Plant City, Florida – Georgian Otar Eranosyan picked up a big win over former world champion Roger Gutierrez.
The pair collided in a WBA world title eliminator, with Eranosyan falling in line to face champion Hector Luis Garcia, who Gutierrez lost his title to last year.
Eranosyan started the first round with good footwork and varying combinations which gave Gutierrez a lot to consider.
Gutierrez changed course quickly, returning at the beginning of the second round with a renewed vigor. He came out swinging in the opening seconds of the round, catching Eransoyan with a right hand that sent him to the canvas. The Georgian was up on his feet immediately, but heavy pressure from Gutierrez nearly spelled an early night for his opponent.
The Venezuelan came forward with long hard right hands and big left hooks that caught Eranosyan flush on many occasions. Eransoyan recovered after a minute, slowing the pace, managing to weather the storm.
The slip-up from Eransoyan proved to be a turning point in the fight, as the decorated Georgian amateur took control from the third round onwards despite some moments of danger from Gutierrez.
By the seventh Gutierrez was looking fatigued as Eranosyan’s pitbull style saw him land two big body shots in the opening minute of the round. The pair traded, with Eransoyan, again, coming out the better by landing two shots to the head, and a thudding left jab followed.
Gutierrez was deducted a point for holding midway through the eight. As the round closed out, Eranosyan had his man pinned to the ropes and let loose a combination of shots to the head and body, which sent the Venezuelan to the canvas with 18 seconds to spare. While he beat the count, Eranosyan was back on him and connected with more punches. As the round came to a close, there was some confusion as it appeared Gutierrez’s team was about to throw in the towel. After a review by the doctor, the fight was declared over in-between rounds with Gutierrez deemed to be in no state to continue.
Eranosyan improves to 14-0 (7 KOs), as Gutierrez falls to 27-5-1 (21 KOs).
In the evening’s chief support, Petros Ananyan came back from behind, down on the scorecards, to knock Christian Baez (19-3, 17 KOs) out in the seventh round of their super lightweight bout.