PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight kickboxing rules bout between Artem Levin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Wolfgang Benson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Benson has chosen Alice Cooper - Schools Out as his entrance music. Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Levin
vs
Benson

183 cm
27
188 lbs
10 - 7 - 0

181 cm
35
173 lbs
24 - 7 - 1

World class boxer
Insanely flexible

World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Artem Levin!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 24 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Wolfgang Benson!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Levin rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Benson counters with a nice uppercut.
Levin takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Levin misses with a head kick.
Benson slips under a jab.
Benson throws the left hand but Levin avoids the punch easily.
Levin avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Levin bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Benson's head backwards.
Benson throws a leg kick but Levin sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Levin looks to throw the jab but Benson is out of range.
Benson swings widly with a right hand
and Levin counters with a left to the body.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Levin.
Levin misses with an uppercut.
Some bone on bone action there as Levin checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Levin takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Levin definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Benson tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
A little feinted left hand from Levin on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Levin avoids a kick to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Benson swings for the body but Levin moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Levin takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
Levin avoids a kick to the body.
Levin lands a really nice looking cross but Benson seems unphased.
Benson tries a head kick but it misses.
Benson looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Benson connects with a solid leg kick.
Benson connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Levin cracks the inside of Benson's front leg.
A jab from Levin finds it's way through Benson's defenses.
Levin feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Bensons jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!

Benson has managed to clinch.
A nice right hand lands inside from Benson.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Benson on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Levin misses with the head strike.
Levin swings wildly with an uppercut but Benson uses good head movement to avoid it.
Benson scores with a knee to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Levin misses with some punches.
Benson is working Levin over against the ropes.
Benson lands an elbow just above Levin 's eye.
Levin misses with some punches.
Benson creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Levin's defenses.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Benson.
Levin is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Benson takes an elbow to the temple.
Benson pushes Levin back against the ropes and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Benson blocking some punches.
Benson lands a left hand that snaps the head of Levin backwards.
A shot in the inside from Benson.
Levin takes an elbow to the temple.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Benson.
Benson throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Levin misses with a hook from the clinch.
Benson creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Levin's defenses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wolfgang Benson dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

A clash of legs there as Benson blocks the low kick.

Benson forces Levin back against the ropes and clinches.
Benson throws an elbow that misses.
Levin lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Benson backwards.
Benson has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
A short left from Levin.
Levin looks to throw an elbow but misses.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Benson.
Benson blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Benson blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Benson lands a right hand.
Benson has Levin pushed against the ropes.
With the fighters clinched against the ropes, Benson creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Benson lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Benson scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Wolfgang Benson seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Levin lands with a left to the head.
Benson lands a right hand that snaps the head of Levin backwards.
Levin lands with a short punch from the clinch.

It looks like Wolfgang Benson has been cut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Benson lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Benson's coach down at Marijuana Gardens was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Benson's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Levin lands a good knee to the midsection. Benson won't want to take too many of those.
Levin takes an elbow to the temple.
Levin trying to land knees to the body.
Benson lands a damaging elbow.
Benson comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Benson scores with a hook to the body.
Benson using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Benson with an attempt at a knee that misses.
With the fighters clinched against the ropes, Benson creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Benson throws a knee to the head but misses.
Benson avoiding damage as Levin throws knees to the body.
Benson blocks the elbow strike.
Levin misses with a short punch on the inside.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Levin landing knees to the body.
Levin lands an elbow inside that Benson shrugs off.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Benson.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Benson lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Levin.

Benson escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Levin throws a head kick but Benson moves out of range.
Benson throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Levin sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Benson connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Levin's hands.
Benson feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Levin's calf.
Benson misses with a few strikes there.
Benson lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Levin throws a good cross that connects.
Levin throws a front kick aimed at Benson's knee but Benson avoids it well.
Benson misses with a wild body shot.
Levin fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Levin buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Levin avoids a kick to the body.
Jab by Levin.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wolfgang Benson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Wolfgang Benson's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Benson delivers a nice body kick.
Benson tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Benson thows a left - swing and a miss!
Benson throws a wild body kick that Levin sees coming a mile off.

Benson moves into the clinch.
Levin looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Levin tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Benson avoids it.
Benson lands a nice elbow.
Benson is leaning against Levin and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Levin scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Benson lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

It looks like Artem Levin has been cut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Benson lands a shoulder strike.
Levin's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Benson lands a right hand that snaps the head of Levin backwards.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Benson lands a body shot in the clinch.
Levin unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Levin trying to land knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Levin lands a nice knee to the body.
Benson tries a knee to the head but Levin blocks it.
Levin lands a right hand that snaps the head of Benson backwards.
Benson lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Benson blocks an uppercut.
Benson lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Benson.
Benson struggles to land a body shot inside as Levin controls his hands.
Benson lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Levin working aggressively here.
Benson blocks an uppercut.
Benson lands a left hand.
Levin misses with a short punch on the inside.
Benson lands a left hand.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Levin's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Benson lands a shoulder strike.
A nice right hand lands inside from Levin.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A short right from Benson.
Benson misses with a body punch.
Levin tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Benson blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Benson unloads a knee to the mid-section. Levin lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Benson putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Levin in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
A right handed body shot lands from Benson.
Benson scores with a nice hook to the head.
Benson digs a right hand into Levin's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Levin's gas tank.
Benson lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Benson lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Benson lands a hook that snaps the head of Levin backwards.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Benson blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Levin takes a knee right on the jaw!

Benson breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Benson lands with a hook. Levin tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wolfgang Benson really dominated that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Benson feints and then cracks Levin's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Levin down.
Benson displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Levin steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Benson. That one must have hurt.
Benson does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
A little feinted left hand from Levin on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Levin is pinned up against the ropes taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Levin ducks under a wild hook from Benson.
Levin takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
A big right from Benson misses.
Benson misses with a low kick.
Benson throws a good cross that connects.
Levin steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Benson.
A nice leg kick lands there from Benson.
Benson throws a body punch but Levin moves out of range.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Benson lands an overhand right.
Levin punishes Benson's body with a nice straight punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Levin punishes Benson's body with a nice straight punch.
Levin moves into range and connects with a jab.
Levin moves out of range as Benson throws a body kick.
Levin keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Levin chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Benson can pounce on him.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Benson lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Levin has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Levin and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
A punch lands to the side of Benson 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Benson rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Levin counters with a slapping leg kick.
Levin looks to throw the jab but Benson is out of range.
Benson throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Levin was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Levin just misses with a punch to the body.
Levin throws a nice inside leg kick.
Benson lands a slapping body shot.
Benson finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Levin needs to keep his hands up - Benson had a free shot at his head there.
A slapping leg kick lands for Benson.
Levin is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Benson jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Benson avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Levin connects with a solid leg kick.

Benson drives through and clinches with Levin against the ropes.
With the fighters clinched against the ropes, Benson creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Levin lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Benson lands a right hand that snaps the head of Levin backwards.
Levin creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Benson's defenses.
Benson is trying to maintain a safe position but Levin gets an underhook and turns Benson into the ropes.
Benson tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
With the fighters clinched against the ropes, Benson creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Levin pushes off an throws an elbow but Benson leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the ropes.
Levin is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Benson is defending well for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wolfgang Benson dominated that fourth round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Benson lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Levin misses with a hook
and Benson makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Benson misses with a few strikes there.

Benson darts in and clinches Levin up against the ropes.
Benson throws an elbow that misses.

Benson's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Levin throws a leg kick but Benson sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Benson chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Levin can pounce on him.
Wolfgang Benson is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Benson ducks under a wild hook from Levin.
A slapping body kick lands there for Benson.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Levin throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Wolfgang Benson seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Benson closes the distance and clinches.
Levin misses with a short punch on the inside.
Benson lands a right hand that snaps the head of Levin backwards.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Levin misses with the head strike.
Benson is working Levin over against the ropes.
Benson lands a right hand that snaps the head of Levin backwards.
Benson blocks an uppercut.
Levin tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Levin misses with the head strike.
Levin is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Benson is defending well for now.
Benson scores a nice knee to the body.
Levin using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Levin misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Benson.
Levin fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Levin looking to throw knees to the head but Benson is blocking nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Levin throws a punch but it's blocked by Benson.
Levin lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Benson on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Levin working aggressively here.
Benson blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Levin with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Levin fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Benson blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Levin tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Benson avoids it.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Levin has a couple of punches blocked by Benson.
Artem Levin has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
With the fighters up against the ropes, Levin throws an elbow but misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Artem Levin.
Well Benson has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 46:49
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 46:49
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 46:49

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Wolfgang Benson! Wolfgang Benson retains his welterweight title!
During a confident post fight interview, Wolfgang Benson thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.