Pavel Sosulin remained undefeated professionally and in IBA Champions’ Night events, winning his fourth match under the banner tonight in Kirov against Kudratillo Abdukakhorov of Uzbekistan. 

Coming in as the favourite and undefeated in eight bouts, Sosulin lived up to expectation, slowly working away at the Uzbek fighter before really twisting the screw in the fifth round, just beyond the halfway stage in the eight-round 71kg contest.

While Abdukakhorov was lively in the early minutes of the bout, landing blows to the body, the contest’s momentum swayed in the direction of Sosulin more as the minutes expired.

As the seconds ticked down to the bell, Sosulin looked more alive than ever, charging at his opponent into the corner. Although Abdukakhorov survived the bombardment of punches, he faced much of the same for the next three rounds. In Sosulin’s first appearance as a headliner at IBA Champions’ Night, he did not let the fans down as he won the contest. 

Georgiy Yunovidov from Russia put in the most dominant performance of the day in his +92kg match against Nursultan Amanzholov of Kazakhstan. By round five, Amanzholov was simply trying to survive, retreating to the ropes with a bloodied nose. Although shorter in height and reach, the leaner Yunovidov was nimble and evidently more energetic in the latter stages, winning by unanimous decision after the final bell.

Pavel Federov representing Serbia, emerged victorious in his men’s 63.5kg fight with Ghana’s Faisal Abubakari. Federov, who previously defeated Armenia’s Davit Azizyan at IBA Champions’ Night Serpukhov earlier this year, was master in his footwork. He effectively evaded most of Abubakari’s offence and despite looking the more passive of the two, he was also more accurate with the strikes that he landed.

Dmitry Zakharov looked in control from round three against Lequan Wang from China in the opening bout of the evening. With the match getting deeper and deeper in six rounds, the home favourite matched the expectations of the crowd to secure the victory in the men’s 71kg contest.

On the undercard, Armen Tsaturyan of Russia had his arm raised in his four-round 86kg bout, defeating Begali Kirgizboev of Tajikistan comprehensively in his home city. Finally, Russian Maxim Kuznetsov had an impressive debut at the 54kg weight category against Tunde Olejede from Nigeria. He stunned his opponent halfway through the first round, keeping him against the ropes. What looked like a fight that would not last the six rounds, Olejede managed to hold firm, but Kuznetsov would still claim victory.

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