In a huge upset, newly crowned WBC silver middleweight titleholder Immanuwel Aleem scored an impressive sixth round stoppage of highly regarded and previously unbeaten Ievgen Khytrov on Saturday night in Brooklyn. Aleem dropped Khytrov twice in the bout after badly staggering him in the first round.
“I stayed focused in there,” said Aleem. “They told us that he would throw a lot of punches. My power was strong early, but I let him gain some confidence after the first round. He caught me a little bit, but only because I allowed him. Once I saw the opportunity, I caught him and knew he was going down. With a fighter who has a resume like that, I knew I couldn’t give him a second chance. I had to finish him off for sure. I’m not scared of any fighter. We want the best out there. Facing the best will only bring the best out of me.”
