Cheavon Clarke Edges Efetobor Apochi In Bruising Affair; Arturo Cardenas Earns Split Nod Over Jesus Arechiga

It wasn’t an ideal close to the fight but Cheavon Clarke will gladly take the end result.

A strong surge by Efetobor Apochi wasn’t enough to upset the unbeaten Jamaican-British prospect in their bruising cruiserweight affair. Clarke won via majority decision win in his U.S. debut

Judge Jerry Cantu (95-95) had it even after ten action-packed rounds. Judges Ron Scott Stevens (98-92) and Jonathan Davis (97-93) had it for Clarke in their DAZN aired bout Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Apochi offered a credible account of himself both early and late. Clarke was being tested for his first time as a pro, which also marked his first career fight outside of the U.K. The 2020 Great Britain Olympian held his own and eventually took control of the fight, particularly in the middle rounds.

Clarke nearly had a knockout in a one-sided eighth round. Apochi somehow remained upright after taking a left hook to the chin and a right hand to the temple. Clarke went on the attack, to the point where he appeared to punch himself out by round’s end.

Action slowed for the first time in the ninth, which worked to Apochi’s advantage. Clarke boxed more in the round, clearly in an effort to get his second wind.

It worked, until it didn’t.

Apochi rocked Clarke late in the round with a temple shot. There wasn’t enough time in the round to finish him off, though Apochi was able to get in a couple more shots before the bell

The momentum carried over into the final round. Apochi took the fight to Clarke, who stood his ground when necessary and clinched just enough to minimize Apochi’s output. It resulted in Apochi suffering his third narrow decision defeat, as all his wins have come via knockout.

Clarke advanced to 10-0 (7 knockouts) with the win. It marked the third time in just ten pro bouts where the 33-year-old cruiserweight has gone the ten-round distance.

Also on the show, Robert Garcia-trained Arturo Cardenas (15-0-1, 8 KOs) survived a major gut check in a ten-round, split decision win over Jesus Arechiga.

The all-Mexico battle saw Arechiga (21-2, 15 KOs) win by score of 96-94 on one card. It was overruled by scores of 98-92 and 96-94 for Cardenas, who defeated Danny Barrios via majority decision just two months ago.

Both fights served on the undercard of the Diego Pacheco-Maciej Sulecki super middleweight crossroads clash.

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