ATLANTIC CITY–Dmitry Bivol retained the WBA Light Heavyweight title as he pounded out a 12-round unanimous decision over former champion Jean Pascal at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City.
Bivol mixed up his combinations as some started at the head while others focused on the body. Pascal tried to keep Bivol honest by throwing some wild shots from distance. Bivol was very solid and workmanlike throughout the 12-round affair that saw flashes of the old Pascal as he would occasionally get in with a wild shot.
Bivol, 174,4 lbs of St. Petersburg, RUS won by scores of 119-109 twice and 117-111 to stay unbeaten at 14-0. Pascal, 174.6 lbs of Montreal, CAn is 33-6-1.
“Every time we shoot for a knockout,” said Bivol. “I try to show my boxing skills also. I hope everyone was happy with the fight, and I thank everyone for coming out to watch.
“(Pascal) used his experience and he was powerful in this fight. I used all of my skills to win this fight,” added Bivol.
“Bivol is a great young champion and I take my hat off to him as the top guy at light heavyweight,” said Pascal following the fight. “I was focused and prepared for this challenge, and I gave it my all, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough for me tonight.
“Now I will go back to Montreal with my head held high, enjoy some time with my family, and then after I take some time off I will sit down with (manager) Greg Leon and the rest of my team to see what’s next.”
What does Bivol’s future hold in one of boxing’s most competitive divisions? He has made no secret of wanting to unify the division. “I’m ready to fight (Eleider) Alvarez, (Sergey) Kovalev, or (Badou) Jack. Let’s make the fight,” said Bivol. But he didn’t limit himself to the champions. “Now I’m ready to fight everyone. Either light heavyweight or super middleweight,” said Bivol, who says he can make the 168 pound limit for the right opponent
Murodjon Akhmadaliev stopped Isaac Zarate in round nine of their scheduled 10-round super bantamweight bout.
Akhmadaliev landed the harder punches throughout. He began to work the body in the middle rounds in an effort to break Zarate down. That was accomplished as he started to land heavy shots to the head. Finally in round nine, Akhmadaliev landed a hard left that drove Zarate into the ropes, and the fight was stopped by referee Eric Dali after a follow up flurry at 1:17.
Akhmadaliev, 121.2 lbs of Namangan, UZB is 5-0 with four knockouts. Zarate, 122 lbs of San Pedro, CA is 16-4-3.
“It went almost exactly as we thought it would go,” said Ahkmadaliev. “(Zarate) is a crafty and durable fighter and has a lot of experience. I knew I was to going to go in there and knock him out.
“The game plan was to go to the body and wear him down. I knew I was going to take a lot of punches while doing that and to get the job done. I learned a lot of lessons from Zarate. Now, I only want to fight for belts in the future,” said Ahkmadaliev.
Distinguished prospect Israil Madrimov made a successful pro debut with a 6th stoppage over Vladimir Hernandez in a scheduled ten round super welterweight bout.
In round two, Madrimov started landing power shots that opened up a cut over the right eye of Hernandez. In round three. Madrimov landed a bevy hard rights that drove Hernandez to the ropes and eventually to the canvas.
In round six, Madrimov continued the onslaught until referee Harvey Dock stopped the bout at 1:24.
Madrimov, 152.8 lbs of Khiva, UZB is 1-0 with one knockout. Hernandez, 157.2 lbs of Durango, MX is 10-3.
“It was a debut for the title. The only time it happened in boxing history (before this) was (Vasyl) Lomachenko who fought for a title in his first fight,” said Madrimov. “I’m very pleased. The game plan was to do exactly what I did. I want to make history in boxing, and today was my first step.” Of his opponent Hernandez, Madrimov said, “I wasn’t surprised, we knew he is a very tough guy. When we kill the body, the head will fall.”
Shakhtam Giyasov made short work of Miguel Zamudio with a 1st round stoppage of their scheduled six-round welterweight bout.
Seconds into the fight, Giyasov dropped Zamudio with a hard left hook. After being dropped from a low, Giyasov scored his 2nd and final knockdown with a hard combination, and the bout was stopped at 2:41.
Giyasov, 141.2 lbs of Bukhara, UZB is 6-0 with five knockouts. Zamudio, 142.2 lbs of Sinaloa, MEX is 41-12-1.
“We watched the opponent a lot, we knew he was a serious opponent. He has almost 50 professional fights,” said Giyasov. “But we worked on certain things that worked in this fight. I was glad to defeat such a good and experienced opponent. I’m ready for any fight that is given to me, I’m ready for anything in the next fight.”
Sergey Kuzmin remained undefeated with a 6th round stoppage over Laron Mitchell in a scheduled 10-round heavyweight bout.
In round three, Kuzmin landed a left hook that put Mitchell down. Mitchell began to bleed over his left eye. Kuzmin dropped Mitchell again in round five.
Kuzmin ended things with a 3rd knockdown in round six, and the bout was stopped at 2:37.
Kuzmin, 244.2 lbs of St. Petersburg, RUS is 14-0 with 11 knockouts. Mitchell, 244.6 lbs of San Francisco, CA is 16-2.
“The fight was great, the fight went very good, as we planned,” said Kuzmin. Kuzmin said of Mitchell, “He was exciting, but he was more surprised by my punches.” Kuzmin says he will rest a little bit, “then get ready for the next fight, go to training camp and train, train, train.”
Logan Yoon remained undefeated by stopping Hamzah Sempewo in round five of their six-round welterweight bout.
Yoon scored two knockdowns in round four, and finished the fight off in round five with a flurry that forced referee Eric Dali to stop the action at 2:39.
Yoon, 143.4 lbs of Honolulu, HA is 14-0 with 11 knockouts, Sempewo, 141.2 lbs of Mulago, UGA is 12-11.
Despite the stoppage, Yoon was a tough grader. “My performance wasn’t the best, I can always do better. But overall, it was OK. I give it a B-minus,” said Yoon. His plans moving forward: “We’re going back to the gym, training hard, and whatever knowledge we get from God, my manager, and my father, and from inside, that’s what we’ll do.”
Karl Dargan won an eight-round unanimous decision over Moises Delgadillio in a lighteight bout.
Dargan, 134.2 lbs of Philadelphia won on all cards by a 78-73 score, and is now 19-1. Delgadillio, 135 lbs of Guadalajara, MEX is 17-18-1.
Dargan said he’d hoped for a better performance. “My performance, it was OK, but not what I expected. I felt good, but I didn’t perform like I felt. Most important thing, he didn’t win and I did.” Dargan says he will make adjustments for his next fight. “It’s not anything I really have to change. Just things that need to be tuned up,” explained Dargan.
Former Olympic Gold Medal winner Evgeny Tischenko stopped Christian Mariscal in round two of their scheduled six-round heavyweight bout.
In round two, Tischenko dropped Mariscal with a straight left for referee Harvey Dock’s 10-count at 1:38.
Tischenko, 212 lbs of Beigorod, RUS is 3-0 with two knockouts. Mariscal, 246.4 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 11-2.
“I’m very pleased, I’m very happy that I had an opportunity to perform on such a big event on HBO Championship Boxing,” said Tishchenko. “One of the last shows, and I am pleased with my performance. I’m hoping to perform many more times here in the United States.”
