Highlights
–Breidis Prescott came out and attacked Levan Ghvamichava to the body, driving the smaller man to the ropes three times in a hotly-contested second round, in which Prescott hit the canvas from what was questionably ruled a slip.
–After turning up the pressure on his Colombian opponent in Round 3, Ghvamichava used a momentum-swinging left-right combination to drop a bloody-mouthed Prescott with 22 seconds remaining in the fourth.
–Fully in control of the bout, Ghvamichava floored Prescott again with a seventh-round left hook, then later drove Prescott into a neutral corner with a right-left combination that forced referee Michael Margado to step in and stop the contest at the 2:37 mark.
The last time fight fans saw Levan Ghvamichava prior to Tuesday night, the hirsute Eastern European was doubled over on his right knee and being counted out after getting tagged with a fifth-round shot to the liver.
That loss to 140-pound contender Sergey Lipinets at Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino in Nice, California, snapped Ghvamichava’s five-fight winning streak.
Fast-forward nearly four months, and Ghvamichava entered the same venue to take on hammer-fisted veteran Breidis Prescott, only this time “The Wolf” exited in an entirely different manner.
Answering his Colombian opponent’s renowned power with power of his own, Ghvamichava (17-2-1, 13 KOs) dropped Prescott (29-8, 21 KOs) twice en route to a seventh-round stoppage victory.
The 5-foot-11 Prescott enjoyed a two-inch height advantage against Ghvamichava and used it to dictate a double-fisted attack—mostly to the body—in the first round. Then in a hotly-contested Round 2, Prescott thrice drove his smaller foe to the ropes. But by the end of the stanza, the 33-year-old was picking himself up off the canvas after a ruled slip, although it appeared Ghvamichava landed a grazing left as Prescott was falling.
Motivated by a between-rounds pep talk from trainer Virgil Hunter, Ghvamichava went on the offensive in Round 3 and forced Prescott into retreat. Ghvamichava, 30, continued to dish out punishment in the fourth, eventually flooring a bloody-mouthed Prescott with a late-round, left-right combination.
Already in full control of the fight by the start of Round 7, Ghvamichava landed a big left hook early in the stanza that staggered and dropped Prescott. A fatigued Prescott barely made to his feet, then soon hit the deck twice more from ruled slips.
Knowing his opponent was on unsteady legs, Ghvamichava went for broke late in the round, throwing six unanswered punches that forced Prescott into a corner. A final right-left combination landed flush to Prescott’s head, leading referee Michael Margado to step in and stop the contest at the 2:37 mark.
Levan Ghvamichava drills Breidis Prescott with a sweat-spaying right cross on Tuesday night. Ghvamichava pounded out a seventh-round TKO victory. (Andy Samuelson/Premier Boxing Champions)