American Carlos Dixon defeated Edison Torres of Venezuela to win the WBC Youth Silver Super Featherweight title, while Russian Yurik Mamedov captured the WBA Fedecaribe Welterweight crown by stopping Eduardo Cardovez of Venezuela on a rainy night at Sabina Park on Saturday.

The outdoor event, dubbed ‘Sabina Park Fight Night’, was scheduled to begin at 6:00 pm, but heavy rain delayed the start. Action did not begin until after midnight, with the initial seven-bout event was reduced to just three, including the two title fights.

The third bout was a non-title heavyweight match in which Vladimir Tereskin of Russia defeated Francisco Silven of the Dominican Republic in four rounds.

When the rain subsided, action got underway at 12:18 am, as some fans stuck around for hours to watch the fights. They were not disappointed, as the action was fast, furious and dramatic.

The opening bout was between Dixon and Torres and with the surface slippery from the rain, both fighters fell during the first round, but Dixon would dominate every round, knocking Torres down in the fifth. But 35 seconds into the sixth round, a body shot from Dixon forced Torres to the ground, and despite making it back to his feet, referee Peter Richards stopped the fight.

New WBC Youth Silver Lightweight champion Dixon, who won by a technical knockout, said this victory meant a lot and he was extremely happy. “It’s amazing. This is huge not just for me but my family and my city [Louisville] as well,” he said.

“I am glad; all thanks must be to the Man above and I will keep going back and work harder,” he added.

Dixon’s professional record now stands at 10-1 with eight knockouts.

Torres, whose record fell to 12-5, with six KOs, gave a good account of himself throughout. Speaking through an interpreter, he said Dixon’s body blow took an effect on him in the end.

“It was really hard to recover from that and I was getting out of air and was trying my best to keep on breathing,” said Torres.

“Despite the fact that I am not at his weight, I feel proud because I did my best and proud of what I did for my country,” he noted.

Mamedov pounded Eduardo Cardovez of Venezuela into submission. Cardovez failed to answer the bell for the fourth round, as Mamedov lifted the WBA Fedecaribe Welterweight crown.

The first round was mainly cagey as the fighters tried to feel out each other, but Mamedov knocked down Cardovez at the end of the second round, and again in the third round. It proved too much for Cardovez, who threw in the towel at the start of the fourth round.

Mamedov, who improved his ring record to 12-1, dedicated the victory to the Yezidi ethnic group from Iraq, where his family originated.

“I always say this is the success for my people. This is to spread the word of the Yezidi genocide. This is more than boxing, more than sports,” he noted.

In the heavyweight bout, Tereskin stopped Silvens in four rounds as he failed to answer the call for the fifth round.

Silvens, who only arrived on the island Saturday, didn’t give his legs much rest as he stood between the rounds, and paid the price against the taller and stronger Tereskin.

Both fighters started tentatively observing each other in the first round but Tereskin stepped up the pace in the second and third rounds before knocking Silven down twice in the fourth round. Silvens stumbled to his corner and did not respond for the fifth round.

— Howard Walker