NEWARK, NJ – IBF cruiserweight champion Murat “Iron” Gassiev (25-0, 18 KO) defeated longtime division Iron Man, Krzysztof “Diablo” Wlodarczyk (53-4-1, 37 KO), to retain his title and advance to the World Boxing Super Series semifinal. The definitive punch came early in the third round courtesy of a meaty Gassiev left hook to Wlodarczyk’s liver. The punch immediately shut down the former titlist’s system, forcing him at first to a knee, before his body collapsed face down on the canvas. The 36-year old Wlodarczyk failed to referee Earl Brown’s ten count, and the contest was halted at the 1:57 mark of round 3. It is only the second time in Wlodarczyk’s career he was stopped, the other coming in 2003 vs. Pavel Melkomyan.
At times, the Abel Sanchez trained Gassiev looked like a spitting image of his stablemate, Gennady Golovkin. Over the course of three rounds the 24-year old Gassiev methodically cut off the ring, wasting no movement, and landing the most effective punches. Gassiev forced Wlodarczyk to fight going backwards, and in doing so, never put himself in an unfavorable position.
Midway through the third round with Gassiev coming forward and Wlodarczyk backing up toward the ropes, Gassiev unloaded two lefts to the body. The first landed straight to the sternum. It was followed quickly by a show stopping left-hook to Wlodarczyk’s liver that ended the fight.
“He threw a short uppercut and then a left hand that Wlodarczyk turned right into and it hit him flush. It’s something we work on a lot,” Sanchez said after the fight. “I know that when Gassiev lands a punch correctly, the opponent isn’t getting up.
It was a raucous environment inside Newark’s Prudential Center where a split crowd made up of Polish Wlodarczyk fans and Russian Gassiev supporters cheered on their fighter. Many of the Gassiev supporters wove Ossetian flags, which is the region of Russia where Gassiev hails from.
Gassiev will now go on to face will go on to face undefeated Cuban knockout artist, Yunier Dorticos, in the World Boxing Super Series semifinals. The winner of that contest will take on the winner of Oleksander Usyk vs. Mairis Briedis in the tournament finals in May 2018.
“I had a great opponent tonight,” Gassiev said afterward. “I prepared myself for a tough fight but it is boxing and anything can happen…We do a lot of work in the gym and I just listened to my coach round after round and he told me what I needed to do. That’s all I needed.”
A visibly disappointed Wlodarczyk also spoke afterward. “We worked hard to try to avoid this kind of shot but unfortunately he got a really hard shot through and hurt me,” the veteran fighter said.
He continued, “We knew how good he was and we prepared hard for it. I wanted to use the jab as much as possible. My strength is the second part of the fight and we were hoping to bring him to the later part of the fight and take advantage.”
Gassiev’s semifinal opponent, Yunier Dorticos also spoke after the bout.
“I really wanted Gassiev to win, because he’s going to taste the power of a real man against me. His opponent tonight was past his time, I’m ready to show him what a champion looks like and give him a challenge he’s never faced before.”
“I want to take his belt. I want to get in the ring and destroy Gassiev.”
Taking the high road, Gassiev said, “Dorticos is a very good fighter with great experience. He’s undefeated and I can’t wait to give all the boxing fans the gift of a great fight against Dorticos.”
Mateusz Masternak vs. Stivens Bujaj – 10 rounds, cruiserweight
The night’s cruiserweight co-feature witnessed Poland’s Mateusz Masternak (40-4, 25 KO) steamroll past New York’s Stivens Bujaj (16-2-1, 11 KO) en route to a late round stoppage victory. It was domination from the start by the tough Pole, who fought each minute of each round on his terms. Masternak fought patiently and with purpose, fighting at a comfortable distance, and landing cleanly and effectively round after round. Bujaj never seemed to get comfortable and failed to mount any significant offense in any round. In the seventh, with Bujaj fatiguing quickly, Masternak blasted a perfect one-two that crumbled Bujaj to the mat. The Albanian-born New York transplant barely beat referee Shada Murdaugh’s ten-count and, standing on wobbly legs, hung on to survive the round. In between rounds, however, after examining the state of Bujaj, the ringside physician advised Murdaugh to stop the contest.
The fight marked Masternak’s second victory at the Prudential Center, the previous victory coming back in 2009 on the undercard of Tomasz Adamek vs. Bobby Gunn.
“I got stronger as the fight went on,” Masternak said. “I was ready to go hard rounds and use my attack to overwhelm him. Once I started using combinations I was very effective in hurting him. That made the difference for me.
“I stayed focused and kept my right hand ready to deliver damage. I’m ready to fight with anyone they put in front of me. I’m always ready in the gym and I can’t wait to get back in the ring.”
A dejected Bujaj also spoke after the fight. “I’m disappointed in myself,” he said. “I know I could have fought better than that and performed better. I just didn’t feel like myself tonight.”
Maciej Sulecki vs. Jack Culcay – 10 rounds, super welterweight
In a back and forth WBC super welterweight eliminator, Poland’s Maciej Sulecki (26-0, 10 KO) stayed undefeated, earning a unanimous decision victory against Germany’s “Golden” Jack Culcay (22-3, 11 KO). Throughout the bout, the Polish-born Sulecki tried to use his height and reach advantage to his benefit, snapping jabs at his counterpart in an attempt to keep him at bay. Early on, however, it was quite clear that the smaller Culcay would not be easily tamed. When Culcay punched, he punched with purpose. His punches were thrown with ferocity, with more steam. They also came from more angles. Culcay looped lefts around Sulecki’s gloves early, and over the duration of the contest, threw numerous windmilling rights, that would surely end the fight if he connected cleanly.
It was a classic seesawing contest that saw momentum swings inside each round. As the fight progressed, it became more entertaining, with Cuclay initiating, but not always getting the better of, the exchanges.
At the open of the seventh round, Culcay raced off his stool and immediately bombarded an unsuspecting Sulecki with lefts and rights. The Ecuadorean-born German threw wildly, and continually tried to land his homerun punch, the looping overhand right. About 30 seconds into his onslaught, “Golden Jack” cleanly connected with a right that momentarily wobbled Sulecki. The hard-nosed Pole hung on to survive the onslaught and dish out some punishment of his own before the round commenced.
In the ninth, Culcay again buckled Sulecki a bit and backed him into the ropes. But this minor victory would be short-lived and the hard-nosed Pole came right back with a right hand of his own that landed behind Culcay’s ear and briefly wobbled him.
The ebb and flow continued into the tenth and final round, when with time ticking down, Culcay landed a monstrous right stunned Sulecki. The German immediately followed up with more ill intended punches until the final bell sounded.
In the end, however, all three judges scored the contest in favor of the unbeaten Pole.
Lindsey Paige saw the fight 98-92, Paul Wallace, 97-93, & James Kinney, 96-94. 15rounds.com scored the contest 95-95.
“It was a close fight. Hard to tell but I felt like I was winning,” Culcay said after the fight. “It was very close but I really thought I was winning.
He continued, “I felt like I was strong. I thought that I hurt him. But this is boxing. I would love a rematch, but either way I will be back even stronger.”
Sulecki credited his counterpart afterward. “It was a very tough fight and I had to be at my best,” Sulecki said. “I didn’t think he’d be quite as tough, but I wanted to fight him and I got him.
He added, “I prepared for about four or five weeks for this opponent. The seventh round was the toughest round for me. I got hit with a couple big shots, but I wanted a war. I was never going to let down.”
Money Powell IV vs. Brandon Adams – 6 rounds, super welterweight
In an entertaining 6 round super welterweight scrap, Money Powell IV (5-0, 2 KO) scored a unanimous decision victory over Brandon Adams (4-5-1, 2 KO). From the get-go, both fighters came off their stools firing at will and during an early exchange, the southpaw, Adams, connected with a looping left that caught Powell off-guard, sending him to the canvas. Powell easily beat the ensuing ten-count and enjoyed his own share of success in the bout’s opening round. The following rounds saw the two prizefighters continuing to engage, willing to eat a few punches to land some of their own, with Powell tending to get the better of Adams. In the fourth, the 19-year old Powell threw a straight right that exploded on Adams’ chin, wobbling and spinning him around all at once. Powell turned up the heat on his legless foe, applied more pressure to the body, and continued to connect with purposeful head shots. Adams was able to weather the storm, however, and escape the round on two feet. Powell continued to get the better of Adams in the fight’s final rounds and at the end of the contest, all three judges scored the bout for Powell. Debra Barnes saw it 59-55, Lawrence Layton 59-56, and Robin Taylor 58-55.
Efe Ajagba vs. Luke Lyons – 6 rounds, heavyweights
Former Nigerian Olympian, Efe Ajagba (2-0, 2 KO) made quick work of formerly undefeated Luke Lyons (5-1, 2 KO), dropping him twice in the opening round of their heavyweight bout en route to a TKO victory. The 6’3” Ajagbe, who is now based in Houston and trained by Ronnie Shields, dominated Lyons from the opening ding until the 2:19 mark of round one, when referee Harvey Dock called a halt the contest. Initially, it was a sledgehammer of a left-hook that Ajagbe dug to Lyons’ liver that forced him to a knee for the first time. Less than a minute later, Ajagbe finished off his Kentucky-born counterpart with a left-hook to the body, straight-right to the head combo that brought Lyons to a knee for the second time. Although he beat Dock’s ten-count, the referee deemed Lyon’s was in no condition to continue and stopped the contest.
Skender Halili vs. Samuel Amoako – 6 rounds, super welterweight
Skender Halili (15-2, 13 KO) easily outpointed Samuel Amoako (19-16, 16 KO) in a six round super welterweight contest, kicking off a night of fights that will culminate when IBF cruiserweight champion Murat Gassiev squares off against former two-time cruiserweight titlist, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, in a World Boxing Super Series quarterfinal. It was a nice bounceback performance for Halii, who suffered a setback in Mexico his last time in the ring, when he was outpointed by relative novice, Adrian Haro Campos. The Kosovo-born Bronx resident, Halili, was back on his game tonight, however, working well behind his jab, using it to control range and the ring. At the conclusion of six, judges Debra Barnes, Lawrence Layton, and Robin Taylor all had it a shutout for Halili, 60-54.
