t’s not unusual to see Ukrainian fighters, ranked among the best in their weight classes. That is, however, not the case for the welterweight, which is thought by many to be the deepest and the most talented weight division nowadays. Or it, better to say, was the case until the very beginning of this week, which saw two of the best Ukrainian welters – Yuri Nuzhnenko and Victor Plotnikov – keep their perfect stats in tact via hard-fought decisions over a credible opposition. Both fighters made some huge steps towards the world-wide recognition and a possible title clash with one of the current beltholders in 147 lbs. On Tuesday unbeaten Nuzhnenko defeated his defense-minded foe Farkhad ‘Masa’ Bakirov in an awkward and dirty fight, while Plotnikov barely edged tough Marat Khuzeev via close but unanimous decision a day earlier.
