavaliauskas by a sixth round TKO in 2018. Avanesyan came into tonight’s fight riding on the crest of his impressive sixth round knockout win over Josh Kelly last February.
It would be good for Avanesyan to bin his European Boxing Union welterweight title and go after a title eliminator at the world level.
“Fair play to Liam Taylor, brought it like he said he would. I knew it was a matter of time,” said Avanesyan’s manager Carl Greaves after the fight.
“He had a good start in the first minute or two of the first round, and then David started getting a grip of it. You’ve got to be a strong puncher to keep David off you.
“He’ll keep walking through you like he did tonight. Liam Taylor was fighting for his life from the first bell. It was just a matter of time.
“He took a heavy shot and the referee did the right thing because this man is a great finisher.
“He’s a predator and he’d have sealed with Liam Taylor if it didn’t get stopped then. 100%,” said Greaves when asked if Avanesyan is ready for a world title shot.
“What is it, five stoppages back to back, all at a good level. We need to move on now. If we can’t move on, we’ll keep doing what we’re doing until a big opportunity comes up,” said Greaves.
Avanesyan shouldn’t stall out his career fighting at the European level the way he’s been doing. At 33, it’s time for Avanesyan to advance his career against world-level opposition instead of the guys he’s been feasting on.
After what Avanesyan did to Matchroom Boxing prospect Josh Taylor, it’s doubtful that Eddie Hearn will let him anywhere near Conor Benn. That guy is a money maker, thanks to his famous dad Nigel Benn.
Hearn isn’t going to take a chance of Avanesyan doing the same thing to Conor Benn that he did with Kelly. It’s one thing letting Avanesyan rip Kelly to pieces and another matter entirely for him to do it against the young money-maker Benn.
Conor might not ever be more than just a contender, but he makes money, and Hearn isn’t going to mess that up by letting him tangle with Avanesyan.