Souleymane Cissokho secured his position as mandatory challenger for the WBC title by winning a debated unanimous decision against Egidijus Kavaliauskas.
The bout took place yesterday evening at the Centre de Conference de Sipopo in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, with a crowd largely supporting the French fighter.
Despite being knocked down twice during the contest, Cissokho, who remains undefeated at 17-0 with 9 KOs, received winning scorecards of 114-112, 115-111, and 116-110 from the judges.
Crucially, this victory puts the 33-year-old in line to face the winner of the anticipated, and somewhat controversial, WBC world welterweight title fight between Mario Barrios and Manny Pacquiao, reportedly scheduled for July 19th.
Early in the fight against Kavaliauskas (24-2-1, 19 KOs), Cissokho adopted his usual cautious approach, employing lateral movement and a busy jab to neutralize his aggressive opponent.
However, the first knockdown occurred in the second round when a Kavaliauskas overhand right followed by a sharp left hook sent Cissokho to the canvas.
Nevertheless, Cissokho quickly regained his composure, continuing to move and box through the subsequent rounds, seemingly unaffected by the knockdown.
Kavaliauskas found it difficult to pin down his elusive adversary, but when he did land punches, their power was evident.
Inside exchanges were infrequent as Cissokho, aware of the danger, primarily focused on avoiding punishment.
Yet, Kavaliauskas pressed forward again in the fifth round and landed a sudden left uppercut that caused Cissokho to fall partly through the ropes.
Remarkably, Cissokho avoided hitting the hard floor outside the ring, climbing back in and beating the referee`s count.
From this point, Kavaliauskas`s footwork became more dynamic, creating angles for his powerful punches.
The Lithuanian maintained his pressure in the middle rounds, making a strong case that he might have built a slight lead on the scorecards.
His solid, impactful shots could be seen as the more effective work in the fight.
However, the three ringside judges saw the fight differently. Despite losing two rounds by scores of 8-10 (indicating knockdowns), Cissokho`s strong defensive work in the later rounds ultimately secured what is considered his most significant victory to date.
