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Lukasz Rozanski Stuns Alen Babić In First Round To Win Bridgerweight Title

Written by Kerr Ferguson on 22nd April 2023.

Lukasz Rozanski and Alen Babić

Alen Babic was handed his first career defeat as he faced Poland’s Lukasz Rozanski for the WBC’s most recent addition to a sport most recognise to have too many belts – the Bridgerweight title.

The 224lb limit belt has previously been held by Oscar Rivas, but was made vacant when he failed to defend it through injury and potential retirement.

The opportunity fell to Dillian Whyte’s charge, Alen Babic, who had made it to 10-0 by swarming his opponents and wearing them down with a fan-friendly, winging style.

Rozanski – now 15-0 – has a similar attitude to boxing. It was, by all accounts, the battle of the brawlers – and it didn’t last long. They swung madly from the very first bell, but it was the man fighting in front of his home crowd that found success first in the shootout.

A very short left hook wobbled Babic. He stayed up for a few more but the knockdown was already written. The crowd went wild, Babic shook his head.

After making the count, he walked head on to Rozanski’s fists because it’s all he knows. A barrage of hooks landed no matter when in the ring the Croation managed to stumble to, and it the referee called it – believing a shook Babic was totally disengaged.

Lukasz Rozanski wins the controversial Bridgerweight belt, and Alen Babic has learned just why fans and pundits have been warning him that his approach would implode soon enough.

Elsewhere on the card, Martin Bakole marked the first fight of his partnership with BOXXER and Sky Sports by comprehensively demolishing previously undefeated Ukraine’s Ihor Shevadzutskyi.

The heavyweight who has made headlines recently for some big sparring claims dropped his opponent in round two and finished the job in the third.

Jeamie Tshikeva, or Jeamie TKV as he’s more commonly known, moved his heavyweight campaign to 5-0 with a body shot stoppage of local boy, Michal Boloz, in the second round.

Birmingham’s Steed Woodall defeated Boris Crighton in the light heavyweight ranks by unanimous decision to move to 18-1-1. It was Crighton’s third fight – second loss – in the space of a month.