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Ilunga Makabu beat Thabiso Mchunu via 11th round knockout today in Durban, South Africa. We're waiting for a video to surface (hopefully sooner than later), but those who saw the fight reported Mchunu being solidly ahead after 10 rounds, but his stamina fading, before Makabu put him away in the 11th.
It's a big win for Makabu (19-1, 18 KO), and probably nudges him closer to a title shot. Mchunu falls to 16-2 (10 KO).
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Gary Stark Jr, a former super bantamweight prospect, returned to the ring after a five-year absence on Friday night, beating club fighter Jose Silveira via majority decision in six rounds. Scores were 59-55, 58-56, and 57-57. Stark, now 35, was working his way up the ladder before a controversial decision loss to Mike Oliver (another busted prospect, which came later) in 2007, and then a KO loss to Andres Ledesma in his next fight. He was also stopped by Antonio Escalante in 2009.
About a decade ago, Stark was one of the key fighters in the failed Lou DiBella and Damon Dash boxing enterprise. His pro record now stands at 23-3 (8 KO).
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Boxing tweet of the day:
Shawn Porter Potty
— Kenneth Sims Jr (@KennethSimsJr) May 16, 2015