Tickets to see the unified lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (12-1, 9 KOs) taking on Anthony Crolla (34-6-3, 13 KOs) are available Tuesday at 3PM ET/12PM PT. The cheapest ticket costs 51.75 dollars.
Top 140-pound prospect Mazlum Akdeniz added to his undefeated record over the weekend with a thrilling stoppage victory over Mexican veteran Alberto Bautista in Cornwall, Ontario.
Bautista, a veteran of 17 professional fights, attempted to apply pressure on Akdeniz throughout the fight, but was simply overmatched by the 21-year old’s handspeed and accuracy. Akdeniz repeatedly ran him into counter left hands, before turning the tides and walking him down behind laser sharp lead lefts and right hooks.
In the sixth round, Akdeniz trapped Bautista along the ropes, uncorking almost 30 unanswered punches before the referee stepped in to stop the bout.
“We already knew Mazlum was as technically sound as any fighter in Canada, but what we’re starting to see now is his killer instinct,” said promoter Lee Baxter. “It would be easy for him to simply outbox guys, especially a veteran like Bautista who knows how to survive, but he’s going out and stopping these guys. That should tell everyone that we have something special on our hands.”
Akdeniz’s amateur credentials showed signs that he would indeed be special. In addition to winning the 2015 Ringside Championships, Akdeniz also scored a win over Jorge Moiran Vinent, becoming the first Quebec-based boxer to defeat a Cuban fighter since the legendary Jean Pascal in 2005.
Now as a professional, he seeks to follow in Pascal’s footsteps in becoming a world champion.
Akdeniz (8-0, 4 knockouts) paid his respects to Quebec boxing legends on Saturday, as well. He wore a t-shirt with the name of Adonis “Superman” Stevenson, former light heavyweight champion who tragically suffered traumatic injuries in a bout last December, and is battling back valiantly to this day. Akdeniz also walked to the ring with Arturo Gatti Jr., the son of the late Hall of Famer Arturo Gatti.
“We believe Mazlum can have his name alongside the great Canadian fighters of all-time one day. We’re going to take it one step at a time, but those steps can come more and more frequently—we want to keep him as active as possible, and want to start taking steps up in competition right away,” said Baxter.
Akdeniz is expected to be back in action before the end of April.
31-year-old Russian heavyweight Sergey Kuzmin (14-0, 11 KOs) will hold the next bout in the pro ranks on March 9 in Verona, USA. His opponent will be 28-year-old American Joey Dawejko (19-6-4, 11 KOs). Kuzmin’s WBA intercontinental title will be at the stake of the meeting. In the main event of the evening the WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol will face Joe Smith Jr. In the US, the evening will be broadcast on the DAZN platform.
WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk (16-0, 13 KOs) explained why he began working with American coach Teddy Atlas:
Anthony Dirrell (33-1-1, 24 KOs) scored the technical decision win over Anvi Yildirim (21-2, 12 KOs) and for the second time became the WBC super middleweight champion. This fight was the main event of the evening in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In the main event of the evening at the O2 Arena in London, Chris Eubank Jr. (27-2, 21 KOs) scored a unanimous decision over former world champion James DeGale (25-2-1, 15 KOs). The scores were 114-112, 115-112, and 117-109. The last score is more adequate than the first two. Eubank Jr. also won the vacant IBO super middleweight title.
British heavyweight Joe Joyce (8-0, 8 KOs) stopped in the sixth round former world champion Bermane Stiverne (25-4-1, 21 KOs) at the boxing night at the O2 arena in London. The fight took place in the form of an extremely one-sided beating, in which Stiverne served more like a boxing bag than an opponent. At the weigh-in before the fight, Stiverne showed the highest weight in his career, 237 pounds and was clearly not in shape for a 12-round battle.
In the main event of the evening at the ACCO International arena in Kiev local 22-old welterweight prospect Karen Chukhadzhyan (14-1-0, 7 KOs) successfully defended his WBC silver junior belt, winning a unanimous decision over the Mexican Carlos Mohammed Rodriguez (12-6-1, 5 KOs). The scores were 100-90, 98-93, and 99-92. The evening was organized by local Sparta Boxing Promotion.
Live broadcast of the boxing evening from the O2 Arena in London, in the main event of which the long-awaited fight will take place between Chris Eubank Jr. (27-2, 21 KOs) and James DeGale (25-2-1, 15 KOs) for the vacant IBO super middleweight title.
The live broadcast of the boxing evening from Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the main event of which Anthony Dirrell (32-1-1, 24 KOs) and Avni Yildirim (21-1, 12 KOs) will challenge the vacant WBC super-middleweight title.
