Britain’s Galal Yafai survived a brief mid-fight scare and a cut over his eye to preserve his unbeaten record, stopping Agustin Gauto in the eighth round of a flyweight slugfest on Saturday in Las Vegas.
The 2020 Olympic Gold medalist turned away a determined Gauto and forced a stoppage win when referee Raul Caiz Jr intervened, with Argentine Gauto unable to defend himself.
“I get too excited,” Yafai said post-fight. “That could probably be my downfall in the future. Hopefully it’s not.
“It wasn’t great, probably a C [grade]. I compare myself to the top boys and he caught me with a few shots. I got comfortable a bit too much at times. He can punch.”
Through the first three rounds, Yafai was breaking down the 26-year-old Gauto, landing clean, hard shots while his opponent struggled to generate much in response.
After round four, the ringside doctor was already examining Gauto, though the fighter was allowed to continue.
Gradually, the tide of the fight turned. Gauto started to land hard overhand counters. Yafai reacted to the first two with grins, but as the rounds progressed, the smiles disappeared.
An accidental head clash opened a cut above Yafai’s left eye. Gauto tried to seize the momentum, coming forward at times and landing the occasional eye-catching shot. But through it all, the Argentine was taking a beating.
In the eighth round, Yafai landed clean shots with alarming succession. Gauto wasn’t breaking, but he was buckling, and Yafai’s high work rate ensured his opponent ultimately had no reprieve.
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Dominant Nicolson claims WBC featherweight title after win vs Mahfoud
Elsewhere, Australia’s Skye Nicolson dominated Sarah Mahfoud over 10 two-minute rounds to capture the WBC featherweight title in Las Vegas.
The judges’ scores were 100-90, 100-90 and 99-91 for Nicolson, with Steve Weisfeld giving Denmark’s Mahfoud a lone round in her favour.
“I know what I can do, and I want to keep proving that to the rest of the world,” Nicolson said in her post-fight interview.
Nicolson, coming off her first career stoppage win, fought a disciplined and conservative fight. Mahfoud, kept at bay by Nicolson’s jab all night, could not land anything of consequence.
Amanda Serrano, owner of the other pieces of the featherweight title, has mandated her future opponents fight her in 12 three-minute rounds. She dropped the WBC belt just won by Nicolson because the organisation would not sanction her for fights at the same parameters as men’s championship bouts.
“I respect the WBC’s rules – that’s why I’m still boxing for the WBC belt,” Nicolson said. “But if the only way to fight Amanda Serrano is over 12 three-minute rounds, talk to my team. We’ll make it happen.”
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