Ekaterinburg – In the main event of the night, two flamboyant MMA artists Ivan Shtyrkov and Magomed Ismailov collided under the Marquess of Queensbury rules in a scheduled six-rounder, and awkward but spirited Ismailov enjoyed a majority decision over slow, more orthodox fighter in Shtyrkov. There was much action and less skill in an intense encounter, which saw Ismailov doing better in the starting and mid rounds, and Shtyrkov coming up hard during the last round. Final scores were: 60-54, 59-55, and 57-57 – for Ismailov in this locally much anticipated clash.
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Lightweight contender Zaur Abdullaev (17-1, 10 KOs) picked up where he left off in his previous stoppage wins over Jovanni Straffon and Jorge Linares, when he dropped Panamanian Ricardo “El Cientifico” Nunez (23-5, 21 KOs) hard in the first round. However, the fight, which was thought to end in a minute or two, went on until the final bell, and Abdullaev was forced to work hard for his unanimous decision win.
The Russian boxer was indeed fast at the start but Nunez sustained the pressure and began responding to Abdullaev’s multi-punch combinations. It wasn’t enough to give him any chance in the fight but at least he wasn’t in danger of being stopped anymore. The Russian fought on with the same grit and determination but took pauses and lacked precision with his punches.
Still, Nunez was on the receiving end and got much more leather than was needed to be competitive. He evened things up only in one or two rounds, and the rest was dominated by the Russian. Nunez, 29, took punches well and even responded in exchanges but it wasn’t enough to give him any chances for the win.
After ten rounds, all three judges had it unanimously for Zaur Abdullaev: 99-90, 98-91, and 98-91. The Russian is now six fights removed from his only career loss to Devin Haney. Nunez lost his second consecutive fight – once again to a Russian opponent. Previously he was also defeated by Albert Batyrgaziev.
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Heavyweight Arslan Iallyev proved he is a force to be reckoned with in his blistering fourth-round stoppage of fellow undefeated Russian Georgiy Yunovidov for the vacant Russian national belt.
Yunovidov, 30, had solid amateur credentials coming into this fight but his pugilistic progress has been slow. Oppositely, Iallyev, 26, had negligible amateur background as a boxer but tons of combat experience as a kickboxer and muay thai operator. His professional career was also flourishing, albeit he wasn’t very active during the last two years. Yet between those two, Iallyev had the soundest victory – the seventh-round stoppage of former two-time WBO cruiserweight beltholder Victor Emilio Ramirez in 2021.
In this fight, Iallyev was both stronger and smarter than Yunovidov, using his awkward technique and superior physical stature to continuously frustrate his orthodox opponent. Still, Yunovidov was very much in the fight and looked quite solid when a sudden jab by Iallyev dropped him down at the start of the fourth round. It looked like it was a fluke, but Iallyev thought differently. He applied more sophisticated pressure and finally got to his opponent. Two right hands to the body softened Yunovidov and forced him to loosen his guard, which was all what Iallyev needed. He threw in a huge right uppercut that caught Yunovidov cold and dropped him badly for the count.
Time of stoppage was 1:14 of the fourth. Iallyev is now 14-0, with 9 KOs, while Yunovidov gets down to 7-1, with 4 KOs. Iallyev called out former unified cruiserweight champion-turned heavyweight contender Murat Gassiev after this victory.
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In an intra-team super featherweight clash between two super featherweight contenders, Mark “Canelo” Urvanov improved his record to solid 23-3-1, with 10 KOs, with a hard-fought majority decision over his RCC teammate Ruslan Kamilov (12-2-1, 6 KOs) in a scheduled ten-rounder.
Urvanov, 26, looked better during the first half of the bout with his constant pressure and non-stop rumbling. Kamilov, 34, combined slugging skills with amateur pedigree and looked to be more skillful of the two, but Urvanov’s youth, physical stature and energy allowed him to gain a lead. After the midpoint of the bout, Urvanov started to fade, while Kamilov got more and more successful in exchanges. Neither fighter was really hurt, but it looked like Kamilov was slightly better in some rounds, and he also finished the fight stronger than Urvanov.
Nevertheless, two fighters had it for Mark Urvanov: 97-93 and 96-94, while the third one scored it a draw: 95-95. Kamilov lost his second fight in a row after racking up twelve wins with a single draw to start his pro career. Urvanov is now three fights removed from his split decision loss to Angel Rodriguez a year ago.
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Former amateur star Gleb Bakshi, a highly touted super middleweight prospect, needed rounds against solid opposition and he got them against former WBA interim middleweight champion Alfonso Blanco of Venezuela. The win against Blanco is however in the books, and it is a wide and well-earned unanimous decision over eight rounds.
Lanky Blanco came not to win but to last rounds against the Russian power-puncher. Bakshi, 27, was ready for some resistance but the Venezuelan produced little offensive error being content to move laterally and to smother punches with his Philly shell. Bakshi wasn’t economical but he wasn’t also overly active, preserving energy for later rounds – an unknown territory for a fighter, whose previous pro experience was limited to just three and a half minutes. Blanco, 37, showed solid stamina and reflexes for his age but also a lack of desire to press and create effective danger for Bakshi. He was there to last the distance, not to win.
Rounds were similar till the last one, when Bakshi finally dropped Blanco on a combination of punches. The Russian went on to score another knockdown but the Venezuelan survived till the bell. No official scores were announced but BoxingScene had it 80-70 – for Gleb Bakshi, who is now 3-0, with 2 KOs. Blanco drops down to 18-2, with 9 KOs.
Both fighters have strong amateur accolades. Blanco is 2007 WC silver and 2009 WC bronze medalist. He also reached quarterfinals of the Beijing Olympics. Bakshi is 2019 world champion and 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist.