By Peter Lim

Kazakh junior middleweight Radmir Akhmediyez (8-1, 7 KOs) rebounded from his first career defeat by emphatically stopping Carlos Dixon (1-6-1, 1 KO) in the third round at The Zone in Houston. The hard-hitting Akhmediyev was the aggressor from the outset but Dixon denied him a clean shot by utilizing sneaky movement, counter punching and clinching.

By the third round, though, Akhmediyev's body blows began to pay dividends and slow Dixon down to a more stationary target. Trapping Dixon against the ropes, Akhmediyev unloaded three left hooks that sent Dixon crashing like timber to the canvass where he remained for several minutes.

The card was staged by Savarese Boxing Promotions.

While the odds are usually stacked against visiting fighters on local cards, three out-of-towners managed to pull off minor upsets in their opponents' backyard. Two registered the first wins of their careers and one beat a previously undefeated fighter.

Slick middleweight Marchristopher Adkins (7-2, 2 KOs) of Dallas outfoxed and outboxed Yunier Calzada (5-1-1, 1 KO) over six rounds to hand the Houston-based Cuban his first loss.

Switch-hitting welterweight Adrian Sargent (1-1) of Colony, TX, set a frenetic pace to out-hustle Maximiliano De La Rosa (0-1) and win a four-round decision.

And Mexican bantamweight Isav Duenez (1-2) eked out a four-round decision over southpaw Josue Morales (2-3-1).

In other bouts:

Junior welterweight David Limerick (6-0, 2 KOs) pounded out a four-round shutout over perennial stepping stone Aaron Anderson (3-40, 1 KO).

Welterweight Craig Callaghan (10-1, 4 KOs) outpointed Josue Garcia (5-4, 3 KOs) over six rounds.

Luis Guevara (4-1-1, 2 KOs) dropped Bobby Grant (0-3) twice for a first round TKO in a junior lightweight bout.

Bantamweight David Perez (5-0, 3 KOs) outpointed Charles Clark (0-1) over four rounds.

And Robert Silva (8-1, 5 KOs) scored a four-round shutout against William Johnson (11-44-2, 4 KOs) who fought purely on survival mode from the outset in a light heavyweight bout.