Show:695360

PROMO

FNF Weights from Santa Ynez, CA[1]
FightNews August 14th, 2014
Rustam Nugaev 134 vs. Denis Shafikov135
Jose Pedraza 132 vs. Juan Carlos Martinez 132
Francisco Santana 146.5 vs. Luis Alfredo Lugo 145
Rufino Serrano 125 vs. Khabir Suleymanov 125
Edwin Sandoval 125 vs. Lyonell Kelly 125
Makani Sarellano 263 vs. Andrew Tinae 258
Carlos Samuel Lopez 161 vs. Azamat Umarzada 159.5
ESPN “Friday Night Fights” telecast begins Friday August 15, 2014 at 9:00 p.m. EST / 6:00 p.m. PST 
Chumash Resort Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif.
Tickets priced $35, $50, $65, $85, and $95 Doors open at 5:00 P.M, first fight starts at 5:30 P.M.

REPORT

Denis Shafikov stops Rustam Nugaev in Round 9 of FNF main event
Francisco A. Salazar; RingTV August 15, 2014[2]
SANTA YNEZ, Calif. – Despite giving up five inches in height and facing a fighter who had knocked 
out his previous five opponents, Denis Shafikov remained unfazed. It was Shafikov who used his boxing 
skills and his perseverance to pull off a surprise ending against fellow Russian lightweight standout
Rustam Nugaev. Shafikov absorbed Nugaev’s best punches before breaking down the hard-hitting fighter, 
eventually stopping him in the ninth round at the Chumash Casino Resort. With the victory, Shafikov 
becomes the mandatory challenger for the IBF lightweight title, which is held by Miguel Vazquez.
Prior to facing Shafikov, Nugaev had won his previous six fights in a row, the last five by knockout. 
Ironically, Shafikov was coming off a 12-round unanimous decision loss to Vazquez in Macau, China on 
February 22.
Nugaev stalked the southpaw around the ring early on in the fight, connecting very little with the 
punches he threw. On the other hand, Shavikov began to find a rhythm, slipping Nugaev’s punches and 
countering with left crosses to the head and body. 
From the third round, Nugaev had to deal with a cut on the bridge of his nose that was caused by a 
punch and a cut above his left eye. Nugaev mounted a rally in the third and fourth rounds, where he 
was able to catch Shafikov with right crosses and an occasional uppercut to the head of Shafikov.
Undaunted, Shafikov withstood Nagaev’s best punches to begin breaking Nugaev down. He would either 
side-step Nugaev to land to the body or continued to slip under Nugaev’s punches to counter back to 
the head.
As the bout progressed, Nugaev’s eye looked grotesquely worse, as it began to slowly close and blood 
was oozing out of the cut. Nugaev’s lack of attack to the body allowed Shafikov to move around the 
ring and increase his punch output after each round. After consulting with the ringside physician prior 
to the ninth round, referee Jack Reiss kept a close eye on Nugaev. After Shafikov landed a combination 
that culminated with a left hand to the head, Reiss saw enough and stopped the bout at 1:16.
Shafikov, from Miass, Russia, improves to 34-1-1, 19 KOs. Nugaev, from Perm, Russia, falls to 27-7-1, 
17 KOs.

In the co-feature bout, junior lightweight prospect Jose Pedraza stopped Juan Carlos Martinez after the 
end of the sixth round. Pedraza possessed more pedigree of the two fighters. After Martinez was able to 
score with lead and counter right hands to Pedraza’s head, the Puerto Rican fighter began to take control 
of the fight. Pedraza began to assert himself more in the fight by initiating exchanges, which allowed 
him to beat Martinez to the punch. He began landing more at will with left hooks to the head of Martinez, 
mixing in some punches to the body. As the bout progressed, Martinez’s punch output dropped. It dropped 
considerably in the sixth round, where Martinez did little to engage, fighting more cautiously and 
defensively.
After the round ended, Martinez’s corner, namely trainer Joel Diaz, let referee Dr. Lou Moret know 
Martinez was unable to continue, thus declaring Pedraza the winner by technical knockout. 
Pedraza, from Caguas, Puerto Rico, improves to 18-0, 12 KOs. Martinez, from Indio, Calif. by way of San 
Luis Potosi, Mexico, drops to 20-15-1, 7 KOs. 

In other bouts:
- Welterweight Francisco Santana (21-3-1, 10 KOs) stopped Luis Alfredo Lugo in the fifth round. Lugo 
(13-22-1, 6 KOs) did not look hurt when his corner abruptly threw in the towel at 1:20.
- Featherweight Khabir Suleymanov won a six round majority decision over Rufino Serrano (14-6, 1 KO). 
Both scored flash knockdowns in the first round. One judge scored the bout 57-57, while the other two 
judges scored the bout 58-56 and 58-55 for Suleymanov (17-4-1, 6 KOs). 
- In the opening bout, Edwin Sandoval (3-1, 1 KO) won a one-sided four round unanimous decision over 
Lyonell Kelly (0-4-1). All three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Sandoval.      

Shafikov Stops Nugaev at Chumash: Pedraza Wins
By Francisco Salazar; BoxingScene.com Last update:  8/16/2014[3]
Rustam Nugaev entered his fight against Denis Shafikov on Friday night as the betting favorite.
The proof was in the pudding so to speak as he had won his six fights in a row, his last five by knockout.
Despite having lost his previous fight and having a physical disadvantage against Nugaev, Shafkiov was not 
about to back down. Instead, he pulled off the win in surprising fashion.
Shafikov withstood Nugaev's best punches to eventually break down the hard-hitting fighter, eventually 
stopping him in the ninth round at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, CA. With the victory, Shafikov 
becomes the mandatory challenger for the IBF lightweight title, which is current;y held by Miguel Vazquez.

Early on, Nugaev stalked the southpaw Shafikov around the ring, connecting very little with the punches he 
threw. On the other hand, Shavikov began to find a rhythm, slipping Nugaev's punches and countering with 
left crosses to the head and body. From the third round, Nugaev had to deal with a cut on the bridge of 
his nose that was caused by a punch and a cut above his left eye.
Nugaev mounted a rally in the third and fourth rounds, where he was able to catch Shafikov with right 
crosses and an occasional uppercut to the head of Shafikov.
Undaunted, Shafikov withstood Nagaev's best punches to begin breaking Nugaev down. He would either side-
step Nugaev to land to the body or continued to slip under Nugaev's punches to counter back to the head.
As the bout progressed, Nugaev's eye looked grotesquely worse, as it began to slowly close and blood was 
oozing out of the cut. Nugaev's lack of attack to the body allowed Shafikov to move around the ring and 
increase his punch output after each round.
After consulting with the ringside physician prior to the ninth round, referee Jack Reiss kept a close 
eye on Nugaev. After Shafikov landed a combination that culminated with a left hand to the head, Reiss 
saw enough and stopped the bout at 1:16. Shafikov, from Miass, Russia, improves to 34-1-1, 19 KOs. Nugaev, 
from Perm, Russia, falls to 27-7-1, 17 KOs.

Welterweight Francisco Santana (21-3-1, 10 KOs) stopped Luis Alfredo Lugo in the fifth round. Santana 
landed the more telling blows throughout the fight, although Lugo (13-22-1, 6 KOs) did connect with a few 
overhand rights to the head. As the bout progressed, Santana began to often to the head of Lugo. After an 
exchange in the fifth round, Lugo's corner threw in the towel, prompting referee Jack Reiss to stop the 
bout at 1:20. Lugo did not look hurt and stormed out of the ring.

Featherweight Khabir Suleymanov (17-4-1, 6 KOs) won a six round majority decision over Rufino Serrano. 
Suleymanov dropped Serrano with a counter right to the head midway through the first round. After getting 
up and moments later, Serrano (14-6, 1 KO) dropped Suleymanov with a counter right to the head. Both had 
their moments midway through the fight, but Suleymanov controlled the fight during the last two rounds. 
One judge scored the bout 57-57, while the other two judges scored the bout 58-56 and 58-55 for Suleymanov

In the co-feature bout, super featherweight Jose Pedraza stopped Juan Carlos Martinez, as Martinez did not 
answer the seventh round. Pedraza stopped Arturo Uruzquieta in his last bout on June 7 and seemed to have 
kept the momentum going in his favor. Pedraza was the quicker of the two fighters. He was at his best 
getting off first, almost landing at will with left hooks to the head of Martinez. Undaunted, Martinez did 
well in the early rounds, scoring with lead and counter right hands to the head Pedraza.
Any offense Martinez mounted was thwarted by Pedraza, who began to assert himself more with each passing 
round. Pedraza began to dominate each round by initiating exchanges, which allowed him to attack the body 
of Martinez more. By the sixth round, Martinez's punch output dropped significantly. He engaged less with 
Pedraza, backing away as if he was in survival mode. After the round ended, Martinez's corner told referee 
Dr. Lou Moret that Martinez was unable to continue. Pedraza, from Caguas, Puerto Rico, improves to 18-0, 
12 KOs. Martinez, from Indio, Calif., by way of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, falls to 20-15-1, 7 KOs.

Super bantamweight Edwin Sandoval won a one-sided four round unanimous decision over Lyonell Kelly. 
Sandoval (3-1, 1 KO) was the busier fighter and landed repeatedly to the head of Kelly. Sandoval could have 
broken Kelly (0-4-1) down had he attacked to the body, but did enough to win on all three judges' scorecards. 
Scores were 40-36 in favor of Sandoval.