Rob Brant vs. Khasan Baysangurov - February 15, 2019

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Rob “Bravo” Brant upset the odds to win a world title. For title defense number one, he’s returning to his favorite stomping grounds. Brant, a native of St. Paul, Minn., will defend his WBA middleweight title against the unbeaten Khasan Baysangurov on Friday, Feb. 15 at Grand Casino Hinckley.

Brant, who stunned Japanese superstar Ryota Murata Oct. 20 via unanimous decision to win the title, will be making his 12th professional appearance at Grand Casino Hinckley. Rounding out the ESPN-televised tripleheader will be rising bantamweight star Joshua Greer Jr. defending his WBC Continental Americas belt in a 10-rounder versus Giovanni “Little Giant” Escaner and female fighting sensation Mikaela Mayer making the second defense of her NABF super featherweight crown in an eight-rounder versus Yareli Larios.

Brant-Baysangurov, Greer-Escaner, and Mayer-Larios will be televised live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes at 9 p.m. ET. The entire undercard will stream live beginning at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Greg Cohen Promotions and Rapacz Boxing, tickets priced at $50 (reserved) and $35 (general admission) go on sale Saturday, Jan 19 at 10 a.m. CT and can be purchased at any Grand Casino MN box office, online at Ticketmaster.com, or by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000.

"Becoming a world champion was a dream come true. It’s extra special that my first title defense will be in my home state of Minnesota in front of my fans,” Brant said. “I fully understand the task in front of me, as it is harder to keep a title than it is to win one. My opponent is very talented and certainly deserving of his world ranking. I know that Khasan has weaknesses, and I feel we can exploit them. I am already working hard in a full training camp in Las Vegas in order to be prepared for top-level competition. I am confident and ready.”

Against Murata, at the Park Theater in Las Vegas, Brant threw an astounding 1,262 punches, snatching the title from the established champion in one of the year’s great performances. He returns to Hinckley intent on continuing his streaking momentum against Baysangurov (17-0, 7 KOs), a 21-year-old who turned pro at 16 years of age. A former Russian amateur standout, Baysangurov captured the vacant WBA Intercontinental middleweight belt last May with a 12-round decision win against Guido Pitto. He defended the belt in October in Kiev, Ukraine, with a unanimous decision victory versus Paul Valenzuela Jr.

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[Best Coast]

Should be a fairly competitive fight. Although Baysangurov hasnt faced top-notch opposition, unbeaten fighters always pose a question mark as to how good they might be. Like Brant, the Russian has been the 12-round distance twice, even though it was against lesser opposition.

I could see Brant winning by about 8 rounds to 4.

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Brant (24-1, 16KOs) tipped the scales at a trim and ready 158.6 pounds

Baysangurov (17-0, 7KOs) weighed in at 158.8 pounds for his first career title fight.

[chuck9788]

Which Rob Brant shows up today? The one that was used as a personal punching bag vs Jurgen Braehmer or the non stop punching (action packed) superstar that throttled Ryota Murata?

[Ricky]

looking forward to watching this card tonight. real pain in the ass to watch from the UK though. I would sign up to ESPN+ in an instant for $5 but it's not available to anyone outside the US. Looks like ill need to subscribe to some dodgy streaming app.

[chuck9788]

looking forward to watching this card tonight. real pain in the ass to watch from the UK though. I would sign up to ESPN+ in an instant for $5 but it's not available to anyone outside the US. Looks like ill need to subscribe to some dodgy streaming app.

The fight is on regular ESPN tonight here in the states.

[boxing_rocks]

Which Rob Brant shows up today? The one that was used as a personal punching bag vs Jurgen Braehmer or the non stop punching (action packed) superstar that throttled Ryota Murata?

Depends on PEDs consumption.

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Don’t know why Brant went up to 168 and we can weigh 158

[jamamb]

i guess he couldnt refuse that wbss money

also braehmer, at almost 40, moving down in weight, and coming off a loss probably seemed like someone he had a good chance to beat. i wasnt expecting the schooling that happened.

brants workrate was insane vs murata, if he can hold onto that he should keep doing well, though still i dont see him with the talent to be elite

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Surprised Boxination have not picked this up. As they mostly pick up Top Rank cards

This is via their website..

Unbeaten Uzbek banger Shohjahon Ergashev meets Mykal Fox on Showtime's latest instalment of their prospect-orientated ShoBox series, live on Box*Nation this Friday night at 3am.

Ergashev has stopped 14 of his 15 victims - with nine of those stoppages coming in the opening round - but Fox believes his slick boxing skills will see him cause an upset.

As chief support in Kansas, British Super-Bantamweight talent Thomas Patrick Ward takes on Jesse Angel Hernandez in an eliminator for the WBO World Title. Ward is 25-0 and makes his US debut in Kansas.

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It was a joyous homecoming for Rob Brant, who defended his WBA regular middleweight title by scoring an 11th-round stoppage of Khasan Baysangurov on Friday night at the Grand Casino in Hinckley, Minnesota.

The fight was the main event of a card that was broadcast live on ESPN.

Not content to just coast to a wide decision victory, Brant (25-1, 17 KOs), a native of nearby St. Paul, floored Baysangurov in the 11th round and then went in for the finish, rocking the challenger with a hard right hook before referee Mark Nelson stepped in to wave off the fight at the 1-minute, 42-second mark.

"Today, I feel like a true champion," Brant said. "I was happy with my performance. I had some cramps later in the fight, but this shows I can carry my power later in fights."

Just as he did four months ago, when he defeated Ryota Murata to win the title, Brant started off quickly and overwhelmed Baysangurov with a multitude of punches that put him on his heels. Brant scored a knockdown in the second round with an overhand right to quickly take control of the bout.

While Baysangurov (17-1, 7 KOs), of Russia, landed the occasional punch, he was simply overwhelmed by Brant's volume of punches.

In the 11th round, Brant sent Baysangurov to the canvas a second time with a barrage of well-placed punches. The clincher was a right hook that snapped Baysangurov's head back, which forced Nelson to jump in and stop the fight.

Brant, who wanted to state his case as an elite middleweight, said he now wants to be involved in the biggest fights in his weight class.

"Middleweight is one of the deepest divisions in boxing," said Brant, who defended his title for the first time. "There are fights to be made. We just have to keep pushing forward. Canelo Alvarez is recognized by many as the champion at middleweight, and I'd love a fight with him down the road."

From Steve Kim of ESPN

[chuck9788]

That refs stoppage timing was perfect. I didn't want to see Baysangurov get hurt and I think one more follow up barrage could have sent the kid to the hospital emergency room.

The problem with too many eastern European boxers is that they always need to plant their feet when throwing punches. Brant on the other hand moves his legs and throws from awkward positions.

Last nights fight was very entertaining. I hope the 21 year old Russian is able to learn and bounce back from this.

[dickbelden]

Don’t know why Brant went up to 168 and we can weigh 158

MONEY

[Best Coast]

That refs stoppage timing was perfect. I didn't want to see Baysangurov get hurt and I think one more follow up barrage could have sent the kid to the hospital emergency room.

The problem with too many eastern European boxers is that they always need to plant their feet when throwing punches. Brant on the other hand moves his legs and throws from awkward positions.

Last nights fight was very entertaining. I hope the 21 year old Russian is able to learn and bounce back from this.

Great points!! East Euro fighters sometimes tend to stand straight up and it leaves them more vulnerable to body shots. Baysangurov said pre-fight that he would work Brant's body but he never really launched a serious body attack.

That being said Brant was more dominant than I expected. He needs to stay at 160 instead of jumping to super middle again. Now that GGG has slowed a bit at age 36 (37 in April) Brant could probably make it competitive, though I would have Golovkin a slight favorite. I would call Brant-Andrade a pick 'em/50-50 matchup right now. Likewise with Jermall Charlo and Saunders.

[jujigatame]

Brant is fun to watch because of his workrate but he's kinda sloppy in there and I don't think he would trouble any elite MWs. Sulecki could be a good opponent for him, assuming he beats Rosado.

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The Top Rank Boxing on ESPN tripleheader on Friday night at the Grand Casino in Hinckley, Minnesota, headlined by secondary middleweight titlist Rob Brant’s 11th-round knockout of Khasan Baysangurov in a homecoming fight, averaged 704,00 viewers on ESPN and another 67,000 on ESPN Deportes, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The telecast peaked at 769,000 viewers during the main event.