Oleksandr Usyk retains cruiserweight title with ninth-round stoppage in HBO debut

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - It was the first HBO-televised cruiserweight bout since the 2003 fight of the year between James Toney and Vasily Jirov, and this was anything but.

WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk and Thabiso Mchunu sleepwalked their way through nine rounds Saturday at The Forum, a poor showing for a weight class revered for its action affairs.

Usyk (11-0, 10 KOs) didn't punch in combination, but when he did land, his concussive shots did damage. The Olympic gold medalist dropped Mchunu with a left uppercut in Round 6, and then two more knockdowns in Round 9 led referee Dr. Lou Moret to wave the fight off at 1:53.

It was the first defense of the title Usyk grabbed from Krzysztof Glowacki in September, and with his HBO debut behind him, K2 Promotions will look to move him swiftly in 2017.

"I get to take my belt back home, and I got to do it with my fellow Ukrainians in the crowd," said Usyk. One of those Ukrainians was the mayor of Kiev himself, former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko.

"We were hoping to get the knockout earlier, but we got it and we're looking forward to bringing more fights to this cruiserweight division."

The South African's tricky style bothered Usyk at first, but eventually, the 29-year-old settle down. He more than doubled Mchunu's punch output and never was on the receiving end of a true, clean power shot.

"He got the better of me, and he used it against me," said Mchunu (17-3, 11 KOs). "All I can say now is that we have to go back to square one."

(Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Paste BN Sports)