Double Upset Nightmare! Helenius Stops 20-0 Kownacki, Negron Kayos 19-0 Alfonzo – Video Highlights

Double Upset Nightmare! Helenius Stops 20-0 Kownacki, Negron Kayos 19-0 Alfonzo

By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent

 

Brooklyn, NY (March 8th, 2020)– Unbeaten records mean nothing if the fighter looking you in the face is a desperately hungry tiger, for whom it is career do or die. Two underdog fighters put it all on the table, and the results succeeded in giving the highly competitive heavyweight division some flip and flair.




 

In the main event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Saturday night, March 7, 2020, Robert Helenus, AKA ‘The Nordic Nightmare’, scored the biggest win of his career with a fourth-round stoppage of overhyped Adam Kownacki.

 

Robert Helenius, 30-3 with 19 knockouts, Mariehamn, Finland, did his homework, drawing distance range and working Kownacki over to the head and body back and forth, and drawing Kownacki into heated exchanges where his reach and power gave him strength advantage. In the fourth round, Helenius dropped Kownacki twice and stopped him, with a badly battered, tortured and traumatized Kownacki groggy and defenseless in a corner. Referee David Fields had no choice but to stop the bout as Kownackiw as hurt and not fighting back, getting hit in the head with numerous nonstop rapid power shot bombs.

 

Helenius lost in the eighth round to Gerald Washington, a fighter Kownacki had previously stopped in two rounds. However, styles make fights. Helenius, coming off a second-round stoppage win over Mateus Roberto Osorio last November 2019, clearly had his game plan for Kownacki in place. Kownacki, 6’3″, short and plump, became flat-footed at 265 pounds against the taller 6’6 l/2″, 238 pounds monster-sized Helenius. Kownacki’s mistake was to go toe-to-toe with Helenius, because Helenius cut off the ring beyond a certain point and began unloading, and whereas Helenius could hold and move, Kownacki could not. Kownacki, unable to move, and take a significant power punch from a top heavyweight in his prime, got exposed. Considering how easily Helenius broke down Kownacki’s defenses, a fight between Kownacki and Anthony Joshua or a Deontay Wilder would have been a much shorter loss.




 

Result: Robert Helenius TKO 4 Adam Kownacki, Heavyweights (1:08)

Kownacki down in round four. Referee: David Fields

 

In an undercard shocker, Puerto Rico’s Carlos Negron, given virtually no chance, scored a shocking first knockout upset of 2008 Olympian and Cuban defector Robert Alfonzo. Negron, 21-3 with 17 knockouts, Miami, Florida, knocked out Alfonzo, 19-1-1 with nine knockouts, Orlando, Florida, at 2:03 of the first round.

 

Other Undercard Results From Barclays Center

 

Frank Sanchez Win 10 Joey Dawejko, Heavyweights

 

‘The Cuban Flash’, 15-0 Sanchez, a former four-time Cuban National Amateur champion from 2011 to 2014, deals Dawejko his fourth 10 round decision loss in less than 24 months.

Against bigger, taller, more powerful and agile heavyweights, the heavy legged Dawejko

cannot outwork them. Dawejko has power, but not speed to chase more skilled fighters.

 

Efe Ajagba TKO 9 Rozvan Cajanu, Heavyweights (2:46)

13-0 Nigerian heavyweight prospect Ajagba dropped Cananu in rounds eight and nine

 

Zachary Ochoa Win 8 Angel Sariana, Super Lightweights

Puerto Rican super lightweight prospect Zachary Ochoa goes to 21-1 with seven kayos.

 

Arnold Gonzalez TKO 3 Traye Labby, Welterweights (2:07)

Rising New York City welterweight prospect Arnold Gonzalez goes to 4-0 with this win.




 

Francis Hogan (Pro Debut) KO 4 Brent Oren, Middleweights

Pro debut for Massachusetts Middleweight Hogan.









 

BROOKLYN (March 7, 2020) – Robert Helenius (30-3, 19 KOs)scored an upset victory over previously unbeaten Adam Kownacki (20-1, 15 KOs) by stopping him in the fourth round of a WBA Heavyweight Title Eliminator headlining FOX PBC Fight Night and on FOX Deportes Saturday night from Barclays Center, the home of BROOKLYN BOXING™.

“I want to thank everyone who gave me this opportunity,” said Helenius. “Kownacki is a tough fighter. I worked hard in training camp and it paid off.”

Brooklyn’s Kownacki was fighting for the 10^th time at Barclays Center in front of his hometown crowd, but was unable to keep the taller Helenius off of him after being hurt early in the fourth. A clean Helenius right hook hurt Kownacki, before a left hook put Kownacki down.

“I knew that I hit him hard and I knew I just had to continue,” said Helenius. “I knew he was still hurt after that punch.

“Kownacki just kept coming and coming. He’s a good fighter I have to give it to him. My strength is to punch back when people come at me. It was a good fight and a tremendous opportunity for me to be here.”

While Kownacki outpaced Helenius landing 84 punches to 49 according to CompuBox, it was Helenius’ 12 power punches landed in round four that made the difference. Helenius kept up the relentless attack, consistently hurting Kownacki and pushing him around the ring until referee David Fields waived off the fight 1:08 into the round.

“It wasn’t my night,” said Kownacki. “It’s boxing. It’s a tough sport and things just didn’t go my way tonight. It was a learning experience and I’m going to go back to the drawing board and get back to work.

“He hit me with a good shot. I knew what was going on, but I’m just upset with myself. It is what it is.”

Watch fight highlights here and here.

In the co-main event, heavyweight sensation Efe Ajagba (13-0, 11 KOs) delivered a ninth-round stoppage of Razvan Cojanu (17-7, 9 KOs), knocking him down twice en route to the victory.

Ajagba showed the prolific power that has made him a highly-regarded heavyweight nearing a jump from prospect to contender. Cojanu came to fight and had success at various points in the action, landing hooks on Ajagba and slowing down his attack in the early rounds.

In round eight Ajagba’s offensive arsenal began to break through, as Cojanu’s left eye started to swell before eventually closing. Late in round eight, Ajagba connected on a powerful straight right hand that forced Cojanu to take a knee. Watch the knockdown here.

“Ronnie told me to attack the body behind the jab,” said Ajagba. “It was very effective and it started to slow him down. When he got close to me, I knew to throw more and punish him.

“Cojanu has a lot of experience. When I threw my jab, he used his right hand to block my vision, so I couldn’t throw as many combinations as I wanted. It was a good challenge.”

While Cojanu was able to make it through the round, Ajagba continued to press forward in round nine, punishing Cojanu with power shots. On the night, Ajagba out landed Cojanu in power shots by a 176 to 81 margin. A flurry by Ajagba late in the round forced Cojanu down again, and prompted referee Ron Lipton to halt the bout 2:46 into the round. Watch the stoppage here. Additional highlights can be viewed here.

“It’s up to my team who we fight next, but I want hard fights,” said Ajagba. “My team has a plan and we’ll keep following it.”

In the televised opener, rising heavyweight Frank Sanchez (15-0, 11 KOs) scored a 10-round unanimous decision over Joey Dawejko (20-8-4, 11 KOs) to remain unbeaten.

“I was well prepared and I thought I fought very well tonight,” said Sanchez. “I dominated the fight. I showed good footwork and movement and did exactly what we worked on. I expected a lot of pressure, but with my boxing ability, there was no way he was going to catch me.”

The Cuban fighter dominated with his movement, rarely being flustered by Dawejko’s attack as he bounded around the ring and avoided the incoming Philadelphia native. Sanchez was also superior in punch output and accuracy, out throwing Dawejko 352 to 242 and out landing him by a 116 to 46 margin.

“I knew he was going to fight on the outside and he stayed on the outside,” said Dawejko. “Not much to say, he just did what he had to do. He was scared that’s why he was running around. He kept jumping back and staying away, so I guess he made it easy on the judges.”

Sanchez was able to punch open a cut on Dawejko’s right eye in round five, which he continued to batter throughout the remainder of the fight with jabs and right hands. After 10 rounds, all three judges saw the bout in favor of Sanchez, with scores of 100-90 twice and 98-92.

“I didn’t want to fight Dawejko’s fight, and he realized that and it frustrated him,” said Sanchez. “He might have thought he’s faced guys like me, but there’s no other heavyweight like me.”

Watch fight highlights here,  here and here.