MORE LIVE RESULTS TO COME………..
Reshat Mati needed nearly all six rounds Friday, but the welterweight prospect eventually stopped Dennis Okoth.
Mati beat an injured Okoth by technical knockout in the opening fight on the Gennadiy Golovkin-Kamil Szeremeta undercard at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Staten Island’s Mati, 22, improved to 9-0 and produced his seventh knockout.
The Kenyan-born Okoth (4-5-1, 2 KOs), of Silver Spring, Maryland, has lost three straight bouts, all by knockout.
Okoth appeared to injure his right leg after Mati landed a right hand a little more than a minute into the sixth round. A vulnerable Okoth backed up, into the ropes, and Mati threw a barrage of power punches.
Referee Telis Assimenios stepped between them to stop the action at 1:18 of the sixth round because Okoth wasn’t defending himself.
Mati went down 25 seconds into the sixth round, but because Okoth stepped on his foot.
A left hook by Mati landed flush about 1:15 into the fifth round. Mati moved and boxed for most of those three minutes against an aggressive Okoth.
Mati defended himself well in the fourth round, but Okoth’s stiff jab backed up Mati with about 25 seconds to go in that round.
Mati drilled Okoth with a right hand during an exchange in the middle minute of the third round. Okoth came right back with power punches of his own.
Okoth caught Mati with a left hook one minute into the second round. Otherwise, Mati was the more effective fighter in that round, including an overhand right that backed up Okoth.
Mati nailed Okoth with a left to the body and then a right hand up top 1:05 into the opening round. Mati wasn’t as aggressive as usual in the first round, the start of which was delayed because Mati’s corner men didn’t have Vaseline to apply to his face.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
