By Zachary Alapi 

Artur Beterbiev (10-0, 10 KOs) showed no signs of ring rust after a year away from action following shoulder surgery, scoring a brutal fourth-round TKO of Ezequiel Maderna (23-3, 15 KOs).

Beterbiev floored Maderna twice in round three – first with a sweeping right hand around Maderna’s guard that was neatly set up by a quick double jab. A follow-up clubbing right would again drop Maderna, who twice spat out his mouthpiece in a desperate ploy to buy time. Referee Marlon B. Wright deducted a point from Maderna for the infraction, but the Argentine was able to survive the stanza.

At that point, though, the result was a foregone conclusion. Beterbiev again dropped Maderna to the seat of his pants with another dynamite right hand, prompting the overwhelmed challenger to quizzically look over at his corner, essentially imploring them to thrown in the towel. Maderna’s handlers wisely obliged, and the official end came at 54 seconds of round four.

After such a serious injury and extended layoff and rehabilitation, Beterbiev appeared sharp. His jab was effective throughout the fight, and he patiently stalked Maderna as he probed for openings, cutting off the ring with an impressive economy of movement.

With this win out of the way, Beterbiev is ready for a top-10 foe, if not a title shot. Beterbiev twice beat Sergey Kovalev as an amateur, and they appear destined to meet as pros. The much-maligned Adonis Stevenson was also in attendance (as was Jean Pascal), and Beterbiev against one of his Montreal stablemates would be massive for the boxing mad city.

ON THE UNDERCARD

Prospect Jamontay Clark (10-0, 6 KOs) rallied from a first-round knockdown to outpoint the rugged Edgar Ortega (16-6, 10 KOs) over six entertaining frames via scores of 58-55 and 58-54 x 2.

Ortega, who took the fight on nine days notice, floored Clark in the opening stanza when a cuffing left hook kept Clark stationary and created an opening for a clubbing right hand that stunned the undefeated prospect.

Clark, to his credit, rallied well and swept the remaining five rounds behind a steady diet of straight left hands. Clark’s advantages in speed and athleticism were stark, but his tendency to pull straight back and fall into throwing combinations created openings for Ortega throughout the fight. Ortega’s right hand was his best weapon, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Clark from backing him into to the ropes and unloading with sharp combinations.

Clark could have thrown more to the body, and he certainly benefited from Ortega rolling his ankle in round four, which forced him to take a knee (after which Clark battered him with a series of punches). Although Ortega taunted Clark over the final two rounds and more than earned his paycheque, Clark deserves credit for taking control of a fight that forced him to dig deeper than expected.

In a battle of unbeaten welterweight prospects, Bryant Perrella (14-0, 13 KOs) scored an explosive knockout of David Grayton (14-1, 10 KOs) at 2:19 of the second round.

Grayton was aggressive early, working his way inside as both men exchanged hard volleys of punches. A counter-left hand from Perrella got Grayton’s attention about halfway through the opening stanza, but Grayton’s active lead right hand was employed effectively on the inside in an attempt to smother the rangier Perrella.

Just as the battle between southpaws was shaping up to be a tense, competitive fight, Parrella knocked Grayton down early in the second round with a left hand that appeared to graze the back of Grayton’s head. Although it was hardly a clean knockdown, it set the stage for Perrella’s surgical finish.

Perrella rocked Grayton with a right hook out of his southpaw stance, staggering Grayton who tumbled towards the ropes. A massive left hand from Perrella then sent Grayton stumbling into a corner, where a follow-up barrage brought an end to the fight. In winning, Perrella flashed genuine power and impressive finishing instincts.

Other results:

Oscar Rivas (19-0, 14 KOs) TKO 1 Jeremy Bates (26-18-1, 22 KOs).

Sebastien Bouchard (13-1, 4 KOs) UD 8 Arnaud Dimidschtein (11-11-2, 3 KOs).

Vislan Dalkhaev (7-0, 2 KOs) UD 8 Javier Franco (25-18-4, 11 KOs).

Dario Bredicean (9-0, 3 KOs) TKO 1 Balazs Horvath (25-18, 6 KOs).

Parnell Fisher (1-1) UD 4 Larami Carmona (1-3).