It took Gurgen Hovhannisyan a few rounds to get going. But once he did, he was on his way to another win.

Hovhannisyan knocked out gatekeeper Colby Madison in round five on Thursday night at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington. Hovhannisyan, who is originally from Yerevan, Armenia and now resides in the Los Angeles area, improved to 5-0, 5 knockouts.

Madison was game from the opening bell, at times putting the taller Hovhannisyan on the defensive. Hohannisyan pumped out jabs, and by the third round, began to connect more frequently, particularly with right hands to the head.

Early in round four, a right cross connected to the head of Hovhannisyan, who took the punch well. For the rest of the round, Madison fought in spurts, as Hovhannisyan threw and landed combinations to Madison’s head.

Moments into round five, Hovhannisyan backed Madison into a corner, unleashing a barrage of punches that dropped Madison to the canvas. Referee Joel Scobee counted Madison out at 40 seconds.

The top prospect Gurgen Hovhannisyan (5-0, 5 KOs) 🇦🇲 successfully returns to the heavyweight division with a KO victory against Colby Madison (11-7-2, 7 KOs) 🇺🇸 in the 5th round in Tacoma, USA. pic.twitter.com/OcAPatPxat

— Permante (@PermantexG) January 5, 2024

The knockout win over Madison was Hovahannisyan’s first fight since stopping former prospect Michael Polite Coffie in October 2022. The win over Madison was also Hovhannisyan’s first scheduled 10-round fight.

The 6’7” Hovhannisyan is trained by Joe Goossen and is co-managed by Artur Gevorgyan and Vartan Torosyan. There have been rumors Hovahannisyan could return to action next month in February.

Madison, who lives and trains in Baltimore, Maryland, falls to 11-7-2, 7 KOs. The 40-year-old was coming off back-to-back defeats to Joey Dawejko and has now lost five of his last seven bouts.

In the opening bout of the BXNGTV stream, heavyweight Dante Stone of Tempe, Arizona dropped former prospect Alexander Flores once en route to a unanimous decision victory. Scores were 78-73, 78-73, and 79-72 for Stone, who improved to 15-1, 10 KOs.

After a dull opening two rounds, Stone began to initiate exchanges to compliment his awkward style. During round four, Stone stunned Flores with a series of hooks and crosses to the head. To his credit, Flores was able to weather the barrage and, at times, clench Stone.

Stone was the busier and more effective fighter during the second half of the fight. During round eight, an overhand right dropped Flores to the canvas. Flores was able to beat the count and make it to the final bell.

Flores, who resides in the Los Angeles suburb of Rowland Heights, falls to 18-4-1, 16 KOs. Prior to the loss to Stone, Flores had lost to Charles Martin, Joseph Parker and Luis Ortiz.

In a clash of unbeaten heavyweights, Tsotne Rogava dropped Dante Williams (4-1, 4 KOs) of Hawkinsville, Georgia twice en route to a knockout victory in round one. Time of the knockout was 1:39.

Rogava (now 4-0, 4 KOs) is originally from the country of Georgia and now resides in the Southern California city of Marina Del Rey. He is also trained by Joe Goossen

Unbeaten junior middleweight and TikToker Elijah Seawright of Columbia, South Carolina defeated Henry Rivera (2-3, 1 KO) of Las Vegas by unanimous decision. Scores were 59-55, 59-55, and 60-54 for Seawright, who improved to 10-0, 7 KOs.

Nilo Guerrero, a 6’1”junior lightweight who is originally from Managua, Nicaragua and now resides in Coachella, California, dropped Chancellor Battenberg (4-4, 4 KOs) of Kingwood, Texas twice en route to a knockout win at 2:51 of round two.

Guerrero improved to 7-0, 6 KOs

The card was promoted by Whit Haydon.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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