Review of the Fights (27/08/23)

After an eventful weekend with plenty of controversy it’s time to look back at all the fights which occurred at the weekend and recap all the results. Let’s get into it.

So the first fight I watched was the fight between Berinchyk and Yigit. I didn’t catch most of this fight but it was a solid win for Berinchyk however Yigit has been beaten far more conclusively by guys like Keyshawn Davis and so he has some catching up to do in order to reach those guys. Like I said I don’t see much of this fight but from what I saw it was a solid fight. Next up was somehow a co feature but it was a 4 rounder to debut Prince Naseem’s son Aadam as a pro. This was pretty awful to be honest as the opponent came for a pay check and at the first sign of trouble the corner threw in the towel. It’s hard to gauge Hamed’s potential when he’s in there with someone who doesn’t even try to win.

Finally we got to the main event of the Queensbury card and this was the anticipated fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois. The fight went as I expected with Usyk outboxing the younger man with relative ease until the stoppage came in the 9th. Dubois landed some solid body shots and the occasional shot to the head but overall it was a pretty standard performance for him. In my opinion he didn’t lose a round even though one or two were close and he hit the stoppage. Many people are making absurd claims that this was his hardest fight yet in his pro career which I can only assume is based off one thing, the low blow. This low blow has become very controversial yet I don’t know how. The punch landed partially on the belt line and partially below. That qualifies as a low blow yet some were claiming that’s clean as a whistle and was straight on the body. Not a part of the glove landed on any of the skin of Oleksandr Usyk which I think is very telling. Usyk was undoubtedly hurt however which many claim shows he has a glass body which I tend to believe is somewhat accurate but getting his in the bladder will hurt more than the core at any rate. At the end of the day of the ref starting counting I believe Usyk would’ve got up and the result doesn’t change. I think it’s an overblown controversy and those which think that Fury will be able to easily target the body against Usyk clearly don’t know about the phrase “styles make fights.”

The next card started not too long after with the first fight I saw being the return of Bakhodir Jalolov. Jalolov really looks like he could be a player in the heavyweight division going forward and I can’t wait to see how he progresses. This fight was just a pretty easy first round stoppage and one to get him active. Hopefully we can see him step up a few levels now because he’s clearly that good. Next I saw  AJ’s sparring partner Jeremiah Milton taking on Wilder’s sparring partner Craig Lewis. It was interesting to see who had the better sparring partner but it turned out to be very one sided. Milton beat the brakes off Lewis and somehow the ref didn’t stop it and it went to points. Neither guys are great but they are solid opponents and Milton at least has some power. I’d like to see him take a step up but Top Rank should be careful as he could get beat if they step him up too fast. The last fight before the main card started was Bruce Carrington in an 8 rounder. He looked sharp as hell and is proving why many are picking him to be a future star. He doesn’t seem to have great power but he is pretty good and nearly everything else. One to look out for in the future.

Next up was the co-main event featuring two heavyweights basically battling for their contracts although you wouldn’t think that from the result. Efe Ajagba vs Zhan Kossobutskiy was in my opinion a fight that could steal the show but unfortunately it devolved into petty fowls and eventually a disqualification on Kossobutskiy’s part. It was a fairly even affair to start off with but Ajagba started to stray low with a couple of punches playing them off as unintentional as they were coming off the arms of Zhan and this frustrated the Kazakhstani. He retaliated with his own low blows and they were very blatant and very low. If didn’t take long for the ref to start taking points and eventually stop the fight. Shameful performance from both men but especially Kossobutskiy as he just gave up on the fight and threw it Andrew Golota style.

The final fight of the night was Jared Anderson’s second of the summer as he returned less than 60 days since his last fight against Charles Martin. The Martin fight was shaky and he was hurt a couple of times there but Rudenko was a step back and Anderson handled him with ease. He destroyed him in 5 and looked good. He showed some minor improvements from his last fight defensively but it’s hard to tell much more simply because of the level of opposition. Anderson still looks to be the goods however he needs to be stepped up carefully. He has all the skills but it’s worrying when he comes out with statements saying he wants to be done with boxing by 27. Hopefully he can fulfil his potential and become a star in the coming years.