Taylor remains perfect; Youngstown boxer wins

Chris Koval won his fourth straight bout since turning pro this year.
By BOB ROTH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
PITTSBURGH -- One of the best fights on the Spadafora-Dorin undercard Saturday night was a scheduled 10-round middleweight bout between undefeated Jermain Taylor, the former Olympic silver medalist from Little Rock, Ark., and Nicolas Cervera from Colombia.
It was a good action bout into the fourth round, with Cervera (35-4-1) coming at Taylor and challenging him with left hooks. Taylor kept him away with a strong left jab and in the fourth round, first with a right cross and then with two left hooks, knocked Cervera down three times before the referee stopped the fight at the 2:37 mark.
Taylor improved to 16-0 with 12 KOs.
Youngstown connection
The opening fight featured Chris "Special K" Koval of Youngstown, who won his fourth consecutive fight since turning professional earlier this year.
Managed by Pat Nelson and trained by Tom Cordell, Koval, who began his pro career at under 200 pounds, came in at 213 Saturday night for a four-round bout with Scott Dixon of Nitro, W.Va.
For the first time as a pro, Koval was extended to the distance, but he was declared a winner by unanimous decision.
Koval, working against a taller and heavier opponent, opened up on Dixon early with four- and five-punch volleys to the head and body.
In the second round he dropped Dixon with a short right and did so again in the third round with a right to the body and a right to the jaw.
In the fourth round Dixon came on working a better jab, but near the end Koval nailed him with an overhand right that was the best punch of the fight.
"I thought from the beginning he would be tough," said Koval. "I worked my jab well and that kept him off me and I hit him with some good shots, but he is a tough guy and he just kept getting up."