After a bright start, the 26 year-old seemed to get a bit too comfortable in the fifth session and was duly caught and rocked with some solid bombs from Periban, who bounced him around the ring like a ragdoll for two minutes.
Love eventually had to take a knee and was duly hit after he was down by Periban, although the act went unpunished by referee Jay Nady as the American struggled to survive the round.
With his head slightly cleared, Love managed to keep out of trouble in the sixth and went on to dominate the rest of the fight. Periban was also hampered by a slice over his left eye from round six that affected him badly and handed the initiative back to Love.
Dancing until the final bell, Love improved his record to 18-0 and picked up a fringe version of the WBA title as the judges carded 97-92, 96-93 and 95-93, with my scorecard reading 97-92.
A future fight with either of the full WBA title holders in Andre Ward or Carl Froch looks a million miles away for Love at this point – with more defensive work needed before any major step-up.
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