Middleweight Immanuwel Aleem scored the biggest win his of career with an upset, sixth round technical knockout over the heavily-favored Ievegen Khytrov on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Aleem (17-0-1, 10 KO’s) nearly knocked Khytrov out in the first round, knocked him down in the third and again in the sixth before referee Eddie Claudio stepped in with Khytrov badly beaten and bloodied along the ropes. The fight was stopped at the 1:20, giving Aleem the WBC Silver middleweight title.
Aleem almost stopped Khytrov in the first round when he badly rocked him with an overhand right. Khytrov retreated to a corner but continued to take a series of hard shots to the skull. Aleem momentarily appeared to tire, however, providing Khytrov an opportunity to shake off the damage. Khytrov (14-1, 12 KO’s) recuperated in between rounds and fired back with hard shots of his own in the second. He knocked Aleem into the corner with a heavy combination but Aleem was able to slip many of the bigger punches.
Aleem knocked Khytrov down with a left hook in the third. Khytrov rose unsteadily and seemed to be distracted during Claudio’s count. But when the action resumed Khytrov caught Aleem with hard shots of his own and Aleem wobbled into Khytrov’s corner on unsteady legs. The round was in its final seconds and Aleem escaped.
The pace slowed in the fourth although Khytrov seemed to have the edge in shots landed. But after a (relatively) uneventful fifth, Aleem stepped it up in the sixth, knocking Khytrov on to his back with yet another series of powerful rights. Khytrov was obviously dazed and confused after rising. Claudio tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and let the fight resume but Aleem jumped on his opponent immediately, snapping his head back with a huge left hook. Claudio had no choice and the fight ended there with a bloodied and shaken Khytrov on the ropes. Khytrov did not protest the stoppage.
