Erik Bazinyan stayed busy Thursday night by battering a huge underdog who was noticeably smaller than him.
The Armenian-born, Quebec-based Bazinyan battered Billi Godoy for two-plus rounds, until the undefeated super middleweight contender finished his overmatched opponent in the third round of the main event of an Eye of The Tiger card at Casino de Montreal in Montreal.
A chopping right hand by Bazinyan knocked Godoy to the canvas with 53 seconds on the clock in the third round. Godoy didn’t beat referee Junior Padulo’s count and their scheduled 10-rounder was stopped at 2:23 of the third round.
The Armenian-born, Montreal-based Bazinyan improved to 32-0 and recorded his 23rd knockout.
Bazinyan, 28, is ranked second by the WBA, third by the WBC and WBO and fifth by the IBF in the 168-pound division. Canelo Alvarez holds the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO 168-pound championships.
Argentina’s Godoy, 37, has been a middleweight throughout his career, but he moved up to the super middleweight limit of 168 pounds to battle Bazinyan. Godoy (41-8, 20 KOs) lost by knockout or technical knockout for the sixth time in his 16-year pro career.
Before finishing Godoy during the third round, Bazinyan blasted Godoy with a right hand that snapped back his head with just over 1:20 on the clock in the second round. Godoy tried to fight back, but his power was too much for him.
Another right hand by Bazinyan caught Godoy with just over 50 seconds on the clock in the second round. Godoy connected with a right hand of his own when there was about 35 seconds to go in the second round.
Bazinyan blasted Godoy with a right hand that made Godoy stumble and hold Bazinyan with just over 20 seconds remaining in the opening round. Bazinyan pushed Godoy to the canvas soon thereafter and Godoy was given time to recover from some sort of injury to his right leg before the action continued.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing