Sergei Kovalev became the new IBA Pro Intercontinental cruiserweight champion, following a seventh-round defeat of Germany’s Artur Mann at IBA.Pro 2.0 in Chelyabinsk.

A strong left uppercut from Kovalev to the side of the head saw Mann tumble to the canvas, in what looked like a strike that would signal the direction of momentum. It was a punch that came from nowhere, late in the second round from Kovalev. The German responded to the count but was desperate for the bell. He survived, but he looked much slower at 34 than his opponent, the former WBA super and IBF and WBO world champion, who was looking full of energy at the age of 42.

Once Mann regained composure, he was able to reply sufficiently and looked solid in rounds three, four and five; but a quick combination from Kovalev once again put him in the driving seat in the sixth. The writing was on the wall in the early stages of round seven, when Kovalev landed a right uppercut, followed by a one-two right-left combination to see Mann fall to the ground, giving the Russian the technical knockout win when the German’s corner deemed it was enough.

Timur Bibilov of Russia won by technical knockout in the 90.7kg division, defeating the visiting Joshua Wasike of Kenya. The young home favorite, still just 19, had a record of 7-0 heading into the fight and looked someone worthy of that record early on. Bibilov gave the Kenyan a scare in the third round with a long right hand. Credit had to be given to Wasike for his resilience, who took some heavy punishment and despite being on the back foot, managed some points himself. However, the constant left hook from Bibilov wore his opponent down and slowly fell into the possibility of an early finish. Both were in uncharted territory after round six and it was valuable experience for them as the contest was looking likely to go the whole 10 rounds.

Wasike was having the best round in the ninth who found a second wind, as his young opponent seemed to run out of steam. However, with just two minutes left in the 10^th round, the left hook connected again, and another did on the counter-attack – dropping Wasike to the mat when he looked likely to go the distance. While he got up, the referee called the match off with just over a minute to go when Bibilov again landed the left and somehow the Kenyan stayed on his feet, but he was staggering after a follow-up right. It was a tremendous fight by two incredible boxers.

An impressive second half saw Uzbekistan’s Madiyar Saydrakhimov defeat Andrey Stotsky of Russia by knockout in the final round of their 90.7kg IBA ranking match. Saydrakhimov was keen to get involved from the first bell, being the aggressor, as Stotsky invited the attacks. The Russian’s tactic mostly worked in the early stages, taking a punch from distance, but following it up with successful strikes in response from closer range. The fight started to swing the way of the Uzbek from round three, and Stotsky required a strong sixth and final round. Instead, Saydrakhimov continued to land his signature right hand, and it eventually paid dividends. The blow to the head caused the Russian to stagger, and after impressively staying on his feet for 20 seconds from a flurry of strikes, he was counted. Moments after the match resumed, he took another heavy hit followed by two against the ropes, leading to the referee calling off the match and deeming it a knockout victory for Saydrakhimov.

Saidjamshid Jafarov representing Uzbekistan claimed the win over Sergey Lubkovich of Russia in the 71kg division. It was a calculated opening two rounds of six, as Jafarov started to push his Russian opponent with his superior reach, but he was challenged greatly by Lubkovich’s evasion. The breakthrough started in round three when Jafarov landed a crisp left jab. The problem for Lubkovich was not landing enough punches of his own in his bid to avoid a knockdown. The 2023 World silver medallist continued to put the pressure on and made it clear there would be no doubt of a unanimous decision in favor of Jafarov.

Akhmadshokh Makhmadshoev of Russia was the victor over six rounds at 67kg, emerging as the stand-out competitor against Artem Pugach. Following two rounds where little separated the pair, Makhmadshoev became the boxer landing the great deal of punches, unsurprisingly leading to a unanimous decision.

Vage Sarukhanyan of Russia defeated Nurtas Azhbenov of Kazakhstan over six rounds by a unanimous decision in the 63.5kg weight category, ending the match strongly after a decent back-and-forth affair.

Azhbenov took the front foot in the match as Sarukhanyan looked to catch off the back. The Russian would still find time to push back against the visitor, who had just one loss to his name before their bout. Judges would either favor activity of the Kazakh or the evasion and accurate strikes off the back from Sarukhanyan: and it went the way of the home favorite.

A tremendous second-round knockout saw Russia’s Karen Solovyov have a debut to remember, defeating Islam Koloev at 63.5kg. Solovyov looked confident and strong from the first bell, controlling the ring with a greater reach and able to shrug off strikes from Koloev. Cornering him late in the second round, Solovyov landed a sickening right hand to the jaw of Koloev as he brought his head up from a guard, instantly dropping to the mat.

Women’s action saw Russian Albina Moldazhanova defeat compatriot Nuriyat Alibekova within the first round of their 66kg fight. Alibekova, who is 16 years’ Moldazhanova’s senior, faced a lot of offense from her opponent and would face a knockout less than a minute into the match.

In the opening two contests, Tamerlan Kasymov won unanimously against compatriot Kamil Radzhabov over six rounds at 67kg; while Luis Miguel Bayona of Cuba was the winner by a unanimous decision over four rounds in the 71kg category, handing Russian Valery Danilogorsky his second defeat.

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Media contacts:

Elena Sobol, Head of Communications and PR, International Boxing Association: elena.sobol@iba.sport

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