Lucas Browne knocks out Junior Pati cold in five rounds

Former WBA Heavyweight Champion Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne made light work of New Zealand’s Junior Pati in Auckland tonight. Browne controlled the tempo of the fight and knocked Pati cold with a left hook, right uppercut combination in the fifth round.

Pati slumped to the canvas, and it didn’t look like he was going to beat referee Lance Revill’s count. Browne’s record progresses to 27-1 (24 KO), and he claimed the WBC Asian Boxing Council silver title.

“I’m happy with how the fight went. He had a lot of support here, and the atmosphere was tremendous,” Browne said. “I knew when I caught him with that uppercut he wasn’t getting up. I’ve really enjoyed my time in New Zealand, and I’m hoping to come back here.” When asked about future opponents he replied: “There’s been lots of talk about Adam Kownacki and that is a fight I would love. Joe Parker has been mentioned too as has Charles Martin. We will see what happens in 2019.”

IN OTHER NEWS: Belgium-based Albanian Meriton Karaxha is the new World Boxing Federation (WBF) International Welterweight Champion, winning the vacant title against Jean Moraiti from France on Friday night, November 23, in Lessines, in a fight that ended before it really got started.

Karaxha started the fight fast and tried to force Moraiti backward, while the Frenchman stayed in close and attempted to counter with hard hooks. This proved to be a bad idea, as it left his body wide open and enabled Karaxha to land good body-shots.

Moraiti felt the sharp punches from Karaxha, and ended up in his own corner where he was floored by a long barrage of shots to body and head. One punch landed a little too late, and Moraiti complained with good reason.

But before referee Philippe Wouters could finish his count and potentially deduct a point from Karaxha, the French corner threw in the towel and gave up for their man. Wouters kicked out the towel, refusing to accept the surrender, but Moraiti wanted no more and turned his back.

Official time of the stoppage was 2:37 of the first round, as Meriton Karaxha (26) improved his professional record to 21-5-2 (8). Jean Moraiti (26), a former WBF International Champion at Lightweight and Light Welterweight, drops to 17-15-4 (2). The fight headlined a show promoted by Elite Promotion.