Browne stops Chagaev to win WBA heavyweight title
Lucas Browne (24-0, 21 KOs) scored a 10th round stoppage aganist Ruslan Chagaev (34-3-1, 21 KOs) to win the WBA heavyweight title on Saturday night at the Colosseum Sport Hall in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia.
Browne got off the canvas to dethrone the defending champion from Uzbekistan, who was making the second defence in his second world title reign.
The taller Browne worked the jab from the outside in the early rounds but southpaw Chagaev soon started to land hard shots and dropped the challenger with a straight left hand in the 6th.
However, the Aussie, who was cut from his left eye and wobbled a couple more times, not only survived the round, but he then comeback to land several right uppercuts and take the 7th.
In the following rounds, Chagaev took the fight to Browne, while the challenger was jabbing and moving until he caught Chagaev with a huge right to the head in the 10th, sending the champion to the canvas. Chagaev was throwing a left at the same time that Browne was throwing his shot and Browne’s landed first.
As soon as Chagaev got to his feet, Browne unloaded a barrage of hooks with Chagaev on the ropes and referee Stanley Christodoulou stopped the fight.
Browne wins the WBA 'regular' belt, while Britain's Tyson Fury holds the WBA 'super' title, along with the WBO belt.
Browne becomes the first ever Australian world heavyweight champion.