Light Heavyweights are spectacular in Sofia as Granite Genov unites an entire nation with a sparkling performance
Universiada Hall in Sofia was the venue for the memorable and emotional night of Light Heavyweights (81kg) competing in Round 2 of AIBA Pro Boxing’s (APB) Pre-Ranking phase.
The bulgarian boxing icon Spas Genov comfortably won his first APB clash against fellow debutant Dzemal Bosnjak.
Starting the fight in front of countless Bulgarian flags and an incredible noise, Genov soaked up the atmosphere and channeled it into non-stop aggression, as he dropped just one round on one scorecard.
Both boxers worked hard, but it was the Bulgarian brawler who just about edged the action in each stanza, with the defter punches and the better movement.
In the bout of the night Russia’s Nikita Ivanov defeated Iran’s Ehsan Rouzbahani. Ivanov looks to be the heaviest hitter across all of the light heavyweight’s, and every punch seemed to hurt his Iranian opponent, who never gave up, but could never get into the contest.
The Russian is now 2-0 in APB, and many boxing fans are already looking forward to his future clash with Mathieu Bauderlique.
Kennedy St Pierre surprisingly lost his opening APB clash, and he fell to 0-2 in the competition as he was defeated by France’s Mathieu Bauderlique in week two.
Both Ireland’s Joseph Ward and Uzbekistan’s Oybek Mamazulunov lost their week one matches, and it was the Irish star who won their key clash in Sofia, dropping just one round on two scorecards, and two on the third.
Amazing Adam Kilicci dominates the top seed in Istanbul as the marvelous Middleweights excel
Fenerbahçe Ülker Sports Arena in Istanbul, Turkey hosted the Week Two Pre-ranking phase of AIBA Pro Boxing (APB), with eight Middleweight (75kg) boxers giving it their all in front of an amazing audience.
The fight of the night could have been the main event in any city in the world such was the expectation leading up to it, but luckily for Turkey’s Adam Kilicci it was in his home country, and a raucous crowd cheered him to a win over the number one seed Artem Chebotarev.
Kilicci is now 2-0 in APB, and comfortably won the first round opening up a cut on the eyebrow of his opponent, before the Russian Chebotarev fought back to win the second frame.
Turkey’s terror ramped up his aggression from then on, and he and Chebotarev engaged in an all out war during the last four rounds, with Kilicci consistently winning the important exchanges, aided by the cut of Chebotarev worsening dramatically as the fight progressed.
The final result was a 59:55 win for Kilicci across the board, and he is looking like one of the best prospects in any weight class of APB.
Romania’s Bogdan Juratoni earned his first victory with a unanimous points win over France’s Michel Tavares who is struggling to replicate his WSB form in this competition.
Second win in APB for the Ukrainian Dmytro Mytrofanov who consigned Egypt’s Hosam Abdin to his first defeat. Mytrofanov lost the first two rounds on every scorecard, but then won the next four according to all three judges due to his superior fitness and workrate.
Ecuador’s Marlo Delgado bounced back from being disqualified in his first APB bout by defeating Kenya’s Nickson Otieno Abaka.
Berik Abdrakhmanov remains “King of the Lightweights” in the amazing APB Round 2
The Daulet Sports Complex in Astana, Kazakhstan hosted the Lightweights (60kg) on Friday November 21st in week two of the AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) Pre-ranking Phase, with four excellent contests taking place.
Home favourite and number one seed Berik Abdrakhmanov (KAZ) continued his winning start to APB by outpointing the exciting Charly Suarez (PHI) who also won his opening round match.
Ireland’s David Oliver Joyce (IRL) improved his APB record to 1-1 with a dominant win over veteran Domenico Valentino (ITA), who slips to 0-2.
The decorated Italian is struggling in APB so far, and Joyce will be pleased with his first victory in the competition, as his pressing style saw him win widely by unanimous decision.
Russia’s double European Championships medalist Dmitry Polyanskiy (RUS) then defeated Germany’s Artur Bril (GER) to win his first APB fight.
Uzbekistan’s WSB veteran Hurshid Tojibaev (UZB) lost the first two rounds on all the scorecards against Brazil’s Robson Conceição (BRA), but his experience in the longer rounds saw him turn the fight around and defeat the AIBA World Championships silver medalist by split decision.
Tojibaev remains undefeated in APB at 2-0, while Conceição is now 1-1 after suffering his first defeat.
Two shock Heavyweight upsets in Bergamo as the legendary Clemente Russo loses at home
Bergamo, Italy was the host of week two of AIBA Pro Boxing’s (APB) Pre-ranking phase, and there was plenty of heavy hitting happening as the Heavyweights (91kg) competed.
Russo (ITA) was given a hero’s welcome en route to the ring, but Egorov (RUS) dominated the fight early, winning the first two rounds. As he has done so often in his career, Russo dug deep and took rounds three and four, but a spirited Egorov found his second wind towards the end of the fight, and reasserted control of the battle.
The Russian moves to 2-0 in APB following the result, and the 23-year-old will be celebrating the greatest win of his career long into the night.
Replacement Marko Calic (CRO) defeated Argentina’s WSB star Yamil Peralta on points, giving the South American his second loss in as many fights
Ukraine’s Roman Golovashchenko and Algeria’s Chouaib Bouloudinats both sought out their first APB victory, and it was the African fighter who managed to break his duck as he won a tight contest on just one scorecard, with the other two judges seeing the fight as a draw.
The Kazakh Anton Pinchuk then went 2-0 in APB after defeating Germany’s powerful Emir Ahmatovic via unanimous decision.
