Souleymane Cissokho climbs off canvas twice to retain WBC Silver welterweight title

Souleymane Cissokho retains WBC Silver crown in a hard fight

At the Sipopo Conference Centre in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, a great card promoted by Jérôme Abiteboul and Hassan Obiang took place, in which WBC Silver welterweight champion Souleymane Cissokho (18-0, 9 KOs) defeated Egidijus Kavaliauskas (24-3-1, 19 KOs) by unanimous decision in a dramatic contest.

Defending titlist Souleymane had to fight hard against the tide in this bout, which was also an eliminator, defeating a tough opponent in Kavaliauskas.

The first round was typically cautious on the part of both fighters, but the action came alive in the second when Lithuanian Kavaliauskas landed a left hook that sent his opponent crashing to the canvas.

The Frenchman had already felt Kavaliauskas’s power, so it was time to change his strategy and box with more movement.

Rounds three and four were more successful for Cissokho, who managed to counter his opponent’s attacks with precise jabs.

However, once again, Cissokho found himself in a difficult situation in the fifth round, having been knocked down yet again.

Kavaliauskas pressed and pressured, knowing he was destabilising Cissokho, so he looked to finish the fight.

Stubborn Souleymane wouldn’t be defeated, however. He returned to the fight to survive the remainder of the round before regrouping for the second half of the championship contest.

The seventh and eighth rounds were difficult and tense for the struggling Cissokho, but he emerged unscathed. The ninth round was more beneficial for the Frenchman, as he punished his opponent, who seemed to have expended a lot of energy in the earlier rounds.

Kavaliauskas became visibly fatigued and his pressure had decreased considerably, had to deal more with Cissokho’s movement and jabs in the 10 and 11th rounds.

In the final round, Kavaliauskas made a last-gasp push to trouble his opponent for the third time, but Cissokho held on to claim the most important victory of his career thus far.

With this victory, Cissokho successfully defended his WBC Silver welterweight crown and won a division elimination bout.

The scores were 114-112, 115-111, and 116-110 in favour of the French fighter.

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