Lukas Konecny knocks out Salim Larbi to win the WBO jr middleweight title – Boxing News
Former European champion Lukas Konecny successfully knocked out Salim Larbi in the seventh round of their bout, which was held yesterday, Thursday night, at the Vodova Arena in Brno, Czech Republic. Lukas Konecny, the hometown favourite, won the vacant interim
WBO Jr middleweight title after defeating Larbi.
Lukas Konecny, who had 48 wins, 3 losses and 23 knockouts in his portfolio, was dominating his opponent right from the start. Salim Larbi, who had 17 wins, 2 losses, 1 ties and 4 knockouts in his portfolio, made a comeback in the third round, however Lukas
again successfully countered him to lead the round. During the third round, Lukas suffered cuts over the bridge of his nose and his left eye.
Nevertheless, Lukas Konecny, who was looking at his best, was even more aggressive after he saw his own blood. This is where probably even Salim made out that he cannot overpower the former champion. The fourth and the fifth round were completely taken by
Konecny and by the sixth round he had already brought Larbi in the knockout zone, however Lukas did not execute a knockout shot yet. It was in the seventh round when Lukas realised it was about time and he delivered a right hand to the body, which put Larbi
on the deck.
It should be noted here that this fight was long awaited by Lukas. First, he was scheduled to face WBO jr middleweight champion Zaurbek Baysangurov in March in Kiev, Ukraine. However, due to a severe back injury suffered by Zaurbek, the bout was cancelled.
Similarly, another bout that was scheduled for the former European champion last year against the then WBO champion Serhiy Dzinziruk was cancelled as well just hours before the fight had to start.
Lukas Konecny in his pre-fight interviews had claimed that he could easily beat Salim Larbi. He said that he has waited enough to get his hands on the title and now he will make sure he wins it. It seems like Lukas indeed did his best to dominate his opponent
and to grab the title successfully. For now, Salim lost the match and Lukas is the new champion.
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