World Boxing Council cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu made the first successful defense of his title by knocking out Olanrewaju Durodola in the seventh round this Saturday night in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Makabu started with his jab keeping his rival at a distance. Then he more aggressive.
Durodola fought back and looked better in the third, tagging Makabu, looking to strike back with countermanding power.
In the fourth and fifth rounds, the champion used his great experience and managed to hurt Durodola with power punches.
In the sixth round, the Nigerian fighter looked fatigued by the punishment received, which Makabu took advantage of and continue connecting.
The end came in round 7 when after an attack from Durodola, who was hoping to connect effectively, was countered by Makabu with a powerful left, which sent him to the canvas. Despite his efforts to beat the count, he could not continue, as the referee saved him and stopped the fight.
Makabu improved his record to 28 wins with 25 knockouts and only 2 losses.
The supervisor of the combat was the vice president of the WBC, Tunisian Houcine Houichi.
WBC CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONS:
1. Marvin Camel (US) 1980
2. Carlos de Leon (P. Rico) 1980 – 1982
3. S.T. Gordon (US) 1982 – 1983
4. Carlos de Leon (P. Rico) * 1983 – 1985
5. Alfonzo Ratliff (US) 1985
6. Bernard Benton (US) 1985 – 1986
7. Carlos de Leon (P. Rico) * 1986 – 1988
8. Evander Holyfield (US) 1988
9. Carlos de Leon (P. Rico) * 1989 – 1990
10. Massimiliano Duran (Italy) 1990 – 1991
11. Anaclet Wamba (France) 1991 – 1995
12. Marcelo Dominguez (Arg) 1995 – 1998
13. Juan Carlos Gomez (Cuba) 1998 – 2002
14. Wayne Braithwaite (Guyana) 2002 – 2005
15. Jean-Marc Mormeck (France) 2007
16. O’Neil Bell (US) 2006 – 2007
17. Jean-Marc Mormeck (France)* 2007
18. David Haye (UK) 2007 – 2008
19. Giacobbe Fragomeni (Italy) 2008 – 2009
20. Zsolt Erdei (Hungary) 2008 – 2010
- 2010 – Today
21. Krzystof Wlodarczyk (Poland) 2010 – 2014
22. Grigory Drozd (Russia) 2014 – 2015
23. Tony Bellew (UK) 2016 – 2017
24. Mairis Briedis (Latvia) 2017 – 2018
25. Oleksandr Usyk (Ukraine) 2018 – 2019
26. Ilunga Makubu (Congo) 2020 –
* Regained
GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE CRUISERWEIGHT DIVISION IN WBC HISTORY
76 cruiserweight world championship bouts have been held in the history of the WBC.
22 world champions have been recognized by the WBC, of whom only two have regained the title: Carlos de Leon (Puerto Rico) three times, Jean-Marc Mormeck (France) one time.
WBC Statistics by Luis Medina.
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