Junior welterweight contender Stevie ‘TNT’ Spark 16-2 (14) scored a sixth-round disqualification victory over highly-touted Montana ‘Sgt Pepper’ Love 18-1-1 (9) at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday night.
Love, a 27-year-old southpaw from Cleveland, was making his homecoming, but things didn’t turn out the way he expected.
After a cagey first opening round the Australian Spark, 26, surged on the American, sending him to the deck with a straight right hand.
Love beat the count but never seemed quite right.
The pressure from Spark was at times ineffective, but Love never seemed comfortable under the pump. The pressure fighting Aussie, who hs power in both hands, seemed buoyed by the knockdown and never let up up, despite being unable to close the show in the second frame.
Love rallied back in the fourth stanza but Spark jumped on him in the fifth, backing him into the ropes and letting his hands go, roughing up the favourite much to the local crowd’s chagrin.
An unintentional headclash occurred when both boxers tried to through a rear hand simultaneously. It resustled in a minor cut over Love’s left eye.
The ringside physician examined the cut, with Love claiming he couldn’t see. The doctor sent him back in, saying he would give him one minute to evaluate the situation.
One minute wasn’t needed.
Love rushed Spark and sent him over the top rope. Spark fell onto the ground but miraculously landed on his feet.
The bout was called off at the 0:25 mark by referee David Field.
“For a moment I couldn’t see, I didn’t know how bad the cut was,” Love said. “The whole plan was to let him wear down and grab him in the later rounds. I definitely want to fight him again.”
As it stands, Love is the loser and it’s up to Spark is he wants to fight him again.
But the victor was chipper about the result, saying “[It was a] bloody good landing if you ask me!”