Maxi Hughes won a 10-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Viktor Kotochigov in a lightweight fight at Creasers Palace in Dubai.

In round three, Hughes dropped Kotochigov with a hard left uppercut to the chin.

Hughes, 135 lbs won by scores of 97-92, 96-93 and 95-94 and is now 22-5-2. Kotochigov, 135 lbs is 12-1.

Heralded amateur Hovhannes Bachkov made a successful pro debut with an eight-round unanimous decision over Samuel Gonzalez in a super lightweight fight.

Bachkov, 142 lbs of Armenia won by shutout scores of 80-72 and is now 1-0. Gonzalez, 142 lbs is 22-7.

Faizan Anwar remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over JR Mendoza in a super lightweight fight.

Anwar, 152 lbs of India won by scores of 60-53 on all cards and is now 5-0. Mendoza, 152 lbs of Philippines is 11-20.

Mohamad Abdelghany won six-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Blane Hyland in a bantamweight bout.

Abdelghany won by scores of 58-57 and 58-56 twice and is now 4-2. Hyland, 116 lbs is 3-1.

(October 7, 2020) — Lightweight contender Viktor Kotochigov will defend his WBC International belt against British contender Maxi Hughes in the 10-round main event Friday, Oct. 9 from Caesars Bluewaters Dubai. Kotochigov-Hughes and undercard contests — the Rotunda Rumble IV — will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ beginning at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT.
 
Kotochigov (12-0, 5 KOs), from Kazakhstan, won the vacant WBC International belt last July with a unanimous decision over Jairo Lopez. A world traveler, he’s fought in seven countries since turning pro in December 2015. He last fought Aug. 23 and knocked out Belarusian veteran Andrei Isayeu in three rounds. Hughes (21-5-2, 4 KOs), from Rossington, England is coming off an upset decision victory Aug. 12 over longtime contender Jono Carroll. The Carroll win marked a turning point in the 10-year career of Hughes, who previously fell short in bids for the British super featherweight, WBC International super featherweight and WBO European lightweight titles.
 
In other streaming action on ESPN+:

• Armenian amateur superstar Hovhannes Bachkov will make his professional debut in an eight-round junior welterweight bout against 28-fight Venezuelan veteran Samuel Gonzalez (22-6, 13 KOs). Bachkov, a two-time World Championships bronze medalist (2017 and 2019), represented Armenia at the 2016 Rio Olympics and won a gold medal at the 2017 European Championships in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
   
• Junior welterweight knockout artist Faizan Anwar (4-0, 4 KOs), a 19-year-old from Calcutta, India, will take on JR Mendoza (11-19, 5 KOs) in a six-rounder. The durable Mendoza has not been knocked out since 2012.
   
• Junior bantamweight prospect Blane Hyland (3-0), from Liverpool, England, will fight Mohamed Salah Abdelghany (3-2) in a six-rounder.

 
About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service from Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to 8.5 million subscribers, offering fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, as well as premium editorial content. 

Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $5.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) at ESPNplus.com, ESPN.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle offer that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu (ad-supported) — all for just $12.99/month.

(Dec. 11, 2019) — Boxing’s most action-packed single-elimination tournament — The Golden Contract — returns Saturday from the Brentwood Centre in Brentwood, England, with the quarterfinals of the light heavyweight tournament.
 
The action begins at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT live on ESPN+, the leading multi-sport streaming service. The semifinal and championship bouts of the three Golden Contract tournaments (featherweight, super lightweight and light heavyweight) will stream on ESPN+ in 2020.
 
The eight fighters in the light heavyweight bracket are as follows: former British champion Hosea “The Hammer” Burton (24-1, 11 KOs), former British and Commonwealth champion Bob “Lionheart” Ajisafe (19-3, 9 KOs), Steven “The Quiet Man” Ward (12-0, 4 KOs), Liam Conroy (17-5-1, 9 KOs), Serge “Bavarian Sniper” Michel (9-1, 7 KOs), Latvian veteran Ricards Bolotniks (15-5-1, 6 KOs), Andre Sterling (10-1, 4 KOs) and Scottish prospect Tommy Philbin (13-0, 4 KOs).
 
The quarterfinal draw was set Wednesday afternoon and will feature the following bouts: Sterling vs. Conroy, Ward vs. Bolotniks, Philbin vs. Michel and Burton vs. Ajisafe.
 
#MTKFightNight Comes to Kazakhstan
Monday, 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT
 
Many of Kazakhstan’s top prospects will fight in a highly anticipated homecoming celebration from Baluan Sholak Sports Palace in Almaty, Kazakhstan. In the main-event, WBC International lightweight champion Viktor Kotochigov (10-0, 4 KOs) will face former South American lightweight champion Javier Jose Clavero (27-5, 5 KOs) in a 10-rounder.
 
Kotochigov, who signed with MTK Global earlier this year, has already fought in seven nations during his career. The world traveler returns home for the third time in the paid ranks for his fourth outing of 2019. A former amateur standout, Kotochigov has fought at lightweight and super lightweight as a pro, most recently defeating Jairo Lopez over 10 rounds to win the WBC International lightweight belt. Clavero, from Cordoba, Argentina, has won five of his last six and will be making only his third ring appearance away from his home country.

In other action on the ESPN+ stream:

• Kazakh prospect Iskander Kharsan (7-0, 6 KOs), who is coming off an impressive TKO victory over Isidro Ochoa on the Tyson Fury-Otto-Wallin card in Las Vegas, will face Cameroonian veteran Thomas Essomba (9-5, 3 KOs) in an eight-round bantamweight clash.
   
• Sultan Zaurbek (8-0, 6 KOs), a former Kazakh amateur sensation, will fight for the sixth time this year against Chinese veteran Leshan Li (16-3-2, 9 KOs) in an eight-round junior lightweight tilt. In the unpaid ranks, Zaurbek defeated the likes of 2016 Brazilian Olympic gold medalist Robson Conceicao.
   
• 2016 Olympic gold medalist Fazliddin Gaibnazarov (7-1, 4 KOs) will make his return against Jose Guadalupe Rosales (38-22, 20 KOs) in an eight-round junior welterweight bout.
   
• In a six-round middleweight fight, Kazakh prospect Abay Tolesh (4-0, 3 KOs) will face Czech veteran Tomas Bezvoda (8-10, 5 KOs). 

Use the hashtag #MTKFightNight to join the conversation on social media.

For more information, visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook: facebook.com/trboxing; Twitter: twitter.com/trboxing.

About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the leading direct-to-consumer sports streaming service from Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ grew quickly to 3.5 million subscribers in 18 months, offering fans thousands of live events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, as well as premium editorial content.

Programming on ESPN+ includes exclusive UFC and Top Rank boxing events, thousands of college sports events (including football and basketball) from more than a dozen sports at 20 conferences, hundreds of MLB and NHL games, top domestic and international soccer (Serie A, MLS, FA Cup, Bundesliga – beginning in 2020, EFL Championship and Carabao Cup, Eredivisie), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket, exclusive ESPN+ Original series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films.

Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) through the ESPN App, (on mobile and connected devices), ESPN.com or ESPNplus.com.  It is also available as part of a bundle offer that gives subscribers access to Disney+, Hulu (ad-supported), and ESPN+ ­— all for just $12.99/month.

Zhankosh Turarov stopped Mauro Godoy in round three of a scheduled 10-round super lightweight bout at Barys Arena in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Turarov dropped Gody with hard left hook in the 3rd frame. Godoy got to his feet, but was in no-condition to continue at 2:00.

Turarov, 139.7 lbs of Akko, KAZ is 24-0 with 17 knockouts. Godoy, 139.6 lbs of Argentina is 32-5-1.

Nordine Oubaali retained the WBC Bantamweight title with a stoppage in the 7th round over Arthur Villanueva.

In round six, Oubaali dropped Villanueva with a hard right uppercut. Villanueva continued to take a beating in the 6th round, and the bout was halted at the beginning of round seven.

Oubaali, 117.5 lbs of Bagnolet, FRA made the 1st defense of his crown, and is now 16-0 with 12 knockouts. Villanueva, 117.5 lbs of Balcod City, PHL is 32-4-1.

Viktor Kotochigov won a 10-round unanimous decision over Jairo Lopez in a lightweight contest.

Kotochigov, 134.9 lbs of Amaty, KAZ won by scores of 99-91, 98-93 and 99-93 to stay perfect at 10-0. Lopez, 134 lbs of Apdoca, MEX is 24-11.

In round four, Kotochigov was cut over the right eye.

David Oliver Joyce remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over Breilor Teran in a featherweight bout.

Joyce of Ireland won by scores of 100-89, 100-87 and 100-86, and is now 11-0. Teran of Caracas, Venezuela is 27-18-1.