Sheffield’s Kell Brook lands top honour but Frank Buglioni loses

With no option but to take the fight to the Russian, Buglioni struggled to repel the Chudinov’s attacks in the seventh stanza as he showed no ill-effects from his trip to the canvas.

While Buglioni earned plenty of applause for his bravery in hearing the final bell, there was no doubt as to the result. Chudinov then battered Buglioni for the remainder of the round with short uppercuts to the head and occasional body shots.

The margin was even wider after Buglioni had been deducted two points for flooring the champion with a punch after the bell to end the sixth round by referee Terry O’Connor.

The veteran German was on the wrong side of a split-decision as Chudinov won the title in just his 13th professional fight. You can second guess a lot of the things that the 26-year-old Buglioni did in the fight, such as the way he only fought hard in the last 15 to 20 seconds of numerous rounds, or how he used up valuable energy by moving constantly.

A big right hand in the third rocked the challenger’s head back but he fired back with a combination of his own.

British super-middleweight Frank Buglioni admits that he must capitalise on his opportunity to face WBA champion Fedor Chudinov on Saturday night.

Had Buglioni not landed that shot after the bell, Chudinov would have had less time to recover from the series of blows that Buglioni had landed in the 6th, and he might have been able to knock him out at the start of the 7th.

“He’s a good fighter”, said Chudinov after the fight.”I expected a hard fight”. Buglioni wouldn’t quit, pounding his gloves together enthusiastically, but Chudinov is easily the better boxer.

The Sheffield fighter received the honour after a memorable 12 months, dating back to last August, which saw him claim the IBF welterweight title with a points win over Shawn Porter and then battle back from a serious leg injury after being stabbed while on holiday.

Buglioni tried his best, but it wasn’t good enough.

Buglioni needs a trainer that will keep him from running around all over creation in his fights.

Chudinov, though, was the better man, and demonstrably so.