When Artur Beterbiev BATTERED Marcus Browne | FREE FIGHT

All right, you men are both champions. You received my instructions in the dressing room. Obey my commands. Protect yourselves at all times, men. Touch gloves now or you're boxing to bail. God bless you both. Michael Griffin with the final instructions as we take a look at the tail of the tape. A slight height and reach advantage for the southpaw, Marcus Brown. Indeed, an experience advantage as well, but Beterbiev, the lineal light heavyweight champion, putting that title on the line here in our main event. Corey Eerdman and Steve Molitor on the call for you here tonight. Artur Beterbiev and the black trunks, Marcus Brown, the southpaw, the red, white, and blue. Marcus Brown popping that jab early from the southpaw stance. He's going to let her... He wants to let Beterbiev know that he's going to keep that jab up, he's going to keep that bag, and not let Beterbiev get any sort of confidence to keep applying pressure to him. I think that the conceit with Beterbiev in the early rounds is that he might lose some of that, but that doesn't mean that he's losing control of the fight. Because we have seen Beterbiev not give away rounds in the early going, but have a less than extraordinary punch output as he's just applying physical and mental pressure in the early going. Exactly, Corey. He may lose the round on the scorecard, but he's winning it in the fight. He's breaking him down, he's walking his opponents down, applying pressure, landing body shots, landing head shots, landing arm shots. He's slowly breaking him down into what he likes to do. Marcus Brown has said that Derek James hasn't changed a whole lot when it comes to his approach, but you feel like they have tidied some things up. There's a good body shot from Brown a moment ago. Well, going into the biggest fight of his life, I don't think he'd want to make too many changes, Corey. I think a few fine patches wouldn't help, wouldn't hurt, but I don't think he'd want to make too many changes, so hopefully that's the case here tonight for Marcus Brown. Shot down the middle there from Marcus Brown. One of the mistakes that Brown has made in the past, and he would admit it, and I'm sure everyone can see it, is that he likes to throw to the body, but sometimes when he pulls out, he pulls straight back, and those are the three times that Jean-Pascal caught him, and it's the same shot that he's been caught with in previous fights as well. Gets plugged with some rough stuff along the ropes. And being myself, Paul, versus an orthodox, it's the last thing you want to do is pull out, pull back straight, and then line for the right hand, and that's what happened in his previous fights, and he does not want to do that against a big puncher like Beterbiev here tonight. But so far, he's slipped out of those hooks nicely, and not staying straight in the line in front of Beterbiev. Marcus Brown, or a supporter of Marcus Brown, this is how you would like this fight to look. Absolutely. Marcus Brown is boxing brutally from the outside, but it's still very, very early. You know Beterbiev doesn't get off to crazy fast starts, and he still likes to just stalk his opponent, break him down, and he did nothing good for the first round for Artur Beterbiev. But they've clearly done their homework, as you'd assume for a unification world title fight. As round two begins, our main event here. Body shot, then rifling about nine of them. In the clinch. Brown has always been a good body puncher, and, you know, we often think of fighters who are described as capital-B boxers, guys like Marcus Brown, that they must necessarily be counter punchers, and I've always felt that Brown isn't necessarily a counter puncher. I've felt that when he's at his best, he's moving, but he's also dictating when the exchanges start. When Brown is at his best, I feel like he's getting off first. Absolutely. Just because a guy's walking you forward doesn't mean they're being the more aggressive, because when somebody throws and misses and you hit them with a three or four piece, that's still aggression. Nice jab from Marcus Brown. Not a lot of jabs from Beterbiev so far. Perhaps he's been nullified here, as is often the case with orthodox fighters against southpaws. Of course, it's not impossible to out-jab a southpaw, but Marcus Brown, pretty tricky guy to get your range on. Tricky guy, fast feet, fast hands. Beautiful drop by Marcus Brown to get out of that corner. Walks under a right hand of Beterbiev, comes back with a left hand of his own. Tighter this fight is, the better it is for Marcus Brown. Absolutely, especially with the crowd that's going to be behind Beterbiev in his first defense in front of his hometown crowd. You know they're going to go wild when he starts laying some good clean shots. Brown trying to get his respect there on the inside. Sunshine body work, now back to his jab. Very good, very good. Final ten seconds of round two. Not a lot happening, but Marcus Brown, the busier fighter, certainly landed more shots here in the second round, and you'd have to think, that's two rounds in the bank for the challenger. Round three underway, and this isn't unusual territory for Archer Beterbiev, as we've referenced. Although he dropped Adam Dynas in the opening round, he didn't look great in the early going against Dynas. He looked a little sluggish. He didn't look great in the early going against Enrico Kohling, either. But Beterbiev typically, not typically, has always found his opening 100% of the time, as is evidenced by his record. But there are some who feel like Beterbiev has started to slip a little bit, like he might be on the back nine of his career. And it's those people who think that Marcus Brown has a very real shot in this fight, and Brown is proving those people right in the early going. Tough shot there from Beterbiev. A couple signs of life from the champion here in the third round. Brown, of course, a part of that 2012 U.S. Olympic team that was just absolutely stacked. Six fighters from that team have won world titles. Jojo Diaz, Rashi Warren, Jose Ramirez, Errol Spence Jr., his stablemate, Claressa Shields, and his other stablemate, Jamel Herring. Ramirez, Spence, and Shields have won unified titles. Every single fighter from that team, except for Queen Underwood, has at least fought for a world title as a professional now that Marcus Brown has stepped in the ring here tonight. Just a terrific team was that 2012 spot. That's a stacked Olympic boxing team. Good shot there from Beterbiev. That's where Brown has to be careful. There's a good right hand then followed by another good left hook by Beterbiev. In terms of numbers, Brown did the better work there. He had a good combination to the body, but it's exactly those sequences where he's found himself in trouble in the past. He doesn't want to be leaning against some ropes against a guy like Beterbiev. Beterbiev now starting to open up. Beautiful right hand down there, but Brown throwing some heavy shots too and probably in the backfire there. Brown earning his respect. We'll see if Beterbiev listens to his corner man. More specifically, Scully just said, hey, remember how you didn't want to hit guys to the body? Your sparring partners are going home? Send this guy home. Right hand sneaks through there from Beterbiev. A couple quick punches by Marcus Brown up the middle there. To your point, Steve, Brown finding himself, oh, that is a nasty gash right in the middle of the forehead of Beterbiev and he is leaking all over the place. We got unintentional clash of heads. And Brown sporting a cut over his right eye as well. Let me tell you something, you get a head cut there, Corey, the head bleeds so much more. It's just, look at it, just squirt out of Beterbiev's head. But Brown, the cut over his eye, is not going to have an easier night. That cut is pouring blood from the forehead of Beterbiev. Let's see if we can catch this clash of heads. There it was, he was slipping over to the left. We are back to action. Both corners are going to have their work cut out from an in-between round, Corey. Russ Amber, not in the corner of Artur Beterbiev here tonight. Unfortunately, tested positive for COVID. We send our best wishes to Russ. Things getting a little messy here on the inside. Both men may be sensing a little desperation with those cuts. And to Curtis Brown's credit, he's not letting Beterbiev bully him. He's definitely firing back when things are getting messy on the inside. If he has any dreams of winning this fight, he cannot let Artur Beterbiev bully Brown and box, bang him around. Brown looked like he might have been stuck on the ropes, trying to spin out. Beterbiev's corner telling him, when Brown goes to the ropes, just bang him to the body. Beterbiev just wearing a crimson mask right now in the final minute of round four. And Marcus Brown doesn't look all that much better. Hard body shot from Beterbiev as he goes back downstairs with a left hand. You can just hear the power of Beterbiev when he throws those shots, when they land on the arms or body. You can just hear the noise they make and how strong he is. Marcus Brown throwing hard shots to the body in response as well. You have to hand it to him. He is trying to stand up to Beterbiev in his kind of fight. We mentioned that the first two rounds looked the way you would want them to if you're supporting Marcus Brown while easing the rounds. That looked like the kind of fight that Arthur Beterbiev wants. There's the possibility that Beterbiev is only being given one more round. But of course, it's a clash of heads. That's the only headbutt, so Corey, I'm not sure of the exact rules. Are they going to the scorecards? They're going to the scorecards, yeah. Well, Brown had a couple good early rounds, but we'll see if there's any desperation from either man. We've also heard that from ringside physicians many times, too. One more round turns into one more round each and every round. He's losing a lot of blood in there, Corey. Left hand down the middle from Marcus Brown. Beterbiev is pouring blood. Off his foot, man! Arthur, get off his foot! Michael Griffin warning Beterbiev to step on Marcus Brown's foot. Beterbiev getting other instructions from his corner, which are to go to the body. Improvement there from Marcus Brown, making that a little bit difficult. This is better work from Beterbiev. This is where he wants to be. He wants to keep his guy trapped in the ropes. Now that Marcus Brown is swinging around and moving off the ropes a lot and throwing those counter shots. Bring him down! Perfect! Take a point if he's stepping on his foot. A beautiful jab. Beterbiev. I'm afraid Michael Griffin's warning Beterbiev is going to take a point if he keeps stepping on his foot. He feels that it's intentional. I don't know if that's a... I'll be honest, I've been boxing my whole life and I've never heard of that because I've been a self-pro and I've accidentally or purposely stepped on the foot of an orthodox fighter and I've never been threatened or taken away. Giving a shoulder to him underneath from Marcus Brown. You can't Marcus! You're going to lose a point on that break, man. You've got to stop punching. Good right hand by Beterbiev. Finding some openings. Good right hand. Off the ropes with Beterbiev just overwhelming him right now. Just covering up as the seconds tick away. Will they give Beterbiev another round? Look at that. Doctors not consulted. So we fight on. Round six underway. Definitely the best round. The most conclusive round of the fight for Archer Beterbiev. Absolutely. Like we said earlier sometimes it takes a little bit to get going and now he's almost in full throttle by the end of that last round. I think getting Marcus Brown a little shook with those overhand rights. No punches! No punches! Watch your heads, guys. On the ropes. Who again is in exactly the territory that Beterbiev wants. That's where Beterbiev wants his fight to be. He'll be most effective in there when Marcus Brown is trapped in the corner. Marcus Brown was successful earlier. He was getting all the way around that ring. I feel when he's backing himself in that corner he can't go anywhere and that is an easy night for Beterbiev. Just missed. Might have grazed the top of the head of Marcus Brown but to your point, Steve where Brown was a second ago in the center of the ring that's when he was having his best moments. When he's trying to counter off the ropes he's almost banking on the ability to make Beterbiev miss 70% of the time and hurt him with his counters which is a difficult game plan to enact. The blood just flowing from Beterbiev's forehead there. End of round 6. Gone too by Beterbiev. Saw that shot a moment ago, that kind of hybrid scoop uppercut. That's the shot that Beterbiev's camp calls the campeo. It's the shot that he knocked Gabriel Campeo out with and when you hear them call that out, that is what they're asking Beterbiev to throw. Beterbiev leaps in with a jab comes behind him with a right hand and Brown barely stays on his feet as this round comes to a close. Right as the bell ends at the end of the round they run out with a towel and cover up his face. Make sure that this fight can continue. Round 7 begins here at our main event. Lineal Light Heavyweight Championship on the line the champion Archer Beterbiev fighting a nasty cut fighting a game challenger in Marcus Brown who has a cut of his own but not nearly as grotesque as Archer Beterbiev who a lot of times he's looking like Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13. He is leading quite a bit in there. We've seen that power jab from Beterbiev a couple times over the last two rounds as well. Beterbiev was very hesitant to let that jab go in the opening two rounds but he has found it over the last six minutes. I feel that now that Marcus Brown has slowed down a little bit I feel that he has a little more confidence to throw that power jab and really push Marcus Brown out of the corner looking low like he's doing here. Tough man to contend with when he feels that he has you hurt. Good shot to the body. Beautiful left hook to the body. And a right hand right behind it. Marcus Brown will take a knee. Still lots of time left in this round Corey. You alright? Lift up your hands and show me you're alright. And change is an eternity for the only world champion in boxing with a 100% knockout ratio. Let's see if Marcus Brown can hang on. And Corey to point something out as I talked, as we mentioned earlier Beterbiev isn't just an aggressive tough fighter he's skilled and smart. You see him make those small side steps to the right of Marcus Brown take away the left hand he has Marcus Brown ropes and dig those shots to the body. He's a very very smart fighter just like he did right there and swoops that right hook or that specialty shot. Let him go Marcus. Let him go. Step back Marcus. Let him go. Still trying to recover. Beterbiev you see round just stationary Beterbiev is able to turn him. He's able to get different angles. 10 seconds remaining here in round 7. You gotta give so much credit to the champion ever Beterbiev He's creating these angles. He's using Marcus Brown's body to push him and side step him. Mixing up body and head. That was a beautiful left hook to the body which brought the hand down. No punches. Watch your head Marcus. Get your head under there. Straight right hand. Trying to stay in the center of the ring now. I think he's realized that there is no way for him to win this fight standing on the ropes. I don't think it's going to do him any favors to stand there and trade with Beterbiev in the center of the ring either way. The best thing for him like he did earlier when he was moving, boxing, jabbing standing in front of a guy like Arthur Beterbiev is not a good idea and it's showing here tonight. At this point though what is he doing? What is he able to do right now when you're hurt, when you're tired when you've had a physically strong and imposing fighter like Beterbiev all over you all night. Are you capable of moving around on the back foot or is this just what Marcus Brown has to do? Well if you want to be a world champion you better be capable but I think that this is possible what he has left. He's had a lot of big shots and like I said earlier Corey, just the constant pressure and the threat of Beterbiev is enough to trigger him. Big of Beterbiev again this is an amateur heavyweight, this is a guy who was boxing Oleksandr Usyk in the Olympics. This is a guy who yeah he makes 175 and he's not tall so we don't think of him as a big light heavyweight but he is a lot to deal with physically. 16-0 with 16 knockouts you know he's got some strength and some power. Down the middle from the challenger. Another good right hand from Beterbiev. Corey with both midline shots you gotta see yourself it seems like Beterbiev has so much more power and so much more strength behind his punches than Marcus Brown does. Like I said you do have to hand it to Marcus Brown who spent a lot more time in the center of the ring and trying to move. You know that photo that goes viral every once in a while of that fight Tony Weeks? Well that one but the one from Vancouver from the early 1900's about the boxers covered in blood. It's starting to look like that. And again to Marcus Brown's credit he's hurt but he's trying to make adjustments but now left uppercut. I'd love to see the replay I don't know if it was a left hook uppercut to the body 17-0 17 knockouts Let's see if we can see here was it a body shot or a head shot to the body? It was a body shot to the liver the liver shot did it. Ladies and gentlemen the winner of this contest by knockouts at 46 seconds of round number 9 17 for 17 and still WBC and IBF light heavyweight champion of the world Artur