Underdog Mike Plania (24-1-0, 12 knockouts) stunned Chicago native Joshua Greer Jr. (22-2-1, 12 knockouts) with a majority decision victory in their 10-round bantamweight fight Tuesday in Las Vegas.
Plania dropped Greer with knockdowns in the first and sixth rounds, with the Filipino’s dangerous left hooks catching Greer — the World Boxing Organization’s No. 1-ranked bantamweight entering the night — by surprise.
Greer came on aggressively in the final rounds, but Plania was able to tie him up frequently to let time run off the clock. Plania, who was unranked in the super bantamweight division but came down in weight class to fight Greer, landed 99 power punches to Greer’s mere 77, per ESPN.
The loss is Greer’s first in his last 20 fights and deals a large blow to his world title pursuit, which was thought to be within reach if he won Tuesday.