In Moscow, Russia, heavyweight contender Murat Gassiev is back on track after moving to 28-1 with a fourth-round TKO of Michael Wallisch.
Gassiev now has two wins in the top division after losing just once at cruiserweight to Oleksandr Usyk.
Eric Armit reports.
Murat Gassiev vs. Wallisch
Now campaigning at heavyweight, Murat Gassiev stopped Wallisch in four rounds.
Gassiev landed a hard right in the first that started a bruising under the left eye of Wallisch but apart from that one punch for three rounds Gassiev just tracked Wallisch around the ring, hardly throwing a punch. Wallisch landed a right in the third, which was the best punch to that point. Gassiev finally showed some fire in the fourth using his jab and throwing some hooks.
Wallisch already looked to be tiring and went down heavily from a hard right. Wallisch made it to his feet, and Gassiev then had him reeling under a barrage of punches, and the referee stopped the fight. The former IBF/WBA cruiserweight champion looked slow, but as this is only his second fight in three years (and one day), that was understandable, but he needs to improve from this showing.
Wallisch is now 3-5 in his last 6 fights, with all of the losses by KO/TKO against tough opposition.
Aloyan vs. Yohana
Aloyan outpoints Tanzanian Yohana. Aloyan was just too quick for Yohana. He was able to score with his jab at a distance and get inside and land a punch before Yohana could counter. Yohana came forward for much of the fight, and although he did work Aloyan hard, he just lacked the speed and accuracy of Aloyan. Scores 99-91 for Aloyan on the three cards. Armenian-born Aloyan was the World amateur champion in 2011 and 2013 and a gold medallist at the European Championships. He scored wins over Khalid Yafai, Nordine Oubaali, Andrew Selby, Rau’shee Warren, and Tugstsogt Nyambayan in the amateurs but lost to Zolani Tete for the WBA bantam title in 2018. Yohana did not have the power or the experience to threaten Aloyan.
Grigoryan vs. Kakololo
Armenian-born Grigoryan takes a unanimous decision over Namibian Kakololo. The 5’4” Grigoryan chased down the taller Namibian over the full ten rounds. Kakololo showed some good skills but not much power, and Grigoryan could get inside and score constantly. He is no puncher himself and never had Kakololo in any trouble. Kakololo had shown well in his last fight in Russia, only losing on a majority decision against WBO No 6 Oleg Malinowski.
Nikitin vs. Aghayev
Nikitin batters Azeri Aghayev to defeat in three rounds. Nikitin came out throwing punches from the first bell and never stopped. He hustled and harried late substitute Aghayev around the ring and in the second and third and at times only the ropes held Aghayev up. Aghayev gave it everything in the third standing and trading with Nikitin, but he was rocked a few times and retired at the end of the round.
Furthermore, Nikitin’s loss came against Michael Conlan, who gained revenge for a controversial loss to Nikitin in the Rio Olympics.
