Highlights
–Walter Castillo was the more effective boxer early on, but Sergey Lipinets landed a straight right in Round 3 as his power punches began to find the mark.
–Lipinets wobbled Castillo with two overhand rights in the first minute of Round 6 and followed up with a succession of punches as his power began to take its toll.
–Lipinets countered perfectly with a right hand in Round 7 that opened the floodgates as he battered Castillo against the ropes until referee Bill Clancy stepped in to stop the fight.
Sergey Lipinets wanted to be the first man to knock out Walter Castillo, and the 27-year-old Kazakhstan native delivered in a breakout performance.
Lipinets warmed up as the fight progressed despite a deep cut over his left eye and pummeled Castillo with a barrage of power punches to gain an impressive seventh-round TKO.
Lipinets began the final flurry by landing a perfectly timed counter right hand, which stunned Castillo and allowed Lipinets to turn up the heat as he pinned the Nicaraguan against the ropes and slugged away until referee Bill Clancy stepped in to end the fight at the 2:45 mark.
The 5-foot-10 Castillo was the more effective boxer in the first couple of rounds as he worked behind his jab and was able to land some solid counterpunches.
Lipinets began to land his power shots in Round 3, and was finding the range in the following round when he was cut on his eyelid by what was officially ruled by Clancy to be a clash of heads but was shown by TV replays to have occurred from a Castillo punch.
Lipinets started to take control of the fight when he hurt Castillo in the first minute of Round 6, but he would need another round before he could finish off his Nicaraguan opponent.
It was the first time Castillo, 27, was stopped in 31 career bouts. It was also Castillo’s second straight fight without a victory, following his majority draw against Keita Obara, and dropped him to 1-2-1 in his last four bouts.
For the 5-foot-7 Lipinets, the win comes on the heels of his fifth-round KO of Levan Ghvamichava in March.
Sergey Lipinets wore down Walter Castillo over the course of their fight and earned a seventh-round TKO. (Nabeel Ahmad/Premier Boxing Champions)
