Vanhouter shakes off shoulder scare to flatten Akpejiori with brutal first-round knockout

Da’Mazion Vanhouter delivered the knockout of the night on the Ryan Garcia vs. Conor Benn undercard at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, stopping heavyweight Raphael Akpejiori with one crushing right hand in the first round — moments after a potential injury had briefly halted the fight.

Vanhouter controlled the bout from the opening bell, walking down the taller Akpejiori and hurting him early. Akpejiori sought refuge in the clinch to weather the initial storm, but Vanhouter kept pressing. The drama arrived when the two fighters became tangled along the ropes: with Akpejiori pushing down on him, Vanhouter suddenly dropped to the canvas, prompting the referee to pause the action.

After a brief stoppage, the 21-year-old signalled he was ready to continue — and within seconds he ended the fight with a single clubbing right hand that sent Akpejiori to the floor.

“No, it was up, and he was pushing down on my shoulder, so it just felt a little weird, a little tight, but other than that it was fine,” Vanhouter said afterwards. “I got back to normal.”

The finish extended Vanhouter’s unbeaten professional record to 13-0, with ten of those victories coming by way of KO or TKO. The performance underlined why the young heavyweight is regarded as one of the more compelling prospects in the division.