ESPN Friday Night Fights - Boxcino semifinal results: John Thompson, Donovan Dennis record upset wins

Brandon Adams got the strangest win of his career, stopping Vito Gasparyan due to a grossly swollen cauliflower ear in the seventh round. Gasparyan (15-4-5, 8 KO) made a very good account of himself, but never seemed able to pull ahead. Adams (17-1, 12 KO) fought with uncharacteristic control, and showed an excellent instinct for keeping himself ahead in the fight, answering every one of Gasparyan's successful punches with a punch of his own. And--no surprise--Adams' punches were the far more powerful of the two.

After a close look at Gasparyan's left ear, which grew to impressive proportions under Adams' punishing right hands, the referee decided to end things in the seventh round. It was strange, but it didn't look like Gasparyan had a clear chance at a win, so no harm done.

Brandon Adams defeats Vito Gasparyan by TKO (referee stoppage), 0:35 of round 7

Stanyslav Skorokhod was heavily favored to beat part-time artist John Thompson, but it seems like nobody told Thompson. Skorokhod (9-1, 7 KO) gave away some early rounds by simply walking forward without the benefit of a jab. Thompson (16-1, 5 KO), on the other hand, was all about the jab, and used his left hand impressively to keep Skorokhod from getting set and unloading with his heavy punches. As the fight wore on, neither man seemed to pull ahead in any noticeable way, but two of the judges found more rounds for Thompson, giving him the win. The upset is made all the more impressive when you recall that Thompson entered the Boxcino tournament one just one day's notice.

John Thompson defeats Stanyslav Skorokhod by split decision (78-74, 77-75, 78-74)

Bad Left Hook scored it a 76-76 draw.

Razvan Cojanu didn't exactly impress in his last Boxcino appearance, but nobody expected Donovan Dennis to finish the fight like he did. After a solid first round that saw Dennis (14-1, 8 KO) out-moving and out-punching the slow-footed Cojanu (11-2, 9 KO), it seemed that the Iowa native was well on his way to a comfortable decision. But then, less than a minute into the first round, Dennis put his stamp on the fight--and his left hand on Cojanu's chin, sending the giant Romanian to the canvas in a heap, and ending the fight.

Donovan Dennis defeats Razvan Cojanu by KO, 0:59 of Round 2

Andrey Fedosov was favored to beat Lenroy Thomas quite easily, which made it all the more surprising when Thomas dropped him on a picture perfect straight left hand just about a minute into round one. Thomas (19-4, 9 KO) looked superb early, working off of a sharp southpaw jab and blocking his opponent's every attempt at offense. Unfortunately, Fedosov (27-3, 22 KO) would not be deterred, and stalked Thomas into the ropes again and again, only coming to life with combinations when his opponent's back hit the perimeter of the ring. After an exchange of low blows, Fedosov dropped Thomas with a flurry of punches in the corner. It was a right hand to the pit of the stomach that seemed to do the real damage, and perhaps that's why Thomas made the curious decision to stay down despite appearing quite conscious and capable of standing.

Andrey Fedosov defeats Lenroy Thomas by TKO, 1:01 of Round 3