All photos by Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions
Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN boxing took place Friday, August 4, 2017 from the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.
In the co-main event, Vyacheslav “Chingonskyy” Shabranskyy (19-1, 16 KOs) faced previously undefeated Todd “2Gunz”Unthank-May (10-1-1, 4 KOs) for the vacant WBC USNBC Light Heavyweight title.
Shabranskyy controlled the first round behind a stiff jab and connected with a left hook which appeared to hurt Unthank-May toward the end of the round.
The action began to heat up in the second round as both men landed hard shots, but Shabranskyy edged the round out behind a hard overhand right which opened a cut above the left eye of Unthank-May.
As the fight continued, Shabranskyy’s strong jab became the difference maker as he continued to snap Unthank-May’s head back and halt any momentum he tried to mount from his own offensive attack. The fight was highly competitive though the first four rounds, but Unthank-May’s punches clearly did not have the same effect as when Shabranskyy landed.
Just when Unthank-May appeared to be losing steam and a bit weary he had arguably his best round of the fight in the sixth as he landed multiple clean right hands and backed Shabranskyy up the majority of the round.
Unthank-May’s success would be short-lived though. In the seventh round Shabranskyy could not miss with the jab and he began landing at will. Unthank-May clearly showed the effects of the punishment received and he looked uneasy on his way to his corner as the seventh round ended.
It was at this point the referee called a halt to the bout awarding Chingonskyy a seventh-round technical decision.
After the fight Shabranskyy stated that he’s ready to face stiffer competition.
“I’m happy to have my belt back,” said Shabranskyy. “I learned a lot from my fight against Barrera, and I’ve been working on moving my head and body a lot more. He was a tough guy. I have 20 fights in my career and I am ready to start taking on bigger fights again.”
Although there are many options on the table for his next fight in the Light Heavyweight division, a fight with Joe Smith would definitely make for an exciting affair.
We can only sit back, wait and see.
