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Lyell stopped by Sylvester in 10th
Jack Loew, serving as Lyell’s cornerman, threw in the towel.
Winfried Mausolf
Photo
Neubrandenburg, 30.01.2010- Jahnsportforum- Internationale Box-Gala.IBF- Weltmeisterschaft im Mittelgewicht.Billy Lyell vs Sebastian Sylvester
STAFF/WIRE REPORT
NEUBRANDENBURG, Germany — Sebastian Sylvester of Germany stopped Billy Lyell in the 10th round on Saturday night to retain his middleweight title.
Lyell’s corner threw in the towel after Sylvester landed a hard right to the American’s chin and followed through with more shots to Lyell’s head and body.
It was the first defense of the IBF belt that Sylvester (33-3, 16 KOs) won during a split decision victory over Giovanni Lorenzo last September. Sylvester has won four straight since losing a unanimous decision to fellow middleweight titleholder Felix Sturm.
Lyell (21-8), who works out of the same gym as WBO/WBC world middleweight Kelly Pavlik, was a late replacement for Pablo Navascues of Spain, who was suspended for failing a drug test.
“Lyell landed more punches but Sylvester dominated the heavier exchanges,” said Lyell’s manager, Pat Nelson.
“Lyell’s left eye closed completely and [Jack] Loew felt that he did not want Lyell to fight with one eye.”
Loew was Lyell’s cornerman and stopped the contest.
“There were no knockdowns recorded,” said Nelson. “It was a very competitive fight except that Sylvester landed the bigger and heavier shots.”
According to media reports, Lyell circled around, throwing lots of double jabs and light combinations, while Sylvester was able to counter with sharp hooks and uppercuts to the body and the occasional jab-cross combo that would snap Lyell’s head back.
In the post-fight interview Lyell said he trusted Loew and thought he did the right thing.
On the undercard, Robert Helenius knocked out Lamon Brewster in the eighth round. Kubrat Pulev, the Bulgarian heavyweight Olympian, won his fifth pro fight with a fourth round TKO of British veteran and former title challenger Matt Skelton. Also, Karo Murat remained undefeated with a win over Sean Corbin.
Lyell gained notoriety by defeating previously unbeaten John Duddy in April 2009 in a 10-round split decision in Newark. N.J.
The 25-year-old native of Niles had two fights since then, a second-round knockout of Chris Overbey in July in Charleston, W. Va., and an eight-round unanimous decision over Chris Gray in October at the Eastwood Expo Center.
Saturday’s defeat to Sylvester was Lyell’s first loss since February 2009, when he lost to a unanimous decision against Vanes Martirosyan at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.