By Alexey Sukachev at ringside, July, 14, 2006

They are making them in a row and seem not to be stopped by any circumstances. The third show under unified Nikolay Grammatikov and Russian professional boxing Federation promotions, staged today in ‘Forum-Hall’, Moscow, Russia, was even better than previous two. In the main event of the evening now-crowned Uzbekistani Kakhramon Arzykulov upset his honored foe Marat Mazimbaev of Kazakhstan, ranked #8 by WBO in 115 lbs prior the bout, via twelve-round unanimous decision with four knockdowns to his credit in what has turned to be an evident Russian fight-of-the-year candidate, and even more impressive than the recent showdown between tough Alisultan Nadirbegov and Kuvanych Toygonbayev.

Marat Mazimbaev (now 17-4-1, 12 KOs), 32, was a pre-fight favorite thanks to his recent winning streak, two minor titles – WBO intercontinental and IBA world and an experience, had been got worldwide by facing first-class opposition. Therefore it was pretty strange with that wild rush, Arzykulov (11-2-1, 7 KOs), 26, started the first round of the match. Mazimbaev never was in game in first three minutes of the show, clearly dropping the starting round of the show.

Round 2 saw Kazakhstani back in track with the precision counterpunching and effective defensive work. Mazimbaev won the majority of exchanges in order to keep three minutes in his favor. Unfortunately for Marat, that was his biggest success for a while as Arzykulov came back strong in round 3 by pressing the action and hurting Mazimbaev with numerous right hooks along with efficacious but not effective bodypunching. Rounds 4 and 5 were also for shorter Uzbekistani as he rocked his rival several times, bled and peppered him with various shots from inside and constantly at the ropes.      

Round 6 seemed to be a turning point as Mazimbaev began to overpoint his opponent with the jabs and uppercuts, but it wouldn’t. Arzykulov was back with the tremendous strength in 7 by seemingly hurting Kazakhstani once again, despite possessing a horrible bruise under his left eye.

It was round 8 that filled the crowd with the adrenaline rush, lit ‘em up and got them up from their knees. Mazimbaev started beautifully once again, but mid into the round he absorbed a terrific right hook by still being in clinch. Arzykulov was right there with the barrage of shots that bought Mazimbaev bleeding on his knees. He was up by the count of nine, though looking very beaten. Thirty seconds later Kazakhstani had been decked once again only to be saved by the bell. It was strange the fight hadn’t been stopped between rounds, because Mazimbaev was hardly conscious. 

Wonderfully, Marat was able to regain his abilities and suppress the fatigue and was in game in round 9 despite clearly loosing it. Unfortunately for him it was too much as he was decked twice more by Arzykulov in rounds 10 and 11. In spite of being seriously injured (several deep gashes across the face plus the broken ear-drum and numerous bleedings in the mouth) and far behind on points Mazimbaev showed a fascinating courage and refused to give it up. Moreover, he had even won the last round of massacre by rocking weary Uzbekistani, but it was too late.

The scorecard was unanimous as all the judges saw it as a victory for Kakhramon Arzykulov: 120-106 (Evgueni Gorstkov), 117-108 (Alexander Kalinkin) and 114-110 (Roman Petrov). Fightnews scored it 117-107 for Arzykulov.

CO-FEATURES

Alisher Rahimov (11-0, 6 KOs), 28, Russia, easily captured vacant GBU (another alphabet bully) super featherweight title with the fourth-round TKO over rugged veteran Serikzhan Yeshmangbetov (reportedly 18-10-1, 9 KOs), 33, who is best-known for his first-round knockdown of Manny Pacquiao back in 2003 in a non-title fight. There were no knockdowns but Serickzhan became more and more weary round by round. He absorbed a terrific punishment in round 4 by numerous combos by Rahimov so that his corner stopped the contest between the rounds. With the win Rahimov is now a legit contender in 130 pounds due to his victories over likes of Stanislav Merdov and Vyacheslav Gusev.

Young Kazakhstani Vitaly Demyanenko (8-0, 6 KOs), 23, scored his biggest win in whole career by stopping Tanzanian Chaurembo Palasa (16-12-1, 9 KOs), 35, in four rounds and capturing vacant WBO Asia Pacific welterweight belt. What is more important, Hearns-like and Oscar-looking Demyanenko showed an extreme stardom potential with his blistering performance in and outside the ring. In round 4 he knocked his opponent through the ropes on judges’ table. Though Tanzanian was able to get back into the ring, the fight was mercifully stopped by the referee a few seconds later.

Andrey Fedosov (11-1, 8 KOs), 20, captured also-vacant Russian heavyweight title via round 9 TKO over tough as nails Suren Kalachyan (9-12, 8 KOs). Russian based Armenian was never in serious danger but unfortunately suffered a knee injury and had to surrender.

Alexei Varakin (28-14-1, 16 KOs), 31, easily retained his GBU heavyweight title by flooring his Czech opponent Petr Sedlak (14-2, 11 KOs), 28, three times in round one on his way to the first-round KO victory over overrated rival. 

UNDERCARD

Timur Shailezov (3-0, 0 KOs) PTS 4 Shuhrat Usmonov (0-1)