Highlights
–Sergey Lipinets and Levan Ghvamichava started out cautiously for more than a minute before Lipinets started firing big power shots, including right hooks that snaked over Ghvamichava’s guard.
–Ghvamichava found success countering with left hands that negated Lipinets’ power and kept the fight close through four rounds.
–Lipinets saw his power prevail as he put Ghvamichava down with a nasty left hook to the body that forced an end to the fight at 1:40 of the fifth round.
It was a close fight for 4½ rounds, but when Sergey Lipinets sent Levan Ghvamichava down to one knee with a perfectly placed left hook to the body, it was on one knee Ghvamichava stayed.
In a matchup of fighters hailing from former Soviet republics, the Kazakhstan-born Lipinets used his jab early to try to set up his power shots. Ghvamichava, a native of Georgia, countered effectively with body shots as he battled Lipinets to an early stalemate.
In the fifth, Lipinets pushed Ghvamichava back toward the ropes before landing a glancing overhand right that sent “The Wolf” scurrying across the ring. Lipinets then unleashed a devastating left to the body that stopped his opponent cold. Ghvamichava dropped to his right knee with a grimace on his face and stayed down long past the count of 10 for a knockout at 1:40 of the round.
Sergey Lipinets, left, and Levan Ghvamichava exchange punches during their 140-pound bout in Nice, California. Lipinets landed a left hook to the body in the fifth round to gain a knockout. (Dave Nadkarni/Premier Boxing Champions)
