A focused, sharp Erik Bazinyan boxed well Wednesday night and produced one of the most impressive performances of his 10-year pro career.
The Armenian-born, Quebec-based super middleweight contender out-worked American veteran Ronald Ellis for five-plus rounds and landed a right hand that abruptly ended their scheduled 10-rounder in the sixth round on the Mary Spencer-Femke Hermans undercard at Montreal Casino in Montreal. Bazinyan’s right hand to the top of Ellis’ head knocked him flat on his back with 1:34 to go in the sixth round.
Ellis got up by the time referee Alain Villeneuve counted to eight, but he didn’t respond to Villeneuve’s command to walk forward and Villeneuve stopped their fight. The official time of the stoppage was 1:44 of the sixth round.
Bazinyan, 28, upped his record to 31-0 and produced his 22nd knockout. Ellis (18-4-2, 12 KOs), of Lynn, Massachusetts, lost by knockout for the first time in 24 professional fights.
Ellis ended a 22-month layoff by battling Bazinyan, who accomplished something David Benavidez couldn’t do by knocking out the durable Ellis. The 33-year-old Ellis, a frequent sparring partner of Canelo Alvarez, hadn’t boxed before Wednesday night since unbeaten contender Christian Mbilli beat him by unanimous decision in a 10-rounder that took place in December 2021.
Bazinyan landed a right hand and then a second right to the top of
Bazinyan turned to a southpaw stance after the halfway point of the fifth round and blocked most of Ellis’ punches as he backed Bazinyan into the ropes. Ellis let his hands go more in the fifth round, though.
Bazinyan pressured Ellis for much of the fourth round. He landed a right hand around Ellis’ guard with about 15 seconds on the clock in the fourth round.
Bazinyan’s counter left hook rocked Ellis a few seconds before the third round concluded. Bazinyan’s right previously landed about 1:15 into the third round.
Bazinyan blasted Ellis with a right hand with just under 15 seconds to go in the second round. Another right hand by Bazinyan connected just before the bell sounded to end the second round.
Ellis landed a short right uppercut on the inside with just under 45 seconds remaining in the second round.
Ellis landed a right hand and got out of Bazinyan’s punching range a few seconds before the first round ended.
Bazinyan landed a right hand to the side of Ellis’ head with just under a minute to go in the first round. Ellis was aggressive during the first round, in which he landed a right hand just after its halfway point.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.