‘Ava’ jumped up massive levels in class from recent victories when defending his WBA interim title against multi-weight world champion Mosley, 44, – eventually coming out on top following a twelve round battle in the United States.
In a sometimes messy affair, Avanesyan kept the majority of Mosley’s threatening attacks at bay as both fought out a tactical battle for the duration of the bout. Some rounds could easily have gone either way, although Avanesyan was declared the winner upon completion of the contest with scores of 117-110 twice and 114-113.
Avanesyan is now set to face the winner of next month’s delayed WBA title bout between current champion Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman and ex-IBF champion Shawn ‘Showtime’ Porter in a stipulated clash by World Boxing Association President Gilberto Mendoza, possibly in late 2016.
On the undercard, Mosley’s son Shane Jr. made heavy weather of the unheralded Roberto Yong to improve his record to 7-1. The 25 year-old super middleweight showed glimpses of class though to get the win with scores of 59-55, 58-56 on two cards, with a third judge seeing it 57-57 after the six sessions.