Artem Dalakian is once again victorious in a flyweight world title defense in front of his home nation fans of Ukraine.
The 31-year-old Dalakian scored a 10th round stoppage win over Thai fighter Sarawut Thawornkham in Kiev, Ukraine to retain his WBA 112-pound title. The fight marked Dalakian’s third straight in Kiev, all world title defenses.
The stoppage came late in the round when Thawornkham was hurt and not fighting back after getting pelted with dozens of power shots. The sequence that led to the stoppage started with a straight right hand that staggered Thawornkham and nearly stumbled outside of the ring through the middle ropes.
Although Thawornkham managed to stay up after the initial onslaught, Dalakian would continue punishing Thawornkham around the ring, pressuring him to the corner and landing a combination of punches that nearly dropped him multiple times. Thawornkham moved to the ropes, but was still getting hit with big shots left and right and since he all he could do was put his hands up to defend, the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.
This was Dalakian’s third world title defense since defeating Brian Viloria in the United States back in February 2018. All three of Dalakian’s title defenses have taken place within the last 12 months and all ended with stoppage victories in favor of the champion.
The loss snapped Thawornkham’s 20-fight win streak, which started after Thawornkham lost his pro debut back in 2014. Thawornkham came into the fight ranked No. 1 by the WBA at 112 pounds.
