Batyrgaziev successfully defends the IBA Pro World title at the IBA Champions’ Night Ufa main event – ​​​​IBA

Albert Batyrgaziev successfully defended his IBA Pro World title in the 60kg weight class for the first time by defeating Albert Pagara of the Philippines in the main event of the IBA Champions’ Night Ufa.

Pagara entered the competition with a professional record of 35-1, but the Russian was too technically strong and extended his perfect record to 12-0. Batyrgaziev often pinned Pagara in a corner with nowhere to go, and by the end of the fourth round, the Filipino boxer had had enough. The referee stopped the fight just after halftime as Batyrgaziev continued his dominance at the top of his division.

Muslim Gadzhimagomedov defeated Leon Harth of Germany to retain his WBA bridgerweight title over 12 rounds. Gadzhimagomedov towered over his opponent and went for his fifth professional victory, and he did it with intelligent accuracy and power. While he maintained a healthy distance between himself and Harth, he was effective on the counterattack as the German charged towards him, filling the gaps left by his opponent as he attempted to go on the offensive. The longer the fight went on, the more Gadzhimagomedov seemed to be in control, and in the final round he raised his gloves and tried to encourage his opponent to counterattack. As he cornered Harth several times in the final three minutes, he pulled up his gloves at the final signal, knowing he had sealed the victory.

IBA Pro European Champion Artur Subkhankulov extended his professional win record to seven with a victory over China’s Liu Wensong to secure the WBA Asia Super featherweight title. Subkhankulov was lucky for the third time and won again in his hometown of Ufa, having previously defeated Roland Galos and James Chereji at the IBA Champions’ Night. This time he put pressure on Liu, but cracks finally began to show in the fifth round as the Chinese boxer cowered in lethargy. Subkhankulov, still rising through the pro ranks, had only completed the full ten rounds once before and once again rose to the challenge well, ending up with his arm raised in victory.

Danis Gabdrafikov won in the 67kg class but faced a tough challenge in six rounds with Jean Junior Messe Elime from Cameroon. Gabdrafikov was active but chaotic in defense, which Elime was able to take advantage of and punish his opponent. Little separated the pair in a heated six-round affair, one would be on the side of luck and one would be deemed an unlucky loser. A split decision went in favor of the Russian. Elime didn’t want to raise his arm, but he was able to keep his head up after his performance.

Azalia Amineva won the women’s 66kg class, defeating India’s Raj Sahiba. Sahiba caught solid shots on the back foot, but Amineva’s aggression was more evident and successful. The longer the fight went on, the more comfortable the Russian looked, and he handled the six-round contest with a unanimous decision.

In the opening match of the evening, Immanuel Josef won the WBA Asia flyweight title in a 10-round bout against Vasily Egorov. The latter started well and Josef, knowing he had to make up points, fought back well to keep the contest fairly level at half-time. In the seventh round there was a header duel in which the Russian was unable to continue due to injury. Taking into account the judges’ results lists after six full rounds, it was the Namibian who received the award.

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Media contacts:

Elena Sobol, Head of Communications and PR, International Boxing Association: elena.sobol@iba.sport