By Jake Donovan
A surprise knockdown late in round six was the lone hiccup for Evgeny Gradovich in his 12-round points win over Alex Miskirtchian in their featherweight title fight Saturday evening in Macau, China.
Scores were 117-110 (twice) and 118-109 in favor of Gradovich, who defended his title for the third time.
Things were going well early on for Gradovich, affectionately known as "El Ruso Mexicano" (The Mexican Russian) who forced an aggressive pace against a seemingly overmatched challenger. The first five rounds saw the defending titlist well in control, constantly beating Miskirtchian to the punch.
In an instant, a pending rout turned into a competitive and spirited prize fight. The two fighters exchanged stiff jabs late in round six, but Miskirtchian was quicker to the draw, depositing Gradovich on the canvas for the bout's lone knockdown.
The second half of the fight saw spirited, grueling two-way action from both fighters as Mikirtchian refused to go away quietly. Gradovich was winning the rounds, but forced to work every minute in order to preserve his lead, his unbeaten record and his title.
Gradovich advances to 19-0 (9KO). The 27-year old won the title with a 12-round split decision over Billy Dib last March on ESPN2 in his last U.S. apperance. All three title defenses have taken place in Macau.
Miskirtchian, an Armenian boxer who fights out of Belgium, falls to 24-3-1 (9KO), snapping an 11-fight win streak as he comes up short in his first title fight.
A full report of the undercard, which was also streamed on TopRank.tv, can be found by clicking
HERE
.
FULL REPORT TO COME...
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
ADD COMMENT VIEW COMMENTS (11)