Anthony Dirrell defeats Denis Doughlin by technical decision

Anthony Dirrell returned to his hometown of Flint, Michigan for the first time in five years on Friday, and scored a technical decision victory over Denis Doughlin in a scheduled 10-round bout in the PBC on FS1 main event.

Dirrell (31-1, 24 KO’s), 33, was caught by a left hook in an exciting opening round, but also came back to rattle Douglin with a vicious straight right hand.

In the fourth round, Dirrell knocked Douglin back with a sharp uppercut and followed it up with a solid combination.

The fight was stopped in the sixth round after a cut was opened above Dirrell’s left eye, caused by an accidental head clash. The judges had it 48-47 (2x), and 49-46.

Douglin (20-6, 13 KO’s), 29, of Marlboro, New Jersey, suffered his second consecutive defeat. He was also knocked out in August 2016 by current WBC super middleweight world champion David Benavidez.

In other action, welterweight prospect Jamontay Clark (13-0, 7 KO’s) picked up a controversial eight-round majority decision over Domonique Dolton (19-2-1, 10 KO’s) in a junior middleweight attraction.

In the opening fight, super lightweight prospect Ryan “Cowboy” Karl (15-1, 9 KO’s) defeated Kareem Marin (9-2-1, 3 KO’s) with an eight-round unanimous decision.