Fighting in front of the partisan crowd of religious Israelis, super middleweight Sagiv Ismailov improved his record to 4-0, with 2 KOs, following a well-deserved four-round win over Kristi Doni (now 2-3, 2 KOs). Despite being scheduled for just four rounds, Ismailov vs. Doni headlined a nice-packed multi-fight event staged in Ashdod, Israel, by Evgeni Boico of Arena Boxing Promotion & Management.
A small hall of Ashdod’s communal center was fully packed with local supporters, who spoke (and shouted advice in) multiple languages, including Hebrew, English, and Russian. Sagiv Ismailov, 20, a TZAHAL instructor, was the star of the night. Aggressive and well-honed Ismailov went at Doni right after the opening bell. The Albanian fighter was moving confidently but relied too much on his defensive skills in the opening round.
Doni tried to turn back the tide in the second round, but he was too crude in his approach and wide with his punches. Oppositely, Ismailov produced a compact effort, fighting mostly in spurts. In round three, Sagiv landed a major right uppercut to shake Doni. The Albanian continued fighting hard, but the Israeli was considerably better in the majority of exchanges.
Final scores were 40-36, 40-36, and 40-37 – all for the Ashdod native, who scored his second consecutive decision win in his hometown after two stoppages abroad.
In what was de facto the main event of the night, Dmytro Shcherbina of Ukraine (14-2-1, 4 KOs) was forced to work hard to deal Georgian Nikolozi Gviniashvili (15-31-4, 12 KOs) his 22nd consecutive loss. It was a bloodshed of a fight.
Stocky but powerfully built Gviniashvili charged forward, while Shcherbina struggled to contain his opponent at a distance. The much lankier Ukrainian tried to get accustomed to his opponent, but Gviniashvili was quite successful at the start of the fight.
Shcherbina did much better during the second round sticking his jab into the opponent’s face and moving laterally to avoid danger after that.
In round three, the Ukrainian opened a nasty gash over Gviniashvili’s left eye. A ringside physician entered the ring to have a look and after some hesitation let the fight go on. The Georgian fought valiantly, but the Ukrainian was too elusive and landed way too many punches. The only success Gviniashvili was able to achieve was a slight over Shcherbina’s left eye. The final scores were 60-54, 60-55, and 59-55 – for the Ukrainian, who added Israel to the ever-growing list of the countries, he has fought in.
Undercard:
Another Ashdod native Igor Lazarev (9-4, 3 KOs) was limited to a majority decision by lanky Moldovan Vladislav Gaureac (0-4) in another four-rounder. Lazarev was ultra-aggressive, while Gaureac was ultra-elusive and annoying to the Israeli veteran. He won some moments and the sympathy of at least one judge, who had it 38-38. Two others preferred Lazarev just slightly with a couple of 39-37 scores.
Moldovan kickboxing champion Cvintillian Lisii and debuting (as a pro) three-time Israeli champion Alex Karchevskiy engaged in a two-sided super middleweight four-rounder. The fight was back and forth, but Karchevskiy (1-0) did a bit more than his opponent. Judges saw it wider in his favor: 40-36, 40-36, and 40-37. Lisii is down to 1-2, 1 KO.
In a sole stoppage of the night, it took debuting Albanian Ledjo Deda (1-0) less than two rounds to smoke professional loser Sorin Marius Petre (0-49-2). Petre fought on even terms with Deda in the first, got dropped twice in the second with body punches, and refused to go on. The time of the stoppage was 1:40 of the round.
Finally, 19-year-old Griselda Torollari of Albania (2-1) looked perfect against Georgian Teona Pirosmanashvili (2-7-1, 2 KOs) for the first three rounds, culminating with a push, which almost had Teona going through the ropes and onto the ground. The Georgian looked much better during the fourth round. Final scores were: 40-36, 40-36, and 39-37 – for Torollari.
Ten more amateur fights constituted the deep undercard of the event, which was sanctioned by the Bulgarian Professional Boxing Union. The next Israeli installment of the Arena Boxing Promotion & Management can occur as soon as in April. Nazareth is a front-runner to host the event.