The ninth was mop-up duty as Helenius and Liakhovich met with closed guards in closer quarters. Helenius let go a jab, a left half-uppercut/half-hook, a left hook proper and a right hand. Liakhovich’s legs buckled and then held. It didn’t matter as Liakhovich was out on his feet. A few more shots and ref Stanley Christodoulou waved it off as Liakhovich hit the canvas.
With the win, Helenius won the WBA and WBO intercontinental titles and moves forward with a promising career. While he is very rough around the edges and not the most mobile heavyweight ever, his size, power and toughness will be a problem for anyone. Here is hoping that should Evander Holyfield, who was ringside, realizes that the kid will be the first to knock him out cold and avoids this one.
In the co-feature, Alexander Povetkin, 22-0 (15), won the WBA “regular” heavyweight title by defeating former titleholder Ruslan Chagaev, 27-2-1 (17), in a unanimous decision victory.
This was not the fight that the main event was. Both men looked like endurance was at a premium. The middle of the fight featured some decent action as Chagaev, a southpaw, began to land his left as Povetkin seemed to tire. However, Povetkin rediscovered the combinations and pressure style that had many believing he was one to watch about three years ago. Povetkin’s uppercut was a primary deterrent of Chagaev’s mid-rounds charge and from there, it was all Povetkin. Scores were 116-112 and 117-113 twice. Povetkin is now the mandatory for Wladimir Klitschko, who holds the WBA’s “super” version of the heavyweight title.
