Former world 140lb champion Paulie Malignaggi (31-4, 7 KOs) scored a ninth round TKO over previously unbeaten WBA welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko (32-1, 21 KOs) to claim the WBA 147lb belt on Sunday night at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk, Ukraine. Good start for the shorter Malignaggi who had a big edge in handspeed and usually beat Senchenko to the punch. The champion started to come on in round four and it seemed the tide was turning. However, by round seven, Paulie’s jabs had developed a mouse under Senchenko’s left eye and “The Magic Man” began to target that eye causing it to swell dramatically. Referee Steve Smoger took a long look at the damaged eye in round eight and the eye was completely closed at the start of round nine. After Malignaggi rocked Senchenko with a big right hand he never saw coming, Smoger waved it off to save the Ukrainian from further damage. Time was 1:10. Malignaggi is now expected to defend his new belt on October 20 at the new Barclays Center in his native Brooklyn.
Unbeaten WBA inter-continental cruiserweight champion Iago Kiladze (19-0, 13 KOs) scored a second round TKO over Julien Perriaux (15-9, 8 KOs). The bout was waved off after Kiladze dropped Perriaux with a straight right hand.
WBA inter-continental featherweight champion Oleh Yefimovych (22-2, 11 KOs) dominated Sergio Santillan (29-12-3, 14 KOs) en route to a unanimous decision over twelve rounds.
