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Frank Buglioni was becoming a box office hit, but the skills hadn't matched the pace of his rising stardom. That was proven today, as veteran Sergey Khomitsky outclassed Buglioni, stopping the 24-year-old super middleweight prospect in the sixth round.
Buglioni (12-1, 9 KO) started fairly well in the opening round, but it was pretty much downhill from there. With a defense that Khomitsky (29-10-2, 12 KO) found too easy to exploit, the Belarusian veteran hammered away at Buglioni, marking him up a bit and simply overpowering him. Buglioni was out of his depth in this one. There was work to do coming into this bout, and there's certainly a lot more coming out of it.
This is no career-ending setback for Buglioni or anything like that, unless he found out he doesn't want it or something of that nature, but it's definitely a "back to the drawing board" moment for him. He's popular and has always seemed a very likable, level-headed sort, so if he just gets back to work and takes this as a learning opportunity, then he could turn out just fine. But if this gets into his head, then sure, it could be an unraveling sort of night. Khomitsky did a number on him. It just wasn't close in there.
The one good thing for Buglioni, his team, and his supporters, is knowing that Khomitsky can fight. No, he's not a world-level fighter, and he's no star, but this is the sort of thing that Khomitsky can do. If he's underestimated or overlooked, or thought of as simply an "opponent," he can do some damage. He gave Martin Murray a legitimate test last time out, losing 77-75 over eight rounds. He retired Jamie Moore back in 2010.
We'll find out now how much Buglioni wants this, but don't count him out. He was beaten by a solid pro tonight, but there's a lot of future left.
Other Results From Copper Box
Chris Eubank Jr KO-2 Sandor Micsko
Not much to see in this one, as Eubank blew past another stiff. It was definitely a hell of a knockout, but, you know, At The End Of The Day, It Is What It Is. Eubank is now 14-0 (9 KO).
William Warburton PTS-4 Georgie Kean
Another Warren prospect fell this afternoon, as Kean (3-1, 1 KO) was toppled by veteran Warburton (12-60-3, 2 KO) in a shocker, as this figured to be the usual matchup between a prospect at 3-0 vs a guy with 60 losses. Warburton got the win on a referee's score of 39-38, and deserved it. Not promoter Frank Warren's best night, to say the least.
Bradley Skeete TKO-7 Tobia Giuseppe Loriga
Skeete (16-0, 5 KO) continues to plug along in his developmental phase, talking small steps forward each time out. The 26-year-old welterweight isn't flashy and cause a ton of excitement, but he's a good boxer and doesn't screw up much in the ring, at least against his opponents thus far. He's not much of a puncher, but he might be a bit stronger than his KO ratio would suggest. Loriga (27-4-2, 6 KO) isn't very good or anything, but did go into the ninth round with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, albeit six years ago.
Simon Barclay PTS-4 Igor Borucha
A shutout win for cruiserweight Barclay in his pro debut, easily handling Borucha (7-24-1, 1 KO) and winning on a score of 40-36.
Lewis Pettitt TKO-5 Emerson Santos Carvalho
This was the first 12-round bout for Pettitt (14-1, 5 KO), a 23-year-old super bantamweight prospect, but he didn't use it all, obviously, overpowering Carvalho (12-5-1, 10 KO) inside of five rounds to claim a minor WBA belt.
Eddie Chambers TKO-1 Moses Matovu
Chambers (38-4, 20 KO) got rid of Matovu (50-40-4, 0 KO) in about 70 seconds. He's jumped from 36-4 and a two-fight losing streak to 38-4 and a two-fight winning streak in the span of two weeks.