Sergey Rabchenko remained on course for a world title shot in 2014 by scoring a unanimous decision over awkward Welshman Bradley Pryce in Vratsa, Bulgaria on Saturday night.
The big punching Belarusian is the WBC’s number one contender at light-middleweight and couldn’t afford to slip up against Pryce, who came in on a week’s notice after France’s Cedric Vitu pulled out due to an injury.
Rabchenko beat Pryce on points in 2011, but outclassed him in greater fashion this time around.
The Ricky Hatton-trained 27-year-old set about his foe from the off and connected several times with quality left hands to the body before switching his attention upstairs.
Pryce, the former Commonwealth champion, proved he wasn’t merely making up the numbers, though, when he rocked Rabchenko back on his heels with a solid right hand to the top of the head.
By the third it looked like Rabchenko, defending both his European and WBC Silver titles, was on course to fulfil his prophecy of a stoppage. He pinned the Welshman in a corner and unleashed a barrage of blows that forced the referee to step in and issue a standing count.
At the end of the round, Pryce looked like a spent force as he slumped in his corner and appeared despondent as trainer Jamie Arthur attempted to gee him up.
However, he came back like a different fighter in the next session and probably did enough to win the fifth and sixth by boxing smartly on the backfoot.
Rabchenko continued to stalk in the second half of the fight and on several occasions let hooks fly as Pryce covered up against the ropes, but each time Pryce bravely rode the shots before firing back.
At one stage in the ninth it seemed like the champion had finally broken Pryce’s resolve as he snapped his head back twice with hellacious left hands.
But once more the courageous Newport-native managed to get through the storm and re-establish himself in the fight.
The win takes Rabchenko’s record to 25-0 (18 KOs) and keeps him a position to challenge for the WBC’s full world crown. The belt is currently held by pound-for-pound great Floyd Mayweather Jnr, but it seems likely he will vacate and return to welterweight.
The evening’s undercard also featured four of Hatton Promotions’ brightest prospects.
First up was Belfast sensation Ryan Burnett, who showed good variation and got much needed rounds under his belt as he outclassed Spain’s Sergio Perez.
Burnett was patient in the first round before opening up and dropping his opponent with a right to the body and then head in the second. The young Irishman, now 4-0 (3 KOs), looked for the knock out in the following stanzas, but seemed content with his first points victory.
Sheffield lightweight Scott “Hot Shot” Jenkins extended his unbeaten run to 11 when he forced veteran Ukrainian Rakhim Mingaleyev to retire after four rounds.
The Englishman sent Mingaleyev to the canvas twice in the first round and once in the second before further asserting his dominance in the following sessions.
Middleweight banger Adam Etches added another knockout to his perfect ledger when he halted Latvia’s Andrejs Loginovs in the second round.
Etches, now 14-0 (12 KOs), connected with a solid jab followed by a cuffing right and Loginovs sank to his knees, where he was counted out.
There was disappointment for Ricky Hatton’s latest protégé Sonny Upton. On his debut the London-born Irishman bossed the early rounds of his fight against Nabil Krissi, but was often roughhoused and caught with wide shots before losing a highly debatable decision.
The stylish boxer will be back in action in Wigan on December 14 and will likely see this setback as merely a learning experience.
Earlier in the day, Hatton Promotions’ light-heavyweight star Damien “Super” Hooper won the WBC youth title in Brisbane, Australia when he stopped Yodkhunsuk Mor Poowana of Thailand in two rounds.
On the same bill Cameron Hammond outboxed tough Filipino Joel Dela Cruz over eight rounds to stretch his professional record to 5-0 (3 KOs).
