Two takedowns from Donovan ultimately decided the fight.
The Irish southpaw dropped Chukhadzhian with a short left hand in the sixth round before scoring another takedown in the eighth. Chukhadzhian protested the second call, believing he was bumped, but the referee ruled it a bump.
Donovan started sharply and controlled long stretches of the early rounds with his jab, movement and hand speed. Chukhadzhian slowly forced his way back into the fight in the second half, pushing forward and landing cleaner right hands as Donovan spent more time trading instead of using the ring.
The Ukrainian veteran finished strongly over the final rounds and looked to be closing the gap on the scorecards, but the two takedowns gave Donovan plenty of room to escape with the win.
“Karen Chukhadzhian is one of the best fighters in the world, and we knew it,” Donovan said afterward.
“Now it’s back for the trilogy, come on, Lewis Crocker. We’re back.”
The fight marked Donovan’s comeback after back-to-back losses to Lewis Crocker earlier this year. Their first bout ended in a disqualification after Donovan landed a late punch, while Crocker took the rematch by split decision.
Chukhadzhian, who had previously gone the distance twice with Jaron Ennis, was again hard to break down and continued to push until the final bell.
The win puts Donovan in position for another big welterweight fight later this year, possibly against the winner of Crocker’s upcoming fight with Liam Paro.
