MONACO — Unbeaten Khabib Allakhverdiev held on to his WBA and IBO light welterweight titles when the referee finally stepped in to save former champion Souleymane M'baye in the 11th round in Monte Carlo on Saturday.
Allakhverdiev dropped M'baye in the second and eighth rounds. The assault never let up and referee Luis Pabon ended M'baye's punishment 2:27 into the 11th.
Allakhverdiev won his first defense of the WBA title he won against Joan Guzman last November with another stoppage. The Russian improved to 19-0 with nine knockouts.
M'baye, the Frenchman who held the WBA belt in 2006-07, dropped to 40-5-1.
