Dariusz Sek stops Shefat Isufi in eight to win WBC Eurasia Pacific Light Heavyweight Championship

Dariusz Sek is the new WBC Eurasia Pacific Boxing Council Light Heavyweight Champion. The 28-year-old southpaw from Tarnow (Poland) forced local hero Shefat Isufi to retire in the eighth round of their exciting and very entertaining EPBC title fight Saturday night at Circus Krone in Munich, Germany.

Sek started aggressively and won the first round but Isufi quickly adjusted and took control dominating rounds two to four by forcing Sek in the infight and landing some heavy hooks.

After four rounds Isufi was leading on all four score cards. However, Sek came back strong in rounds five and six by landing some hard body shots and wearing his opponent down.

The Pole finally broke Isufi’s nose with a clean left hand in the seventh. Isufi seemed to run out of gas and was taking a lot of punishment in the eighth when referee Juergen Langos asked the ringside physician to check the Albanian’s nose which was heavily bleeding.

Isufi’s trainer and promoter Alexander Petkovic had seen enough and decided to throw in the towel after 1:24 minutes of round eight. After seven rounds all three judges had the bout even at 67-67 (twice) and 68-68.

“Of course, it is disappointing but the health of my fighters is most important to me”, said Petkovic. “With the injured nose Shefat couldn’t breathe. It is always a tough call to end a fight – especially with a guy like Shefat who always wants to go on and who can always come back”.

“But I wanted to save him from getting seriously injured. We hope that his nose heals fast. Then we’ll get back in the ring and prepare for a rematch. Hats off to Dariusz Sek who showed lots of heart and a great fight. He deserved the win. It was a great fight as long as it lasted and I think everybody who saw it wants to see the rematch, too.”

On the undercard, hot rising prospects James and Tony Kraft scored hard fought decision wins over rugged journeymen Josef Obeslo (James) and Vladimir Idranyi (Slovakia).

Just like Shefat Isufi, the Kraft brothers seemed to suffer from the summer heat in Munich. On the hottest day of the year in Germany, the temperature inside the ring was way above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). But in the end both James and Tony Kraft managed to stay unbeaten. (Photo: BOX REC)