Archie Sharp, who is ranked No 2 contender to WBO super-featherweight champion Shakur Stevenson, is now unbeaten in 21 fights after a landslide points decision over Alexia Boureima Kabore on MTK Global’s show at York Hall in East London.
It was very much a tick-over fight for Sharp against a 38-year-old opponent who is one of only two active professional boxers from the West African nation of Burkina Faso.
But Sharp did little to push his world-title credentials, as he was content to box his way through without ever looking like he could stop Kabore. All three judges scored it 100-90, as Sharp retained a WBO global belt.
While the main event went to plan, the chief support certainly didn’t, Juan Carlos Abreu got up from the canvas to knock out highly-touted Kazakh Tursynbay Kulakhmet in the seventh round.
Super-welterweight Kulakhmet was only having his fifth professional bout but has been fast-tracked and was defending the WBC international belt that he had won in only his second pro fight.
Things went smoothly early on as Abreu was knocked down in the second round, but the fight dramatically swung around as Kulakhmet was on the floor twice in the seventh, referee Victor Loughlin waving the fight off as Kulakhmet was down for the second time, after a right hand spun the Kazakh round and dropped him on his face.
Irish super-lightweight prospect Pierce O’Leary has quick hands and plenty of power and is now unbeaten in eight fights after stopping London-based Turk Siar Ozgul in the seventh round.
Former highly-rated amateur Sean McGoldrick was a 60-54 points winner over Stephen Jackson at super-bantamweight.
Sam Gilley returned to winning ways after losing his unbeaten record to Danny Ball in March as he won every round in his super-welterweight six-rounder against Ghana’s Daniel Lartey.
Cruiserweight William Hamilton moved to 3-0 with a first-round stoppage of Ivo Zednicek, of the Czech Republic.
There were also debut wins for three prospects. Shiloh Defreitas knocked out Fonz Alexander in the fourth round at lightweight; Super-middleweight Joe Giles was a 40-36 points winner over Slovakia’s Pavol Garaj, the same scored by which Lerone Harrison beat Simas Volosinas, of Lithuania, at super-featherweight