He beat Russia’s Nikita Zon at the Night of Champions in Dubai.

Cuban Arlen Lopez (80 kg) retained his International Boxing Association (IBA) professional world title today with a spectacular knockout over Russian Nikita Zon at Night of Champions in Dubai.

The star sealed the success with a swinging right hand that became the closing combination that sent his opponent to the canvas for the second time in the tenth and final round, after he also visited the canvas in the previous round.

Thus the double Olympic champion crowned the mission of coming back from a fight that had been complicated after the second act and kept the title won on August 27th in a similar fight held at the Havana Sports City Coliseum.

The credit to the owner of the World Boxing Association Asian crown also allowed him to put his balance of wins and losses in this type of event at 3-1 and bid a happy farewell to a season in which he won bronze under the five rings at Paris 2024.

«We knew that he was a difficult opponent, with a lot of experience in the professional circuits, and we told him not to lose his concentration and to keep his boxing as stable as possible,» commented coach Victor Sanchez from the venue.

«The objective was for him not to fall into his opponent’s «game» and he did the job», added the trainer, who considered it was key to get through the sixth round with the fight as even as possible, without his pupil becoming over-exhausted.

«We knew that if he kept his concentration from then on he could land the blows that ultimately came to define,» said Sanchez.