Chagaev retains WBA title with first-round stoppage

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Ruslan ChagaevIn the first defense of his infamous WBA World heavyweight title, Ruslan Chagaev knocked out challenger Francesco Pianeta in the first round. The fight was stopped by referee Jean-Louis Legand after the second knockdown with three seconds to go in the opening round.

The 36-year old champion started fast. One minute into the fight, he landed a crushing left hook to the head of Pianeta. The German challenger from Italian descent went to the ground immediately. While being hurt badly, he barely made the count.

Chagaev, who was born in Uzbekistan, but is currently fighting out of Germany, took his time knowing that there was still more than enough time left in the round. With 20 seconds to go, he landed another hard left hook sending his opponent to the ground again. Pianeta seemed less hurt than after the first knockdown and was up at the count of seven. However, the referee had seen enough and waived the fight off.

With this victory the champion improved his record to 33-2-1, with 21 knockouts. Chagaev won’t have much time to enjoy his victory however.

Within 120 days, he has to face mandatory challenger Fres Oquendo (37-8, 24 KO’s), who he defeated a year ago via majority decision. After his first mandatory, he has to make another mandatory defense against Lucas Browne (22-0, 19 KO’s).