Stiffer challenges lie ahead for Nordine Oubaali, though his team always sensed that heading into his first fight as a defending titlist.
The unbeaten two-time French Olympian successfully defended his bantamweight title for the first time after forcing Philippines’ Arthur Villanueva to retire in his corner in their ESPN+ title fight Saturday evening from Barys Arena in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
Oubaali was afforded a showcase-level fight in his first fight since claiming the title in a thrilling 12-round win over Rau’Shee Warren this past January. The vacant title fight was a rematch of sorts, with Oubaali ending Warren’s third Olympic run with a points win in the second round of the 2012 London Olympics.
Oubaali comfortably boxed early on versus Villanueva (32-4-1, 18KOs), who entered his third major title bid. The 30-year old Filipino came up short in previous bids versus McJoe Arroyo and Zolani Tete, along with suffering his lone career stoppage at the hands of unbeaten former bantamweight titlist Luis Nery.
Viktor Kotochigov became the first signee for managerial outfit MTK Global’s Kazakhstan branch. It meant the first fight at home for the unbeaten lightweight in more than 18 months, but perhaps getting more than he bargained for in a 10-round win over Mexico’s Jairo Lopez.
Scores were 98-93, 99-93 and 99-91 in favor of Kotochigov in a largely laboring affair.
The unbeaten and well-traveled 26-year old prospect was able to establish distance early in the contest, but Lopez—fighting outside of his native Mexico for just the second time in his career—was able to close the gap midway through the contest.
Kotichigov (10-0, 4KOs) was tagged more than he expected, using lateral movement to avoid additional punishment and also to tire out his opponent. It worked to a degree, although Lopez seemed more bothered by a clash of heads in round eight which left him with a nick over his right eye.
The sequence proved a key momentum shift for Kotichigov, who by no means was losing rounds but was able to turn up the aggression. A right hand rocked Lopez (24-11, 16KOs) in round nine, the closest the contest came at any point to ending inside the distance.
Kotichigov’s lone other fight at home came in Dec. 2017, having fought in eight different countries through just 10 pro starts.
For the second straight fight, David Oliver Joyce was forced to go deeper than at any other point in his young pro career.
This time around, the unbeaten Irish prospect had to make the most of an awkward matchup, pitching a shutout over a reluctant Breilor Teran in their 10-round featherweight bout Saturday evening in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Scores of 100-89, 100-87 and 100-86 were in favor of Joyce, who has now gone six or more rounds in each of his last five contests.
The early start threatened to offer a competitive affair, with Teran scoring with a right hand to briefly catch the attention of Joyce. The sequence proved to be an isolated instance, with Joyce quickly taking over the fight which bore greater resemblance to a wrestling match.
Teran has shared the ring with six former or current major titlists, a run that includes a win over Cesar Canchilla and having gone the distance in losses versus the likes of Alexander Muñoz and Julio Ceja. Of his six fights at that level, only Emanuel Navarrete—a current 122-pound titlist—was able to score a stoppage win over the Venezuelan journeyman.
Attributing to such survival skills isn’t a granite chin but his ability to slow down action to a crawl. It occurred on Saturday, as Joyce spent as much time fighting his way out of clinches as he did in looking to score his second consecutive stoppage win.
The latter wouldn’t come close to happening, although Teran was repeatedly disciplined for his blatant holding tactics, receiving his first official warning in round five. The 34-year was warned in every subsequent round along with being docked a point for the infraction in round seven.
Joyce was not without sin in the contest, as he twice received warnings for rabbit punching. The 32-year old prospect was otherwise in control throughout the night, stunning Teran in round eight but never to the point of picking up a seventh stoppage in his last eight fights.
Instead, he settled for a second decision win in his past three starts. This one turned out to be a landslide, with two judges offering 10-8 rounds despite the absence of a knockdown.
Teran falls to 27-18-1 (17KOs), having won five of his last six starts including his last two.
Joyce fought in the 2016 Rio Olympics that saw disastrous results for Team Ireland, but with most of the squad—including unbeaten and reigning undisputed lightweight titlist Katie Taylor and featherweight prospect Michael Conlan—enjoying successful pro careers thus far.
While not quite on the same career trajectory, Joyce is drawing similarly rave reviews in his early pro years. He stole the show in his most recent start, a 7th round stoppage of Stephen Tiffney this past April in Dubai and also streaming live on ESPN+.
Zhankosh Turarov hadn’t fought in 13 months, nor at home in nearly two years.
The unbeaten super lightweight made up for lost time in a big way, delivering a spectacular 3rd round knockout of Mauro Godoy in their ESPN+ headliner Saturday evening in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
A temple shot put Godoy down and out for the full ten count at 2:00 of round three.
Turarov was dominant from the outset, with Argentina’s Godoy quickly entering survival mode. The visiting challenger has only been stopped once in his career, coming four years ago almost to the day but having since adjusted his style.
It mattered little here as he was unable to gain any sort of momentum versus the local favorite, which perhaps factored into his deciding to call it a night once he hit the deck. A left hook midway through round three had Godoy in trouble, with an ensuing overhand right to the temple forcing him to his knees.
Godoy (31-5-1, 16KOs) remained on the canvas, shaking his head in pain as referee Joerg Milke counted him out at 2:00 of round three.
Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑06 Jul 2019, 13:36
Zhankosh Turarov hadn’t fought in 13 months, nor at home in nearly two years.
The unbeaten super lightweight made up for lost time in a big way, delivering a spectacular 3rd round knockout of Mauro Godoy in their ESPN+ headliner Saturday evening in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
A temple shot put Godoy down and out for the full ten count at 2:00 of round three.
Turarov was dominant from the outset, with Argentina’s Godoy quickly entering survival mode. The visiting challenger has only been stopped once in his career, coming four years ago almost to the day but having since adjusted his style.
It mattered little here as he was unable to gain any sort of momentum versus the local favorite, which perhaps factored into his deciding to call it a night once he hit the deck. A left hook midway through round three had Godoy in trouble, with an ensuing overhand right to the temple forcing him to his knees.
Godoy (31-5-1, 16KOs) remained on the canvas, shaking his head in pain as referee Joerg Milke counted him out at 2:00 of round three.
