Moses Itauma (13-0, 11 KOs) annihilated veteran Dillian Whyte (31-3, 24 KOs) by a lightning-quick first-round knockout in the heavyweight main event on Saturday night at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The official time of the stoppage was at 1:59 of the first round.
With nothing coming back from the 37-year-old Whyte, Itauma staggered him with a right hand. Whyte covered up against the ropes and was hit with big shots from Itauma. He dropped Dillian with a right hand to the side of the head. Whyte looked out of it when he got to his feet, resulting in the referee stopping the fight.
“Joseph Parker or Agit Kabayel,” said Itauma when asked who he wants to fight next.
Nick Ball (32-0-1, 13 KOs) retained his WBA featherweight title by a surprisingly wide 12-round unanimous decision against Sam Goodman (20-1, 8 KOs). The fight was scored 117-111, 118-110, and 115-113. It appeared to be a much closer contest, close enough to be a narrow victory for Ball or a draw. The judges were more impressed with the short, clubbing punches from Ball over the more well-placed, surgeon-like punches from Goodman. The left hooks to the body that Goodman was hitting Ball with all night were superb, a work of art.
Hayato Tsutsumi (8-0, 5 KOs) obliterated a badly overmatched Qais Ashfaq (13-4-1, 5 KOs), stopping him by a third-round technical knockout in a scheduled 10-round super featherweight contest. Tsutsumi knocked Ashfaq down with a left that put him face-first on the canvas. Tsutsumi finished the job with a follow-up storm of shots that prompted the referee to stop the fight.
Filip Hrgovic (19-1, 14 KOs) showed his class tonight, dominating fringe contender David Adeleye (14-2, 13 KOs) by a one-sided 10-round unanimous decision in a heavyweight contest. The scores were 99-91, 99-90, and 99-90. The difference in class between the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Hrgovic and Adeleye was noticeable tonight. It was like a world-level fighter going up against a novice, albeit a powerful one.
Hrgovic dropped Adeleye with a booming right hand in the eighth round after staggaring him moments earlier with a left hook. Surprisingly, Adeleye came back moments later to unleash a flurry of shots that had Hrgovic hurt and holding on. However, that was the end of Adeleye’s effectiveness in the fight, as he took a beating in rounds nine and ten from Hrgovic’s heavy shots.
Raymond Ford (18-1, 8 KOs) won a 10-round unanimous decision over Abraham Nova (24-4, 17 KOs) in a super featherweight bout. The scores were 96-94, 97-93, and 97-93. Brought in as a replacement, Nova outworked Ford, landing the harder shots throughout the fight. Ford did a lot of holding in the later rounds to prevent Nova from fighting on the inside.
The referee didn’t say anything about the frequent clinching, but it was excessive at times. Nova fought well enough to win 7-3. I had him winning the fight. Ford didn’t have enough pop in his punches and was too defensive. There’s no improvement in his game from his loss to Nick Ball.
Mohammed Alakel (5-0, 1 KO) def. Yumnam Santosh Singh (3-7, 1 KO) — KO-1, lightweights, 6 rounds Alakel’s first stoppage win.
What time is Itauma vs Whyte tonight?
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Main card: 12:45 p.m. ET / 9:45 a.m. PT / 5:45 p.m. BST
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Main event ring walks: About 5:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. PT / 10:00 p.m. BST
