Rob "Bravo" Brant crashed the world boxing scene last October with a dominant decision over Ryota Murata to win the WBA middleweight title. For title defense number one, he returned to his home state and sent the partisan crowd home happy. Brant (25-1, 16 KOs) cruised to an 11th-round TKO over Khasan Baysangurov (17-1, 7 KOs) Friday evening at the Grand Casino Hinckley, a short drive from Brant's hometown of St. Paul.
"Today, I feel like a true champion. I was happy with my performance. I had some cramps later in the fight, but this shows I can carry my power later in fights." "Middleweight is one of the deepest divisions in boxing. There are fights to be made. We just have to keep pushing forward. Canelo Alvarez is recognized by many as the champion at middleweight, and I'd love a fight with him down the road." "{Baysangurov} had a good jab. I started a little sloppy, and my trainer (Eddie Mustafa Muhammad) told me in the corner to relax. I waited for the opportunity to come, and it came in the 11th round."
Joshua "Don't Blink" Greer Jr. (20-1-1, 12 KOs) extended his knockout streak to seven and defended his WBC Continental Americas bantamweight title with an eighth-round stoppage of Giovanni Escaner (19-4, 12 KOs).
Greer landed a right uppercut to the stomach that put Escaner down for the count. Escaner had the momentum early, dropping Greer with a looping right hand as the bell sounded to end the third round. Greer took charge in the middle rounds and ended things with one blow. "I had to wait for him to soften up, but I did what I had to do," Greer said. "It's all a learning experience for me. But I'm from Chicago. I had to go take it.
Mikaela Mayer (10-0, 4 KOs) won an old-fashioned, toe-to-toe battle, grinding down Yareli Larios (13-2-1, 3 KOs) to prevail via eight-round unanimous decision and defend her NABF super featherweight belt. The scores were as followed: 80-72, 79-73, and 78-74.
Young middleweight knockout artist Tyler Howard (17-0, 11 KOs) passed the biggest test of his career, notching an eight-round split decision over Cristian Olivas (16-4, 13 KOs) in a neck-and-neck fight. The judges scored the fight 79-73 Howard, 77-75 Olivas, and 77-75 Howard. Steve "So Cold" Nelson (13-0, 10 KOs) recovered from a flash knockdown in the first round to score a six-round unanimous decision over Felipe Romero (20-17-1, 14 KOs) in a light heavyweight bout. Nelson knocked down Romero in the third round and won by scores of 59-54 (2X) and 58-54. Lennox Allen (22-0-1, 14 KOs) picked up the vacant WBA gold super middleweight belt with a 10-round unanimous decision over Derrick Webster (28-2, 14 KOs). In a six-round lightweight contest, Ismail "Sharp Shooter' Muwendo (21-1, 12 KOs) won via shutout six-round unanimous decision (60-54 3X) over Hevinson Herrera (24-16-1, 18 KOs). Super lightweight Joe James moved his record to 4-0 with a four-round unanimous decision over Demetrius Wilson (2-11) by identical scores of 40-35.