Koval wins bout by breaking opponent's jaw

CLEVELAND -- Fighting his second bout in six days, boxer Chris Koval of Austintown heavyweight used a vicious right cross and left hook combination to knock out Cleveland's Santiago Verdejo Friday at Gray's Armory.
The four-round fight ended at 1:04 of the first round as Koval, the Youngstown State University student who is trained by Tom Cordell, went to 5 and 0 with his fourth knockout.
Koval went to his left jab to ward off the shorter Verdejo (2-3). After connecting for several solid shots to the body, Koval finished his opponent with a devastating combination that broke Verdejo's jaw.
"This guy came sprinting across the ring when the opening bell sounded," Koval said, "so I threw a left jab at him and sidestepped his rush at me.
"After catching him with a shot downstairs, I nailed him with two good shots to the jaw," Koval said.
Koval's next fights will be June 7 at the Promo West Pavilion in Columbus against Myron Barryman (2-5) from Dayton and June 12 at Mountaineer Race Track and Resort against Charles Judge from Chicago (3-3).