Bastie Samir stops Bukom Banku in round seven (VIDEO)
Bastie "The Beast" Samir has ended Bukom Banku's unbeaten run, shockingly stopping him in round seven of their cruiserweight bout on Saturday night at the Bukom Boxing Arena.
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Banku entered the bout on the back of a 29-bout winning run could not stand the power of his younger opponent and twice visited the canvas during the bout.
Graphic Online's Kweku Zurek reports that after a bright start to the bout in the opening round where he picked off Samir with his left jab at will, the tide turned in the second round when his opponent made brilliant use of a counter-punch to send to send him staggering but he swiftly recovered with a powerful punch of his own.
Banku remained the aggressor in the third round, however, Samir had at this point found his range and sent Banku crashing into the ropes with a powerful combination.
From this point onwards, Samir began to dictate the pace of the bout choosing when to engage Banku in a flurry or simply toying with him by evading his wild punches as he sought a way back into the fight.
Banku had predicted a sixth-round stoppage but the round would only be remembered for the countless number of times Samir clinched and punched his face and body at will.
In the seventh round, Samir went in for the kill as Banku tired and dropped his weak guard even further. A series of unanswered punches saw the referee inexplicably jump to Banku's aid, bizarrely refusing to halt the bout as expected but instead gave him a mandatory eight-second count after he was doused with water by a fan.
However, that respite was short-lived as soon after he returned Samir sent him crashing to the canvas for the second and final time following relentless combinations which left him with a bloodied right eye.
He landed on his backside and did not appear eager to rise to his feet but when he finally did, Banku staggered forwards like a drunk on his way home from the pub - forcing the referee to save him from further punishment in the second-minute of the seventh round.
For his stunning display, Samir splits a GHC 200,000 cash prize with the loser Banku but will receive an added bonus of GHC 5,000 from the Accra Mayor Mohammed Adjei Sowah.
He also improved his fight record to 16 wins, 0 losses and one draw (16-0-1, 15 KO’s).
WATCH Bastie Samir KO Bukom Banku below;
