The Las Vegas-based Russian youngster, 21, outworked the more experienced Briton over twelve rounds to pick up his first meaningful belt 117-111 and 115-113 twice on the scorecards.
Also on the bill, amateur standout Dmitry Bivol can now add an interim WBA championship to his considerable collection of honours in what was only the Kyrgyzstan-born fighter’s seventh pro contest.
Bivol, 25, dominated previously undefeated Dominican Felix Valera for the duration and came away with a 119-107 (twice) and 116-111 triumph to move closer to a fight with full champion Juergen Braehmer.
The all-conquering Sergey Kovalev is the current ‘super’ champion, and as the WBA are in the process of narrowing divisions down to one title holder, Bivol, Braehmer and ‘Krusher’ could all be part of a future tournament.
Cruiserweight Rakhim Chakhkiev improved to 25-2 on the bill with a points win over Tamas Lodi, whilst former light heavyweight champion Stanislav Kashtanov halted Tomasz Gargula in just two rounds.
There were also wins for super middleweight Dilmurod Satybaldiev who out-pointed Claudio Abalos and cruiserweight Dmitry Kudryashov via a fourth round stoppage over Julio Cesar Dos Santos.
