Eight Fighters Advance To The WBC Grand Prix Finals During An Outstanding Night Of Boxing:

Heavyweight Dante Stone Suffers Upset Loss As

The Lone American Standing In The Grand Prix Semifinals!

(October 20th) Eight fighters advanced to the WBC Grand Prix Finals following the semifinal round, which took place Sunday evening in Riyadh.  Thirteen Americans represented the United States during the WBC Grand Prix when it began back in April. None remain.

Arizona’s own Dante Stone was the lone American standing, but he went down in the first round and lost a split decision against Argentina´s Kevin Ramírez, dashing his hopes of keeping the American flame alive in this year´s edition of the tournament.

North America doesn’t leave empty-handed, however, as Canada´s Derek Pomerleau edged out Colombia´s Carlos Sinisterra with the first split decision of the tournament for him.   

Stone and Ramírez capped off a memorable card made up of eight different semifinalists spread out over four divisions, and the stage is now set for December´s grand finale.

“It was a truly special night,” said WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán. “Ramírez told me that he is going to achieve his dream of buying the house he promised to his mom, and the entire WBC Grand Prix has been magical with tremendous fights. Eight fighters go home, but eight will come back (to Riyadh) looking for glory.”

The winners of each division in the tournament will receive the “José Sulaimán Trophy”, earn a shot at challenging for the WBC Silver Title and a cash prize.

Here is a recap of the action that took place in Riyadh´s Global Theater and broadcast on DAZN:

SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT

Mujibillo Tursunov (Uzbekistan) 9-0 (2 KOs) MD6 Danylo Lozan (Ukraine) 15-1 (9 KOs) Judges: Omar Mintun, Adrian Aguillon, Guido Cavalleri, Rey Danseco, and Craig Metcalfe, Referee: Joel Scobie

In one of the most evenly matched fights of the night, Mujibillo Tursunov of Uzbekistan defeated Ukraine’s Danylo Lozan by majority decision. The semifinal slate couldn’t have started any better: Danylo Lozan and Mujibillo Tursunov delivered an all-out war during which both fighters never stopped throwing punches. Lozan tried to control the distance and stayed aggressive, but Tursunov got the better of the exchanges.

Carlos Utria (Colombia) 13-0 (11 KOs) TKO1 vs Ntethelelo Nkosi (South Africa) 10-3 (5 KOs) Judges: Omar Mintun, Adrian Aguillon, Jorge Gorini, Barry Lindenman, and Paul Landeros. Referee: Hector Afu

Colombia´s Carlos Utria claimed a resounding victory by technical knockout in just one round against South Africa’s Ntethelelo Nkosi. From the start of the bout, Nkosi, true to his style, came forward trying to pressure Utria, but he ran into the great skillset of an opponent that landed clean shots and kept him at a distance. Utria moved and struck with purpose around the ring, displaying his precision until he landed a right hand and an uppercut that put Nkosi in trouble. At that moment, Utria went all out, forcing Nkosi against the ropes. The referee eventually intervened and stopped the fight.

FEATHERWEIGHT

Muhamet Qamili (Italy) 17-0-1 (8 KOs) TKO1 Yoni Valverde Jr (France) 16-1 (3 KOs) Judges: Rey Danseco, Craig Metcalfe, Jorge Gorini, Barry Linderman, and Paul Landeros. Referee: Joel Scobie.

Italy’s Muhamet Qamili scored a first-round TKO victory over France’s Yoni Valverde Jr. The WBC Boxing Grand Prix delivered its second first-round stoppage of the night. This one came at 2:26 of the opening round, when Qamili dropped Valverde with a left hand and followed up with a powerful combination. The referee deemed the punishment excessive and stepped in to stop the fight.

Brandon Mejia (Mexico) 12-0 (10 KOs) KO5 Bekizizwe Maitse (South Africa) 8-2 (3 KOs) Judges: Guido Cavalleri, Rey Danseco, Craig Metcalfe, Jorge Gorini, and Barry Linderman, Referee: Hector Afu

Mexico´s own Brandon Mejía Mosqueda stopped South Africa’s Bekizizwe Maitse with two left hooks to the body that tilted the bout in his favor. In the first round, Maitse did his job, keeping the Mexican at a distance. By the second, Mejía began to find his range and land powerful shots. Most judges had the fight even, but the tide started to turn in favor of Mejía, who at times seemed to hurt his opponent. In the fifth round, a left hook to the body sent Maitse to his knees. He got back up, but Mejía gave him another dose of that punishment, making Maitse double over in pain. Mejía prevailed by knockout and advanced to the final against Italy´s Qamili.

MIDDLEWEIGHT

Derek Pomerleau (Canada) 15-0 (11 KOs) MD6 Carlos Sinisterra (Colombia) 13-2 (10 KOs) Judges: Rey Danseco, Barry Linderman, Omar Mintun, Adrian Aguillon, and Guido Cavalleri, Referee: Joel Scobie

In an extremely close battle, Canadian Derek Pomerleau earned a majority decision victory over Colombia’s Carlos Sinisterra. From the very beginning, both fighters challenged each other with constant exchanges. They built momentum round by round, throwing combinations. Sinisterra attacked the Canadian’s head with precise punches while managing distance very well, and Pomerleau fought intelligently, standing out in the fifth round when he injured his opponent’s nose — a decisive moment in the fight. In the final round, the action was briefly stopped due to an accidental headbutt, setting the stage for a spectacular and action-packed finish.

Dylan Biggs (Australia) 17-1 (9 KOs) UD6 Lancelot de la Chapelle (France) 17-2-2 (5 KOs) Judges: Adrian Aguillon, Guido Cavalleri, Rey Danseco, Craig Metcalfe, and Jorge Gorini, Referee: Hector Afu

Australia´s Dylan Biggs earned a unanimous decision victory over France’s Lancelot de la Chapelle and advanced to the final against Derek Pomerleau.

Biggs showed more power in his punches for most of the fight, which put him ahead on the scorecards in the early rounds. By the fifth round, all the judges had him in the lead. At that point, the Australian began to slow down, trying to stay out of danger from De la Chapelle, who never stopped coming forward looking for the fight. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t catch up on the cards, and thus Dylan Biggs took the win by unanimous decision.

HEAVYWEIGHT

Ahmed Krnjic (Bosnia & Herzegovina) 7-0 (4 KOs) SD6 Keaton Gomes (South Africa) 13-4 (11 KOs) Judges: Rey Danseco, Craig Metcalfe, Omar Mintun, Adrian Aguillon, and Guido Cavalleri, Referee: Joel Scobie

Bosnian Ahmed Krnjic earned a split decision victory in a war against South Africa’s Keaton Gomes. The most physical fight of the night took place in this semifinal. Although Keaton Gomes did everything possible to overcome the Bosnian giant, even hurting him in the fifth round, Krnjic came out on top in the exchanges. By managing his stamina and landing powerful shots to Gomes’ body and head, Krnjic wore down his opponent and controlled the fight more intelligently.

Kevin Ramírez (Argentina) 11-0-2 (4 KOs) SD6 Dante Stone (USA) 21-2-0 (13 KOs) Judges: Guido Cavalleri, Craig Metcalfe, Jorge Gorini, Barry Linderman, Paul Landeros, Referee: Hector Afu

Argentina´s Kevin Ramírez earned the victory and a spot in the final by defeating Dante Stone of the United States via split decision.

In the very first round, Ramírez took Stone by surprise with a right hand that sent him to the canvas. The American got up and managed to recover, working his jab very effectively.

However, the Argentine’s right hand remained dangerous at several points during the fight, and despite both fighters showing signs of fatigue in the later rounds, they continued to give their all. Ultimately, the judges awarded a split decision in favor of Ramírez.