Radivoje Kalajdzic stops Sullivan Barrera in final seconds of 10-round bout
Radivoje Kalajdzic broke down Sullivan Barrera before scoring a vicious knockout win in the 10th and final round Wednesday night at the Whitesands (also known as the ProBox TV) Events Center in Plant City, Florida.
Kalajdzic, who is originally from Belgrade, Serbia and now residing in nearby Saint Petersburg, improved to 29-2, 21 knockouts.
After an even opening round, Barrera landed an overhand right to the head of Kalajdzic in round two that caught Kalajdzic’s attention. Barrera’s right eye began to swell during the round. Replays showed a left-right combination landed, producing swelling immediately afterwards. By the end of the fight, the eye was completely shut.
Barrera followed up and landed another overhand right to the head, stunning Kalajdzic in the third round. Later during the round, Kalajdzic connected with a counter right hand to the head, dropping Barrera to the canvas. Barrera was not visibly hurt, beating the count and fighting back.
Kalajdzic was effective the rest of the fight by working behind a steady jab. Anytime Barrera initiated exchanges, Kalajdzic effectively countered, landing a right uppercut, followed by a left hook to the head.
Sensing he was down on the scorecards late in the fight, Barrera did well in rounds eight and nine, stalking Kalajdzic and connecting with more overhand right hands to the head.
Late in round 10, a combination to the head stunned Barrera. Moments later, a straight right landed to the head hurt Barrera. Kalajdzic followed up, landing three more punches before referee Frank Gentile was able to step in, waving the fight off at 2:31.
Barrera had fallen through the ring ropes, landing on the outer edge of the ring. He remained on the canvas momentarily before rolling under the ropes, eventually sitting up on a stool and standing up, where he received an embrace from Kalajdzic.
The win over Barrera took place over six months after Kalajdzic stopped Mickey Ellison in the eighth round. The 32-year-old has now won his last five bouts since losing to unified world light heavyweight titleholder Artur Beterbiev in May 2019.
Barrera, who is originally from Cuba and now resides in Hollywood, Florida, falls to 24-5, 14 KOs. The 42-year-old has now lost four of his last five bouts, including a March 2018 knockout loss to WBA world light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol.
In his previous bout in July 2021, Barrera lost by knockout to then-light heavyweight contender Gilberto Ramirez.
Nicklaus Flaz – Photo courtesy of ProBoxTV
In the co-main event, Nicklaus Flaz of Puerto Rico dropped Luke Santamaria three times en route to a knockout win in round six. Flaz improved to 12-2, 8 KOs.
Towards the end of the first round, Flaz dropped Santamaria with a left-right combination to the head. The bell sounded to end the round before Flaz was able to follow up.
Santamaria was able to do well on the inside, connecting to the head and body of Flaz. By the fourth round, Flaz was able to swing momentum in his favor by outboxing Santamaria, utilizing his awkward style and angles to repeatedly connect punches.
Midway through the sixth round, a counter right hand dropped Santamaria to the canvas. Santamaria was able to beat the count, but was dropped again, this time by a left hook to the body. Referee Massimo Montanini waved the fight off after acknowledging Santamaria’s corner for the fight to be stopped to save Santamaria from taking further punishment.
Flaz has now won his last three fights since losing to Janelson Figueroa Bocachica in October 2020. Since the loss, the 28-year-old notched majority decision victories over Brian Ceballo and Jahi Tucker, both of whom were unbeaten entering their respective fights against Flaz.
Santamaria, who resides in the Los Angeles suburb of Garden Grove, falls to 14-4-1, 7 KOs. The 26-year-old has split his last six fights, including recent losses to Jesus Ramos and Paul Kroll.
In welterweight action, Kelvin Davis stopped Mario Lozano of Argentina at the end of the second round. The 27-year-old Davis, the older brother of lightweight prospect Keyshawn Davis, improved to 12-0, 7 knockouts.
Davis received an overhand left to the head by Lozano midway through the opening round. From that point on, it was all Davis, who began to throw and land combinations that overwhelmed the much shorter Lozano.
Towards the end of the second round, a barrage of punches dropped Lozano to the canvas, near the ropes. Referee Frank Gentile counted Lozano out at 3:00.
Lozano falls to 18-13-1, 9 KOs and has now lost his last 12 fights.
In the opening bout of the ProBox TV card, welterweight Vershaun Lee of Davenport, Iowa defeated Mexico’s Luis Vega Sanchez (0-3-2) by unanimous decision. Scores were 39-37, 39-37, and 40-36 for Lee, who improved to 2-0, 1 KO.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at santio89@yahoo.com
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