Tottenham Hottspur Stadium, London, UK. The Olympic medalist from Ukraine, lightweight (up to 61.2 kg) Denys Berinchyk (17-0, 9 KOs) took the title of European champion according to the EBU version from the French veteran Ivan Mendy (47-6-1, 22 KOs).
Champion surprised by giving the center of the ring. Today Mandy will try himself as a counter-puncher. Berinchik worked out the starting round as a left-hander: he pulled out his opponent, marked himself with a couple of good series, the left straights went well, he also hit the body, constantly shifted.
Mendy tried to work as the first number, but it turned out even worse – the Ukrainian failed, turned around or worked ahead of the curve.
By the 3rd round, the champion shot. The right straight lines began to pass. Caught a challenger several times when he was in a slightly unbalanced state. The fighters collided heads, the referee scolded Berinchyk. Mendy acted too passively, but little by little he began to give vent to his fists. Apparently, his bet is on the second half of the fight.
Toward the equator, the battle leveled off even more. Moreover, Mendy’s blows were denser – he invests in splashes, and Berinchyk “throws”. The champion scored a couple of good shots to the body.
In the 10th round, the Frenchman rushed at the challenger with a left hook on the jump, but missed. Berinchik pushed his opponent away with his shoulder, and he flattened hard on the canvas. Lucky for no penalty.
In the championship rounds, Berinchyk tried to work in series and immediately break the distance, but he spent the last seconds aggressively – the 37-year-old Mendy answered less and less with blows.
Judges score: 117-111, 116-112 and 116-112.
Berinchyk UD 12. Well done!