By Alexey Sukachev

At the Atlas Arena in Łódź, Poland, a heated rematch between two former cruiserweight champions, IBF ex-master Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (43-21, 32 KOs) regained his 200lb crown (now of the WBC version) after the eighth-round TKO over WBC ex-titlist Giacobbe Fragomeni (26-3-1, 10 KOs) of Milan, Italy.

This bout wasn't a walk in the park for 28 years old Pole Wlodarzyk, who was forced to overcome Italian's tough resistance to seize a new belt. Round one, however, was closely in a favour of the local hero, who was just a bit more active than his opponent by throwing slightly more leather. WBC #2 Fragomeni, nearing his 41st birthday, got back on his track in round two with severe body punches and combinations on his way in. Rounds three and four were relatively even but Wlodarczyk was able to use his stick-and-move tactics to frustrate and to befuddle the Italian. WBC open scoring read 40-36, 39-37 and 38-38 - a majority decision in favour of Wlodarczyk.

After a big round five, when the Italian dug deep into Pole's body and landed several power combinations on occassion. Round six was mostly for the Italian as well, but at the very end of the round Wlodarczyk instantly send the Italian down after a major right hand. Fragomeni beat the count but it was becoming more and more obvious that his power punches were less powerful than those of the "Diablo" Wlodarczyk. Fragomeni delivered his shining last in the seventh, but the end was once again clearly in favour of the local fighter. The end came shortly after the start of the eighth. It's when Wlodarczyk cornered his shorter, stockier opponent and unleashed a wild series of punches that ultimately sent the Italian down. WBC #2 Giacobbe was badly hurt and, though having beaten the count, answered "stop it" on referee's Frank Garza question. Big win for Krzyszof Wlodarczyk, who is the new WBC boss in this weight class.

Unbeaten light heavyweight prospect Maciej Miszkin (9-0, 3 KOs) looked a more developed fighter in his fifth-round stoppage of Germany-based Dagestani Amir Hacimuradov (4-2, 1 KO). Miszkin controlled the pace of the fight and kept his opponent at bay with frequent left crosses. The decisive punch, however, proved to be his overhand right hook, which badly rocked Hacimuradov in the fifth, prompting referee Leszek Jankowiak to step in saving the German import from further punishment.

Comebacking Polish cruiserweight Lukasz Janik (19-1, 11 KOs) scored one of the most impressive stoppages of his pro career against hugely overmatched Italian Michele De Meo (11-4, 3 KOs) in the fourth stanza of scheduled eight. Janik had been outboxing De Meo for the first three rounds before he landed a major combination of two right hands which sent the Italian import down and out cold. De Meo was able to get up only in three minutes after a "fatal ten".

WBC #20 and WBC world Youth champion Andrzej Wawrzyk (19-0, 10 KOs) scored a workmanlike eight-round unanimous decision over Brit Paul Butlin (12-11, 3 KOs), who is now 0-6 in his last six outings. Wawrzyk controlled the entire fight but was unable to penetrate Butlin's tight guard with any shots of significance in order to think about the premature stoppage.

In a major local upset, unheralded Dominican Felix Lora (12-6-4, 6 KOs) got the better of previously undefeated world-ranked super featherweight Krzysztof Cieslak (15-1, 5 KOs) over eight heated rounds. After the even first, Lora started to find a soft spot for his big right hook which landed on Cieslak's chin too often for a world-class fighter. At the end of the fourth Lora floored Cieslak with the same punch but amazingly referee Miroslaw Brozio "forgot" to issue a count. Cieslak, however, was able to get on even terms with Lora in the fifth before flooring him after a wild right-on-right exchange in the sixth. It looked like a turning point but the Dominican buried all hopes sending Cieslak on the canvas one more time -now for a legal count - in the sevent. Round eight was in Pole's favour but it proved to be too littlt and too late for him, as one judge's draw (75-75) was overruled by two other judges, who voted 76-75 and 78-75 - for a sudden winner in Felix Lora.