Cassius Chaney landed a picture-perfect short right hook on the chin of Trevor Bryan, and the devastating punch was all that Chaney needed to score a sensational seventh-round knockout in their heavyweight fight.
Referee Luis Pabon immediately waved off the action at the 2:03 mark of the round as Bryan fell flat on his stomach after absorbing the punch.
The highlight-reel shot suddenly turned into a somber moment, however, as Bryan remained down for an extended period of time, eventually needing a neck brace and medical attention.
Bryan was stretchered out of the ring and his gloves were cut off his hands as medical professionals tended to him. The television broadcast said Bryan was heard saying that he couldn’t feel his legs.
Bryan (22-2, 15 KOs) absorbed several big shots throughout the fight, also suffering a second-round knockdown against Chaney (23-1, 16 KOs).
Chaney, 36, knocked down Bryan, 34, with a big right uppercut in the second, but Bryan got back up. Bryan was rocked again with a huge right hand moments after, falling back into the ropes and eventually getting saved by the bell.
Chaney stepped up his offense again in the third and teed off with a big right hand that had Bryan reeling as he fell back into the ropes once more. But Bryan survived and seemingly forced Chaney to blow his load.
Chaney’s activity dropped in the fourth and Bryan began to dictate the pace a bit as he worked his way back into the fight.
Chaney delivered a couple of hard left hands, but his offensive output staggered, returning back to his corner at the end of the round breathing heavily.
In the fifth round, Chaney hit Bryan with a looping right hand that altered Bryan’s footing but didn’t do much else.
Bryan’s output started showing more in the sixth with a stiff jab, but by the seventh, he started dropping his hands, ultimately giving Chaney a chance to land the hellacious shot that ended the fight.
Bryan was fighting for the first time since suffering a fourth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in June 2022 and dropping his secondary WBA title.
Chaney came into the fight having fought just one round in the last 23 months. His only pro loss came against George Arias in 2021 in a ten-round split decision.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.