Murat Gassiev dominates in WBA heavyweight title defence with stoppage win over Peter Kadiru
Murat Gassiev retains WBA heavyweight belt in maiden defence
Murat Gassiev produced a dominant performance to successfully defend his WBA heavyweight title with a crushing sixth-round stoppage win over Germany’s Peter Kadiru in-front of a sold out crowd at VTA Arena in Moscow, Russia.
Gassiev, who was making the first defence of his title, quickly settled into a rhythm in the opening round, pushing the challenger on to the back-foot with a series of thudding left-hooks to the body.
Though he fought bravely, Kadiru simply had no answer to the snappy, sharp shots of the 32-year-old champion, with Gassiev’s formidable body-punching and ring craft overwhelming the Hamburg-native.
After controlling the first five rounds of the bout, Gassiev would explode into life at the start of the sixth; showcasing the thunderous power that has become his trademark with a vicious combination that sent Kadiru backpedalling into his corner.
With Kadiru firmly on the defensive, a savage right-uppercut from Gassiev sent the challenger’s head rocking back, before a timely intervention from the Kadiru corner spared their man from further punishment.
“I am delighted to get the victory, and defend my title,” said Gassiev in the immediate aftermath of another dominant victory.
“I can now look forward to resting and enjoying time with my family — when I return, I plan on becoming unified champion.”
“It was a phenomenal display of power-punching from Murat,” said Al Siesta, promoter of IBA Pro.
“Kadiru is an experienced fighter, with many bouts at the top of the amateurs - and he took this opportunity in the belief he would become heavyweight champion.
“However, Murat was on a totally different level. His precision, his poise and, of course, his power were the key differences tonight. Kadiru fought bravely, but he was simply out of his depth against a truly world-class heavyweight.”
With Gassiev recently elevated to full WBA heavyweight champion, he now sits in prime position for a blockbuster unification bout in the heavyweight division.
“Murat Gassiev is ready. He is injury free, he has settled into the division and he wants the biggest fights out there,” Siesta continued.
“We believe he is the best heavyweight in the world - now, we want the fights where he can prove it to the rest of the world.
“Whether it is Dubois [WBO champion], Kabayel [WBC champion] or maybe the Golden Boy himself, Moses Itauma - who I think lost his pen when he was ordered to face Murat - we are ready.”
IBA President, Umar Kremlev, said “Tonight Murat Gassiev defended his world title in spectacular fashion. I am extremely proud of him and I hope to see him face one of the other heavyweight champions for his next fight.”
“At IBA, we aim to organise more high-stakes title fights and bring such contests to all corners of the world.”
Artem Suslenkov vs Joe Joyce
In the chief support of the evening, unbeaten Russian heavyweight contender Artem Suslenkov picked up the biggest win of his career in stopping British rival Joe Joyce in the eleventh round.
After an action-packed heavyweight contest, it was Joyce who was eventually broken in the penultimate frame after a crunching combination from Suslenkov forced the 2016 Olympic silver medallist to retire on his feet.
With the victory, Suslenkov captures the WBA Continental heavyweight title, leaving the Volgograd native in a commanding position in his quest for world title honours.
Undercard
Elsewhere on the card, WBA number one ranked super-welterweight Pavel Sosulin picked up a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Venezuelan danger-man Eddy Colmenares in their ten round IBA Pro bout.
The bout showcased a high degree of technical boxing, with both men landing hard, effective blows from the opening bell. However, it was the relentless pressure and combination punching of Saint Petersburg-based Sosulin that saw him emerge victorious on the judges’ scorecards.
Unbeaten light-heavyweight contender Sharabutdin Ataev continued his march towards world title glory with a clinical unanimous decision win over former titleholder Jose Uzcategui.
Ataev, now 10-0 (5 KOs), was forced to be patient against his wily, experienced opponent, but landed the crisper, cleaner shots throughout to establish himself as the mandatory challenger for Dmitry Bivol’s WBA world title.
Russian amateur superstar Muslim Gadzhimagomedov scored an opening round knockdown en route to an eighth-round TKO win over Mexican banger Kevin Martinez.
The win sees Gadzhimagomedov move to 7-0 (4 KOs) as a professional, with the 29-year-old perfectly positioned for a shot at a professional world title in the near future.
In an all-Russian heavyweight showdown, Arslan Yallyev stunned Murad Khalidov with a sensational third round stoppage win.
After scoring a knockdown at the end of the second, Yallyev (18-1, 12 KOs) picked his punches beautifully to force the referee to step in, handing Dagestan’s Khalidov his first professional defeat.
Red hot Russian bantamweight prospect Vyacheslav Rogozin got off to the perfect start as a professional, producing a clinical display of boxing skill to outpoint Uganda’s RV Deniega over six rounds.
Cruiserweight contender David Dzukaev’s youth and freshness were enough to overcome seasoned Russian rival Aleksei Egorov after ten competitive rounds.
Unbeaten Russian welterweight star Vadim Musaev outpointed Farahat Manilola over ten to move to 15-0 (9 KOs).
