He boxed well early, got dropped for the second time as a pro and was in serious danger during the middle rounds, but British light-heavyweight Lyndon Arthur dug deep and a disguised liver shot did the damage. A delayed reaction from the Argentine came next, as the 32-year-old scored a tenth-round knockout win over Braian Suarez to win the vacant IBO world title in Bolton overnight.
King Arthur wades through the fire
Lyndon Arthur bt. Braian Nahuel Suarez via R10 KO
Mancunian wins vacant IBO light-heavyweight world title
It’s not one of the world’s four recognised sanctioning bodies and so naturally, there will be detractors and criticism coming his way, but you can’t question the significance of this night as far as Lyndon Arthur was concerned.
Once postponed – originally scheduled for March – Arthur instead faced a short-notice opponent and former sparring partner in Boris Crighton, who gave him some competitive work over ten rounds.
Wasserman internally wanted this matchup to be rescheduled for July, but Arthur sustained a nasty cut needing time to heal before he could return to full training.
It’s almost certain the same applies as far as prospective fights are concerned for Arthur, having overcome some serious moments of adversity to land a surprising stoppage blow at Braian Suarez’s expense late in round ten.
Arthur boxed well at range in the first three rounds, nullifying the south American’s punch power as the Channel 5 commentators discussed the 31-year-old’s inability to make weight and how that would impact his conditioning down the stretch.
Suarez edged ever closer and at the end of the fourth, floored Arthur in the final seconds with a clean hook – encouraging him to fight at a furious pace in rounds five and six.
It wasn’t a wise decision, but Arthur seemed uncomfortably content to trade with him and soon enough got stung for his troubles, wobbled and on unsteady legs as the power punches mounted for the away fighter.
Staggered backwards by a series of uppercuts in the sixth, Arthur consciously looked to slow down the pace and wear out his opponent. Surely he couldn’t sustain such a high intensity?
Suarez targeted the body in the seventh, came forward intently in round eight, while Arthur’s gameplan was to lay on the ropes and counterpunch his way to success.
Round nine was closer, Arthur having the better of round ten as he got back to the jab and connecting on combos before landing the fight-ending body shot to the liver, one Suarez couldn’t get back up from – crowning a new champion.
Full results
Samuel Antwi bt. Mason Cartwright via R12 KO, wins vacant British light-middleweight title
Lyndon Arthur bt. Braian Nahuel Suarez via R10 KO, wins vacant IBO world light-heavyweight title
Light-welter: Ben Marksby bt. Jordan Ellison (57-55)
Super-featherweight: Codie Smith bt. Eliecer Quezada (60-54)
Welterweight: Ashley Marron bt. Petar Aleksandrov (40-36)
Super-feather: Niall Fielding bt. John Spencer (40-36)
Light-welterweight: Alex Murphy bt. Joshua Ocampo (40-36)
Picture source: Getty Images
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