Mirco Cuello blasts Sergio Rios in 2 rounds to capture WBA interim featherweight title

Mirco Cuello will be a formidable test for WBA featherweight champion Nick Ball.

The Argentine picked up the WBA interim strap with a second-round KO of previously unbeaten Mexican Sergio Rios in the headline bout of a DAZN-streamed show from Benghazi, Libya, on Friday.

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Cuello reaffirmed his mandatory position for Ball’s featherweight crown. Britain’s Ball puts his title on the line against Australia’s Sam Goodman next Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the Moses Itauma vs. Dillian Whyte undercard.

Cuello (16-0, 13 KOs) floored Rios (19-1, 7 KOs) with a pinpoint right hand in the final 30 seconds of the opener. Rios managed to see out the frame, although he tasted the canvas again in the final minute of Round, 2 courtesy of a step-in left hand from Cuello. Rios got to his feet for a second time, but a left hook to the body sent him immediately back onto the floor — and this time he didn’t beat the count.

In the night’s co-feature, Venezuela’s Albert Ramirez defeated New Zealand-based Brit Jerome Pampellone with a seventh-round TKO to win the WBA interim light heavyweight title.

After eating several one-two combinations, Pampellone (19-3, 12 KOs) was floored with a right hook in the final second of the sixth round. Ramirez (22-0, 19 KOs) continued his assault on Pampellone early in Round 7. The New Zealander was target practice for Ramirez’s left hand, which ultimately dropped him again early in the deciding round. Shortly after, a combination from the Venezuelan sent Pampellone back to the canvas for the third time in the bout, forcing the corner to save its fighter.

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Elsewhere on the card, Costa Rica’s Francisco Fonseca (37-4-2, 29 KOs) outpointed France’s double Olympic silver medalist Sofiane Oumiha (6-1, 3 KOs) in a major upset at lightweight.

Main card

• WBA interim featherweight title: Mirco Cuello def. Sergio Rios Jimenez via second-round KO | Watch video

• WBA interim light heavyweight title: Albert Ramirez def. Jerome Pampellone via seventh-round TKO | Watch video

• Super featherweight: Josue Francisco Aguero def. Diego Ortiz Aleman via unanimous decision (100-90, 100-90, 100-90)

• Lightweight: Francisco Fonseca def. Sofiane Oumiha via unanimous decision (97-92, 95-94, 95-94)

• Cruiserweight: Mike Perez vs. Christian Fabian Luis declared a no contest after four rounds because Luis was unable to continue after being knocked down by an illegal unintentional blow after the bell.