MOSCOW, July 14 (R-Sport) - Unbeaten Russian Khabib Allakhverdiev has defended his WBA and IBO light welterweight titles with an 11th-round stoppage of former champion Suleyman M’Baye.
Russia’s Allakhverdiev knocked down his French opponent in the second and eighth rounds, and the referee stopped Saturday’s fight in the 11th as M’Baye took a pounding on the ropes.
Allakhverdiev improved to 19-0, with nine wins by knockout, after his first defense of the WBA belt, which he won from Joan Guzman in November. M’Baye is now 40-5-1 and has lost four of his last nine fights.
The WBA considers Allakhverdiev its “regular” champion in the light welterweight division, with unbeaten Philadelphia fighter Danny Garcia (26-0) the “super” champion.
Elsewhere on the fight card in Monaco, Russian light heavyweight prospect Denis Grachev was destroyed in a first-round technical knockout loss to undefeated Dominican Edwin Rodriguez, who claimed his 24th win in as many professional fights.
Grachev drops to 13-2 with one draw.
