An instant classic main event was made at IBA Champions’ Night in Baku, Azerbaijan as Russia’s Vsevolod Shumkov defeated Uzbekistan’s Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov for the 57kg IBA Pro World Champion title over 10 rounds.

Shumkov, the 2024 European champion and 2023 World championships bronze medallist, came into Baku with victories at IBA Champions’ Night Moscow and Serpukhov against Abel Mendoza and Saidel Horta. He remained undefeated in three bouts professionally. Mirzakhalilov’s previous appearance at IBA Champions’ Night came in Dushanbe in February, where he defeated Luis Rodriguez from Mexico to set up the IBA Pro World Champion title match.

Shumkov found his range immediately in the National Gymnastics Arena and looked comfortable in the bout, but it was Mirzakhalilov who sent the Russian’s head backwards with one of the best punches of the night, packed with incredible power. Shumkov’s evasiveness along with his defensive offense looked fantastic in the third round and again the Uzbek came back with a superb double left hook to the jaw and to the body. This was turning into a true back-and-forth affair.

Mirzakhalilov caused Shumkov to dip his knees with another brutal blow near the end of the fourth round. It was a reminder that despite a lower knockout rate at 57kg, both athletes were vulnerable to knockdowns. Shumkov continued to face trouble in the fifth round, doing whatever he could to slow the bout down. While he looked comfortable and lively in the opening rounds, he was now looking to disengage to avoid taking match-ending damage.

Mirzakhalilov landed a left hook in the seventh to gasps from the crowd and then Shumkov fell into the ropes from a right hand. Credit should be given to the Russian for his resistance to what was relentless pressure with little let-up from the Uzbek boxer. Straight from the bell in the final round, Shumkov and Mirzakhalilov came out of their respective corners throwing punches with no consideration for defence. Some of Shumkov’s greatest hits came in the final 90 seconds of the contest and may have been enough to secure him the unanimous decision victory, ending the unbeaten run of Mirzakhalilov, impressive throughout.

A tight call had to be made in the co-main event, as Mahammad Abdullayev defeated Colombian Cristian Salcedo in the +92kg division.

Salcedo was active but evasive in the earlier rounds, trying to fight off the back foot from Abdullayev whose aim was to corner the Colombian and deliver close-range punches. However, it was increasingly looking like the Azerbaijani boxer’s match to lose as he gave the more agile Salcedo no room to move. Salcedo’s hope was to take advantage of the tired Abdullayev as the bout wore on – but despite his fatigue, it was the home favourite who continued to press, aware that he had the advantage when locked together. A split decision victory went the way of Abdullayev, the aggressor, after eight rounds.

The main card started with great drama as Cuba’s Lenar Perez won by knockout within the opening three minutes of his WBA Cruiserweight Asia and WBA Fedelatin titles match. The promising boxer took his professional record to 13-0 with a furious opening round against Rosmen Brito from Venezuela.

Hard right hands will be in the nightmares of Brito for the foreseeable future as Perez delivered these multiple times unguarded. The first gave Brito unsteady legs, the second seemed to have shaken him more – by the time the first round bell was about to ring, these punches added up and two more unprotected right hands sent the Venezuelan to the mat. He tried to respond to the referee’s count but slumped back to the mat. Perez continues to establish himself as a boxer to underestimate at your peril.

Undercard

Two titans met in the ring in another bout in the +92kg division and it was Mahammadrasul Majidov from Azerbaijan who worked hard and wore down his opponent from Kazakhstan, Nursultan Amanzholov.

In the early stages, Amanzholov was looking the most promising of the pair, catching Majidov from a defensive position and scoring pivotal points, but by the halfway point, the Azerbaijani boxer was replying and then some. Soon, Amanzholov´s only significant offense was immediately met with a shot of greater brutality.

Any momentum still with the Kazakh was halted with his nose being damaged in the fourth round. Majidov continued to target the face and controlled the contest the longer it went on. Despite some great action from Amanzholov in those early stages, Majidov was unstoppable in those later rounds.

In the first super heavyweight bout of the night, Australia’s Jackson Murray ended the winning streak of Nigeria’s Solomon Adebayo, in the closest contest of the night in the +92kg division. Murray, undefeated in six professional fights, looked to impress in uncharted territory – an eight-round fight. Adebayo has contested seven bouts supposed to go at least eight rounds – however, only one of them ever went the distance as the Nigerian had a tendency to knock his opponents out long before the last bell was expected to ring.

Early rounds saw the Australian look composed – that was until he met the glove of Adebayo to his chin at the start of the fifth round from Adebayo. While the Nigerian had the highlight reel, Murray was being favoured for his subtler shots. What was already a close decision for the judges was complicated more when the knockout specialist Adebayo landed a solid right hand to Murray – stunning the crowd. Perhaps even more stunning was the Australian’s response to it – he hardly blinked to what would have sent others tumbling to the canvas.

A split decision win could be expected, and it went the way of the former rugby league player Murray, who extended his professional winning streak to seven. In disbelief the fantastic Adebayo dropped to his knees, to which Murray joined him to shake his hand and congratulate him on a great fight.

It was another impressive performance from Gabil Mamedov of Russia in the 63.5kg division, who put together a display to remember against Kazakhstan’s Nurtas Azhbenov. Mamedov was victorious against Dzmitry Asanau from Belarus in Sochi in March and the momentum continued this evening. Mamedov’s signature combination punches were difficult to deal with and the Kazakh conceded punches through the gloves, facing pressure from the onset. That pressure boiled over at the end of the fifth round when Azhbenov was stuck against the ropes from Mamedov’s offence and went down for a count of eight. Mamedov signed off the final round with a lovely double-left uppercut followed by a right hand. Combinations were found throughout the fight, and these assisted the Russian to a clear victory.

Nijat Huseynov delivered an impressive display in the 51kg division, winning his contest against John Michael Zulueta from the Philippines. The Youth World Championships bronze medallist from Azerbaijan looked near-faultless throughout, ending with a sixth round full of clean hits to Zulueta, punctuating his dominance and nullifying the glimpses of success the Filipino found in round four. Another unanimous decision went the way of the home nation.

In the opening bout of the night, Sarkhan Aliyev from Azerbaijan had little trouble defeating Monkh-Erdene Uranchimegiin from Mongolia in the 71kg division over six rounds, claiming the unanimous decision victory.

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Media contacts:

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

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