The bout was waved off after the punch, at the 2:47 mark, and Miocic (15-2) was crowned champ before a crowd of 45,000 in Curitiba, Brazil.
“Cleveland, we’ve got a champion, baby,” said Miocic, who said he was motivated, in part, by Cleveland’s historic championship drought.
“Actually tonight on ESPN they did a ‘30 for 30,’ they had ‘Believe-Land’ — it was a documentary about how Cleveland sports didn’t really win championships so I knew I had to put an end to it,” Miocic said. “I had to stop the curse for us.”
Miocic’s victory is certainly not the championship most Clevelanders crave, but locals (and the major local sports teams) certainly supported the 240-pound Croatian big-hitter. And the bars were bumping after his knockout.
#andnew HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD!!!!
A video posted by bean burrito (@fdc0341) on May 14, 2016 at 9:24pm PDT
And some local color:
And more local color:
This article appears in May 11-17, 2016.
It would be fantastic if Stipe Miocic’s first title defense can be held inside The Q or Wolstein Center. He patiently chased a shot at wearing the Big Gold Belt….Dana White should now pursue a deal to allow the champ to defend the title with a buffet of home cookin’.