Albert Batyrgaziev defended his IBA Pro World Champion title at the 60kg weight category, successfully for the first time, conquering Albert Pagara from the Philippines in the main event of IBA Champions’ Night Ufa.

Pagara came into the contest with a 35-1 professional record, but the Russian was too technically powerful, extending his perfect record to 12-0. Batyrgaziev often had Pagara cradled in a corner with nowhere to go, and by the end of the fourth round, the Filipino boxer had had enough,. The referee stopped the contest just short of the halfway stage as Batyrgaziev continues his dominance at the top of his division.

Muslim Gadzhimagomedov defeated Leon Harth from Germany to retain his WBA Bridgerweight title over 12 rounds. Towering over his opponent, Gadzhimagomedov was seeking a fifth professional victory and did so with intelligent accuracy and power. While keeping a healthy distance between himself and Harth, he was effective on the counter when the German charged in at him, picking the gaps that his opponent left when trying to go on the offensive. The longer the bout lasted, the more Gadzhimagomedov looked in control and by the final round he was raising his gloves up, trying to fire his opponent up to fight back. Cornering Harth on several occasions in the final three minutes, he raised his gloves up at the final bell, knowing he sealed the win.

IBA Pro European champion Artur Subkhankulov extended his professional winning record to seven with a victory over China’s Liu Wensong – gaining the WBA Asia Super featherweight title in the process. Subkhankulov made it third time lucky, winning again in his hometown of Ufa, after previous IBA Champions’ Night defeats of Roland Galos and James Chereji. This time, he piled pressure on Liu, where cracks finally started to show in the fifth round as the Chinese boxer was ducking with lethargy. Subkhankulov, still climbing the professional ranks, had only gone the whole 10 rounds once before and again, managed the challenge well, having his arm raised in victory at the end.

Danis Gabdrafikov won in the 67kg division but was given a great challenge in Jean Junior Messe Elime from Cameroon over six rounds. Gabdrafikov was active, but messy on defence, which Elime was able to take advantage of and punish his foe. Little separated the pair in a fiery six-round affair, one would be on the side of luck, and one would be considered an unlucky loser. A split decision went the way of the Russian. Elime would not have his arm raised, but he could hold his head high after his performance.

Azalia Amineva was victorious in the women’s 66kg division, defeating India’s Raj Sahiba. Sahiba picked up solid shots on the backfoot, but the aggression of Amineva was more noticeable and more successful. The more the fight wore on, the more comfortable the Russian looked and saw out the six-round contest to a unanimous decision verdict.

In the opening match of the night, Immanuel Josef won the WBA Asia Flyweight title in a 10-round bout against Vasily Egorov. The latter started well and Josef, knowing he had to make up points, fought back well to keep the contest fairly level at the halfway stage. A head clash came in the seventh, with the Russian deemed unable to continue due to injury. With the judges’ scorecards taken into account after six full rounds, it was the Namibian who was given the nod.

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Media contacts:

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

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