Trevor Bryan defeated Jonathan Guidry on Saturday night to defend his WBA world title.
The fight went the full distance and Bryan had to rely on a split decision victory to retain the WBA regular heavyweight championship at the WD Packard Music Hall in Ohio.
The American was due to fight Mahmoud Charr but Guidry had to step in with less than a month’s warning after the German-based fighter was unable to meet visa requirements to make the fight. Guidry began well but the world title holder had five inches on his challenger, who stood at 5’11”, and while he offered an obdurate defence, Bryan grew into a more dominant position ahead of the championship rounds.
Bryan had Guidry on his knees in the dying seconds of the fight as he unloaded but was unable to make the count. The decision is Guidry’s first defeat in 20 fights, while Bryan now has a 22-0 (16 KOs) record.
Daniel Dubois has been linked up as the WBA’s number one ranked fighter below Bryan and Oleksandr Usyk, and the Briton’s promoter, Frank Warren, has been clear about wanting to move his fighter into position for a title fight later in 2022.