Dmitry Sukhotskiy Stops Mohammedi in Two Rounds

By Alexey Sukachev

Hard-punching Russian light heavyweight Dmitry Sukhotskiy (18-1, 13 KOs) continued his impressive ride to a second shot at a world title with another powerful and eye-opening performance.

The WBO's #1 ranked boxer, Sukhotskiy, scored a dominant second-round stoppage of very capable Frenchman Nadjib Mohammedi (24-3, 12 KOs) to retain his WBO I/C title at the Typhoon Club in St. Petersburg, Russia. Former European bantamweight champion Alexander Yagupov promoted the event.

Both fighters were recently involved in world title fights and delivered quality performances against world-class opposition.

Sukhotskiy, who is also rated #9 by the WBA and #11 by the WBO, gave hell to then-WBO champion Juergen Braehmer in December 2009 and should have won with a ninth round stoppage... in eyes of everyone except for referee Michael Ortega. He lost that fight instead with a close unanimous decision.

Braehmer soon lost his title outside the ring, and Nathan Cleverly took the vacant belt. But before that, Cleverly acquired the vacant WBO interim-title with a very close decision over Mohammedi in December 2010.

With this win Sukhotskiy has further solidified his claim as being the best European 175-pounder. With recent wins over such fighters as Mohammedi and Aleksey Kuziemski, the Russian boxer-puncher also has an imposing physical stature, impressive durability and heavy hands to support his claim. He is clearly ready to bring the heat to almost every light heavyweight in the business.