In a fun little war for those who got to watch it, Armenian puncher Azat Hovhannisyan pulled off a career best upset win over recent world title challenger Ronny Rios in Golden Boy on ESPN’s main event. Top Golden Boy prospect Alexis Rocha also scored an impressive win in the show’s co-main event.
I can definitely say that I did not see this one coming. Ronny Rios (29-3, 13 KOs) has fallen short historically against the very top of the division, but he has been winning comfortably on the level that I perceived Azat Hovhannisyan (14-2, 11 KOs) to be on coming into this fight. That would not continue to prove to be the case here, however, as the Armenian slugger scored a massive upset by stopping his favored foe in six.
Hovhannisyan had an excellent first round behind a laser focused right hand partly thanks to his opponent’s insistence on dropping his left, but Rios seemed to settle in and take control of the high tempo fight a little better in the second round. He was still getting hit though and the fight was turning into a really entertaining war. At the end of the third, things fell apart for the recent title challenger. A flurry from Hovannisyan seemed to bother Rios, forcing him to back off. While in retreat, a huge right hand connected flush and Ronny was sent careening into the ropes. Azat spent the last fifteen seconds or so flurrying to try to force a stoppage, but he only just narrowly missed it there.
Tired in the fourth round, Hovhannisyan slowed down. He also began lunging in with his head repeatedly, causing some major swelling and a big knot above Rios’s eye. With as many infractions as he piled up in this round, Azat is lucky to not have lost a point. It would have been moot anyway, however, as yet another sharp right hand put Rios down hard early in the sixth round. He rose, but a follow up battering quickly concluded the matter. Ronny Rios just would not keep his left hand up in defense.
For Azat Hovhannisyan, this is a serious win. He can now be considered something of a real fringe contender at minimum. This was his eighth straight win after starting his career 6-2. This is a major set back for Ronny Rios though. At 28, he is of course young enough to recover, but smaller fighters do age faster too. It will be a long while before Ronny Rios gets another major shot beyond this level of show after this, if he ever does again.
Hot Golden Boy prospect Alexis Rocha (11-0, 8 KOs), brother to the main event’s loser, picked up an emphatic first round knockout win over Mexican opponent Miguel Dumas (10-2, 7 KOs). Rocha landed a beautiful uppercut just a minute or so into the fight that flattened Dumas. The Mexican should have stayed down, but instead he was put down for good in a vicious follow up flurry. He had not previously been stopped.
This show was broadcast on tape delay at midnight eastern time, so I will forgive you if you missed it. It was highly entertaining, however, so check your DVR or visit WatchESPN.com to get caught up.
