Muslim Gadzhimagomedov claimed the WBA Bridgerweight title at the IBA Coliseum, at IBA Champions’ Night in Serpukhov, defeating China’s Zhaoxin Zhang in four rounds.

The Russian was undefeated coming into the bout for the vacant title, but faced the more experienced professional in Zhang, who handed Evgeny Romanov a shock defeat in February. The two-time IBA World Championships gold medallist and Olympic silver medallist Gadzhimagomedov faced the pressure from the Chinese boxer early on but looked more comfortable watching the punches come his way. Round three saw him go on the offensive more, before dominating to the point that the referee had to intervene, calling off the match shortly before the end of the fourth round was signalled, far before the scheduled 12 rounds were supposed to end.

The winner was promised a Mercedes AMG GT from the sponsors of the event, should somebody finish the fight before the fifth round, and after the fight Gadzhimagomedov took the keys from IBA President Umar Kremlev.

Albert Batyrgaziev gave Jono Carroll’s first stoppage defeat in the co-main event as he became the WBA Interim Super Featherweight title holder.

Carroll talked tough coming into the bout, stating he would metaphorically drown the Russian by taking him long into the fight into less chartered territory of 12 rounds. Carroll was clearly focused on stunning his opponent early on, taking the first round before sending Batyrgaziev into a spin in the third round, as the home favorite was fortunate not to face a knockdown. Despite being against the ropes literally and figuratively, Batyrgaziev recovered well to make it an even bout by the halfway mark. While Carroll remained strong, the end of the seventh saw a cut to the eyelid of the Irishman, the start of his downfall which saw Baytrgaziev deal a lot of damage as Carroll tried to battle through poor vision caused by the blood. The ninth round would be the end. While Carroll would feel hard done by not scoring the knockdown there was no doubt that Batyrgaziev took him to the mat resoundingly. Just about responding to the count of the referee, Carroll valiantly stood up, but soon was knocked down again, leading to the win for the Russian.

Fists were flying in the 53.5kg fight between Shakhobidin Zoirov and Dmitry Dvali in what was a lively way to start the main card ended in a draw. The Uzbek Zoirov was incredibly effective in the first couple of rounds and produced excellent footwork to give himself space from Dvali, who started to make inroads with pockets of punches peppered throughout. While Zoirov looked in control, Dvali would not relent and continued to pressurize his opponent. By the end, the Russian looked more threatening, but Zoirov celebrated after the eighth-round bell, sure of his victory. He looked in disbelief as one judge favored both boxers, with another calling it down the line.

Before the main card started, IBA President Umar Kremlev was given a special award “The Boss of the Year” from RIA Novosti news agency recognizing his hard work. The trophy was awarded by WBC, IBF, and WBO light-heavyweight titles holder Artur Beterbiev, as well as Olympic champion in artistic gymnastics Nikita Nagornyy and 7-time Olympic champion in artistic swimming Svetlana Romashina.

Russian Vasily Egorov would defeat the Philippines’ Jesse Espinas in the 51kg contest over six rounds. After a strong start for Egorov, Espinas made the fight much more interesting when he knocked his foe to the floor early in the third round with a concrete right hook, but he replied to the referee’s count. Egorov’s mental and physical recovery was quick and would go on to get back on the front foot for the rest of the bout.

Artur Subkhankulov of Russia was a fast and dominant victor, forcing a referee’s stoppage in the third round of his 60kg bout with Tanzania’s Abeid Kessy Kasongo. Before the six-round match had even reached the halfway stage, Subkhankulov was firmly out-striking his opponent. A couple of strong jabs to the head were met with unsuccessful ferocious hooks from Kasongo. A combination of blows would eventually cause Kasongo to fall on his back, unable to make the referee’s count in time.

Samat Zhetibayev of Kazakhstan won the opening bout of the night, beating Jay-R Raquinel from the Philippines at the 54kg weight over eight rounds. Zhetibayev sealed the opening rounds with the judges, using an aggressive stance from the off and delivering the majority of the strikes to the Filipino boxer. Raquinel would show what he was capable of, but too late in the bout. Rounds seven and eight were great displays for him, but the judges deemed not enough was done earlier – awarding the Kazakh with the unanimous decision victory.

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