Erislandy Lara made a victorious return to the venue of his previous competitive bout on Saturday night, triumphing over yet another significant underdog. The 39-year-old Cuban southpaw halted Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan at the onset of the eighth round in the co-main event preceding the clash between Gervonta Davis and Rolando Romero in the main event of a Showtime Pay-Per-View event held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Lara dealt a severe blow to O’Sullivan with a left hand just before the conclusion of the seventh round, yet O’Sullivan was permitted to enter the eighth round.
Lara wasted no time in launching an assault at the start of the eighth round, inflicting further damage on O’Sullivan with another straight left hand, causing him to stagger backward. Referee Benjy Esteves permitted Lara to land one final blow before intervening and stopping the bout 23 seconds into the eighth round. Lara (29-3-3, 17 KOs) retained his secondary WBA middleweight title but failed to significantly bolster his position in the 160-pound division. Following his contentious draw with former 154-pound champion Brian Castano in March 2019 at Barclays Center, Lara has defeated four formidable underdogs in Ramon Alvarez, Greg Vendetti, Thomas LaManna, and O’Sullivan.
Before Saturday night, Ireland’s O’Sullivan (31-5, 21 KOs) had secured victory solely against Georgian journeyman Nodar Robakidze (16-41-6, 5 KOs) via unanimous decision in a six-round contest since his defeat by Mexico’s Jaime Munguia (39-0, 31 KOs) by knockout in the 11th round of their January 2020 bout at Alamodome in San Antonio.
During the sixth round on Saturday night, Lara began to dismantle O’Sullivan's defense. A right hook from Lara disrupted O’Sullivan's equilibrium with approximately 1:35 remaining in the sixth round.
Lara repeatedly rocked O’Sullivan in the closing moments of the fifth round, although he was unable to replicate his knockdown from the fourth round. A straight left followed by a right hook from Lara forced O’Sullivan against the ropes just before the end of the fifth round.
In the fourth round, Lara sent O’Sullivan to the canvas with a left hand, leaving him flat on his back momentarily before O’Sullivan managed to rise before the referee’s count.
Throughout the second and third rounds, Lara successfully pierced O’Sullivan’s defense, resulting in a cut on the bridge of O’Sullivan’s nose by the third round.
O’Sullivan managed to sneak a left hook to Lara’s body midway through the first round. However, both boxers demonstrated solid defensive skills during what transpired as an uneventful opening round.
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