RingTv.com

BROOKLYN, New York – On the undercard of the super middleweight unification bout between Badou Jack and James DeGale at Barclays Center, Polish heavyweight and Brooklyn native Adam Kownacki remained unbeaten (15-0, 12 knockouts) with a second-round TKO victory over Joshua Tufte (19-2, 10 KOs). The official time of the stoppage was 2:40.

It was an early night for the crowd favorite Kownacki, who regularly has a cheering section follow him for every bout. Kownacki’s right hand opened a nasty cut over Tufte’s left eye mid-way through the opening round, prompting a close look from the ringside physician. Allowed to continue, Tufte tried to hang in there with Kownacki but the Brooklynite threw the harder shots that overwhelmed Tufte, who was a former sparring partner for Wladimir Klitschko.

In the second round, Kownacki continued landing powerful left and right hooks, making the gash over Tufte’s eye worse. Referee Arthur Mercante Jr. stepped in and decided to halt the action to save the eye from further damage.

Irish welterweight Noel Murphy (8-0, 2 KOs) defeated Maxito Sainvil (4-1-1, 2 KOs) in an old-fashioned shootout. The official scores at ringside were 60-54, 60-54 and 59-55.

The bout was much closer than the final scores, as both fighters swung wildly and connected with power. The 22-year-old Murphy, originally from County Cork, Ireland, got off to a fast start, stunning Sainvil multiple times with big left hooks. Sainvil did not want to see his “O” go without a fight, so he unloaded on the Irishman with striking right hooks to the body and up top. Murphy regained control in the fourth and fifth rounds with terrific foot movement, which forced Sainvil to lunge forward with off-balanced shots. The southpaw Murphy was able to easily pick him off with a diet of left hooks.

In the opening bout of the evening, recent Mayweather Promotions signee Kenny Robles won his professional debut by outpointing Latorie Woodberry (1-3-1) of Virginia. The official scores at ringside were 40-36, 39-37 and 39-37.

The 25-year-old Robles (1-0), who won the 2016 New York City Golden Gloves in the 141-pound division, shook off the jitters of fighting in his hometown and started to land body shots midway through a wild first round to stun Woodberry. Robles settled down in the third round after getting tagged more than he thought he would against this opponent. Behind his stiff jab, the Staten Island native made Woodberry eat straight right hands and kept himself out of danger.