John Laryea (L)
Ghanaian boxer John “The Expensive Boxer” Laryea suffered his first professional defeat after being disqualified against Argentina’s Maximilliano Robledo in their WBA Featherweight title eliminator in Buenos Aires on Saturday night.
Laryea started brightly, using his movement to frustrate Robledo while occasionally connecting with powerful punches. However, the fight quickly turned in favour of the home fighter.
Robledo dropped Laryea in the third round with a right hook before sending him to the canvas again in the fourth and fifth rounds as he continued to apply relentless pressure.
With Robledo dominating, Laryea increasingly resorted to low blows. He was initially deducted a point for the offence before being warned repeatedly by referee Janny Guzman.
In the ninth round, Laryea landed another low blow with a left hook, leaving the referee with little choice but to disqualify him and award the victory to Robledo.
Robledo improves to 14-1 with six knockouts and will now face the winner of the upcoming Figueroa-Kameda bout for an opportunity to challenge for the WBA Featherweight title.
The defeat marks the first loss of Laryea’s professional career, leaving him with a record of 17 wins and one defeat after 18 fights.
BY Wletsu Ransford