By Jake Donovan

Verona, NY -- Vyacheslav Shrabanskyy closed out 2015 on a high note, grinding out a 10-round win over Yunieski Gonzalez in a bruising light heavyweight slugfest Saturday evening at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.

An even verdict of 95-95 on one scorecard was overruled by tallies of 97-93 and 98-92 in favor of Shrabanskyy, who picks up his fourth win of 2015. 

The fight began at a brisk pace and never really let up. Gonzalez came out with a knockout in mind, taking the fight to Shrabanskyy in the opening round. It was clear from the outset that the Miami-based Cuban was brimming with confidence following his strong showing versus Jean Pascal earlier this year. 

Shrabanskyy wasn't particularly impressed, turning the tide in round two and controlling the action for much of the middle rounds. Gonzalez was rocked on at least two occasions, but managed to quickly recover and return fire whenever it seemed like the fight was slipping away. 

Terrific two-way action came in a thrilling round seven that drew the crowd to its feet. A similar reaction came at night's end, when both fighters sought to close strong. Gonzalez moved forward looking to land that one perfect blow to erase a scorecard deficit, but it was Shrabanskyy who connected with two big shots in the closing seconds of a brutal battle. 

With the win, Shrabanskyy -  a Ukrainian based out of Los Angeles and promoted by Golden Boy Promotions - moves to 15-0 (12KOs). Gonzalez suffers back-to-back losses, managing to impress in each defeat but his record nevertheless falling to 16-2 (12KOs). 

The bout will air via same-day tape delay on HBO Latino, immediately following a live Boxing After Dark telecast on HBO's flagship network. Top 10 heavyweights Luis Ortiz faces Bryant Jennings in the HBO main event, while former featherweight champ Nicholas Walters squares off with streaking knockout artist Jason Sosa. 

In the evening's final non-televised matchup prior to the live action, D'Mitrius Ballard pounded out a six-round unanimous decision over Brazil's Fabiano Peña in their super middleweight swing bout. Scores were 60-54 across the board in favor of Ballard (11-0, 7KOs) who hails from Temple Hills, Maryland. 

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox