by James Slater – Last night in Staffordshire, UK, Armenian-born Russian Leva Kirakosyan proved way too powerful for local man Scott Lawton, as he crushed him inside three one-sided rounds of action. Fighting for the vacant European super-featherweight title, Kirakosyan’s withering power got the job done in exciting fashion. The 36-year-old former European boss at 130-pounds dropped Lawton in the opening round, forced the referee to give the 33-year-old a standing count in the 2nd-round, and then stopped him at 21-seconds of the 3rd..
Kirakosyan is now 32-5(22). Lawton, the former English champion up at lightweight is now 27-6-1(6).
A very tough fight on paper for Lawton, many experts felt he’d eventually succumb to the visitor’s punching power. As it turned out, this thinking was absolutely spot on; and it didn’t take long for the fight to turn into a nightmare for Lawton. Much the taller man, Lawton attempted to box and move and pump out his jab, as the man with one thing on his mind came forward. With less than a minute gone, a hard right hand to the head dropped Lawton, and already things looked very bad for him. Showing real heart by attempting to fight back as he was backed up and hit to body and head with both hands, the 33-year-old made it through to the bell.
The second round saw things go from bad to worse for Lawton. Boxing okay in the first part of the round, if on the retreat throughout, Lawton was caught with a succession of left hands to the head in the closing half minute of the session. A final, brutal left to the head had him sagging on the ropes and the referee, Soren Saugmann, surprisingly decided to issue a standing count. The came the bell and a wobbly Lawton went back to his stool.
The ending came quickly in the 3rd, as proven finisher Kirakosyan wasted no time at all. Trapping Lawton on the ropes once again, the shorter, older man let go with both hands. Covering up as best he could, Lawton was there for the taking. Then, as the hometown fighter tried to let go with a shot of his own, Kirakosyan blasted his head back with a massive right hand. Lawton didn’t go down, instead slumping once more along the ropes – and the ref had no alternative but to dive in.
Lawton looked massively crestfallen by the defeat, while Kirakosyan celebrated, knowing how his top-level career had been somewhat resurrected. Retirement may be the best option for Lawton, while it will be most interesting to see who the now two-time European champ fights next. With his raw power, Kirakosyan could well win a few more paydays yet.