By Per-Åke Persson
September 19, Gothenburg, Sweden:
Swede Oscar Ahlin (28-3) made his debut at cruiserweight and initially looked too heavy and too small to handle Finn Samuli Karkkainen (21-6). However, he stopped his bigger opponent 43 seconds into the third round to win the vacant NBA Global title. The fight was promoted by former WBO middleweight champion Armand Krajnc and his Armand Boxing Promotion at Jazy’s Hotel.
Ahlin floored his opponent in the first round, but it was a flash knockdown. Karkkainen was, however, unable to get untracked, and Ahlin dominated the fight from start to finish.
In the third, the Swede caught Karkkainen with a left hook that nearly spun him around. Ahlin jumped on him and landed a barrage of punches, capped by another left hook. The Finn was out against the ropes, and the fight was stopped.
Unheralded cruiserweight Yaroslav Mohish (6-5-1), a Ukrainian based in the Czech Republic, upset previously undefeated Swede John Salomonsson (now 5-1) to win a majority decision in a six-rounder. The judges scored it 59-55 and 58-56 for Mohish, with the third judge scoring it 57-57. It was a close fight in which the shorter Mohish was able to get inside and work effectively with short bursts of hooks, while Salomonsson landed some good uppercuts and body punches, but not enough of them.
Local hero and super welterweight John Jeppsson Rudell (0-4) probably reached the end of the road when he was stopped by Albanian Leutrim Berisha (1-3) in the second round. Rudell was floored twice and badly shaken when the referee stopped the fight at 1:55.
Super welterweight Marianne Ahlborg (9-1) returned from maternity leave and outscored Slovakian super lightweight Jana Duchonova (2-5) in a fast-paced six-rounder.
