Artur Subkhankulov W10 Liu Wensong ... Junior lightweight Artur Subkhankulov (7-3 in the World Series of Boxing) extended his professional winning streak to seven with a victory over China’s Liu Wensong (11-4-1) on the undercard in Ufa (Bashkortan), Russia. Subkhankulov made it third time lucky, winning again in his hometown of Ufa, after previous IBA Champions’ Night defeats of Roland Galos and James Chereji. This time, he piled pressure on Liu, where cracks finally started to show in the fifth round as the Chinese boxer was ducking with lethargy. Subkhankulov, still climbing the professional ranks, had only gone the whole ten rounds once before and again, managed the challenge well, having his arm raised in victory at the end.
Welterweight Danis Gabdrafikov was given a great challenge in Jean Junior Messe Elime from Cameroon over six rounds. Gabdrafikov was active, but messy on defense, which Elime was able to take advantage of and punish his foe. Little separated the pair in a fiery six-round affair, and on the scorecards, one would be on the side of luck, and one would be considered an unlucky loser. A split decision went the way of Gabdrafikov. Elime would not have his arm raised, but he could hold his head high after his performance.
Azalia Amineva was victorious in the women’s welterweight division, defeating India’s Raj Sahiba. Sahiba picked up solid shots on the backfoot, but the aggression of Amineva was more noticeable and more successful. The more the fight wore on, the more comfortable the Russian looked and saw out the six-round contest to a unanimous decision verdict.
In the opening match of the night, Namibia's Immanuel Josef (16-4-1) won a technical decision in a flyweight bout against Vasily Egorov (4-2 including the Word Series of Boxing). The latter started well and Josef, knowing he had to make up points, fought back well to keep the contest fairly level at the halfway stage. A head clash came in the seventh, with the Russian unable to continue due to injury. With the judges’ scorecards taken into account after six full rounds, it was the Namibian who was given the nod.
FEATURED BOUTS
Muslim Gadzhimagomedov W12 Leon Harth... In a very dull fight held at the Ufa Arena in Ufa (Bashkortan), Russia, Muslim Gadzhimagomedov retained the WBA bridgerweight title, defeating a sleepwalking Leon Harth of Germany. Now 22-6-1, Harth has fought as 175 pounder in a few fights but has blown up to compete in the 224-pound division. The most excitement in the fight occurred when world light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev stepped into the ring just before the verdict was announced to the crowd. Official scores were not read in English, but the WBA later confirmed it was a shoutout, thjree scores of 120-108, for Gadzhimagomedov (5-0). A two-time world amateur champion, Gadzhimagomedov claimed the vacant WBA title in July via a TKO victory over Zhaoxin Zhang from China. Harth fought for the same title late in 2023 against Evgeny Tischenko. That fight, originally a loss for Harth, was changed to a no contest due to a positive doping test for Tischenko.
Albert Batyrgaziev TKO5 Albert Pagara... In the main event, Russia Albert Batyrgaziev easily defeated Albert Pagara from the Philippines in a 60 kilogram (roughly 132 pounds) bout. Pagara, who turned pro as a super flyweight, was too small, but more importantly, did not appear to be fully healthy. After four one-sided rounds, Pagara failed to come out for the fifth round, grimacing on his stool with an apparently pre-existing left arm injury. Batyrgaziev (11-0) is recognized as the WBA interim champion at 130 pounds and the IBA champion at 60 kg. Pagara is now 35-2 but that record is misleading.
