Bektemir Melikuziev and Pierre Hubert Dibombe both suffered horror cuts during their confrontation.
The two met in a super middleweight clash on the undercard of Devin Haney’s showdown with Ryan Garcia at the Barclays Center in New York.
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But it was Melikuziev who was prevented from continuing the fight after a violent clash of heads opened a serious gash above his left eye.
Doctors stopped the fight at the start of the eighth round and the decision was made by the judges’ scorecards which read 79-73, 79-73 and 78-74 for the crowned winner Melikuziev.
Dibombe fought with his rival ‘The Bully’ in the opening rounds and suffered a nasty cut to his right eye following a clash of heads.
The two men’s heads collided several times, and “The Bully” was the next to get a cut just above his left eye.
It was a nasty cut that required a medical examination in the fifth round as officials considered stopping the fight.
He was allowed to continue and was pushed forward for an immediate halt, as he appeared to be on borrowed time with blood pouring from his head.
Dibombe had shaky legs and was hurt by powerful shots to the body and head, but he remained in the contest with Melikuziev clearly in the lead.
The doctor opted to check the cut again at the start of the eighth and stopped the fight, which went to the judges’ scorecards after the accidental head clash.
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And they read in favor of Uzbek favorite Melikuziev, with the French underdog perhaps unfortunate not to have had his chance to close the show.
The fight went over eight rounds and ‘Bek’ was able to progress in a fight that he dominated for long periods.
Melikuziev was looking to get back on track at the world level, in a division where the titles were all held by pound-for-pound superstar Canelo Alvarez.
He will aim for a future shot at world honors but will need to look more convincing if he is to catch the attention of the Mexican superstar.
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