Havnaa toys with Løke

Kai Robin Havnaa made quick work of Frank Løke in their widely discussed exhibition fight, stopping the former handball player and stunt performer by technical knockout in the fifth and penultimate round.

Løke struggled to mount an attack as Havnaa applied pressure from the opening round. In the third, Løke launched a wild attack, went over the ropes and landed on the officials’ table. Havnaa later said he had imagined knocking Løke out that way.

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I boxed as well as I could and hit as hard as I could with the punches that were supposed to be hard.

Havnaa increased the punishment in the fourth round, landing heavy punches to Løke’s body and head. In the fifth, referee Mikael Höök stopped the contest after Løke absorbed a barrage of punches.

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I lost to Norway’s best boxer. I felt the punches, they were extremely hard. I have probably broken something.

“I boxed as well as I could and hit as hard as I could with the punches that were supposed to be hard,” Havnaa told VG. Løke said he had lost to Norway’s best boxer and described the punches as extremely hard. “It was brutal. He just kept coming,” he said.

The bout took place before 4,000 spectators in the city best known for Arendalsuka, Norway’s largest political and democratic gathering. Havnaa, who ended his professional career after a thumb injury in 2023, said after the comeback that it was his final boxing match.

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It was brutal. He just kept coming. It was difficult to withstand, I had almost nothing to offer.