Evgeny Gradovich vs. Lee Selby: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction

There is a new IBF world featherweight champion in boxing, as an excellent tactical display and a nasty cut from an accidental head-butt paved the way for Lee Selby (21-1-0, 8 KOs) to snatch the title from Evgeny Gradovich (19-1-1, 9 KOs) via technical decision Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London.

Selby had outclassed Gradovich for much of the bout before an accidental clash of heads opened up a major cut on Gradovich's head in the seventh round.

The officials called the bout in the eighth, but by rule, the match had to go to the cards. BBC.com had the scores at 79-73, 80-72 and 79-73.

Sky Sports Boxing also showed some of the damage done:

Selby was confident coming into the match, telling Sky Sports, "When I become champion, I can really appreciate it because I've done it the hard way."

Gradovich was the aggressor early on in the fight, coming forward and forcing the action, only to be rebuffed by a confident Selby.

The Welsh boxer did well to get his defensive jab and counterpunches off early, preventing Gradovich from getting too close and turning things into a brawl.

A strong left hook from Selby staggered Gradovich toward the end of the second; it was easily the best shot of the early goings. Boxing News noted he wasn't perfect, however:

Gradovich's punches came in bunches, but Selby did well to dodge the majority of his biggest swings.

Still, the titleholder closed the gap in the middle rounds through sheer volume and aggression, even if Selby made him look foolish at times, per Sky Sports Boxing:

A nasty cut on the bridge of Gradovich's nose was evidence that he was clearly the worse for wear in this fight. His power punches were wild at times and allowed Selby to sneak in his own power shots and score points.

Selby was pure class in the sixth round, deftly evading a frustrated Gradovich and tagging him with a mixture of right crosses and left hooks.

For the first time in the bout, he put Gradovich on the back foot, a troubling development for the latter's preferred style of boxing. Even so, Bad Left Hook felt the Welshman was getting undue praise from the ringside commentators:

The clash of heads in the seventh opened up a large cut on the right side of Gradovich's head. Selby immediately targeted the open wound, and a hard left soon after the next round's opening bell led the official to call time. The doctor took a look, and the decision was made to wave off the match on the spot.

Considering this is just the first loss of Gradovich's career and he had successfully defended the IBF belt multiple times before Saturday night, it would be shocking if he didn't work his way back into a title fight in due time.

Selby was the better boxer on the night and exposed some of Gradovich's defensive weaknesses, but both fighters are poised to be forces in the featherweight division for many bouts to come.