Alex Miskirtchian: record, next fight and profile →
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.
Yang Ik blitzed through Geisler AP, power punching his way to a 1st round knockout in their super lightweight bout. AP was put down three times in total, though only two of the sequences were ruled official knockdowns. Ik - a local favorite - put the Indonesian prospect down early with a body shot, then finished him off with a clean shot upstairs that forced AP's head to crash and bounce off of the canvas. The referee recognized the severity of the blow and immediately halted the contest following the second knockdown. The official time was 2:24 of round one.
Macau, China --- (L-R) WBA undisputed featherweight world champion Simpiwe “V12” Vetyeka and four-division world champion and 2012 Fighter of the Year, Nonito "Filipino Flash" Donaire weigh in (Vetyeka 125.5 lbs, Donaire 126 lbs) Friday for their upcoming world title fight, Saturday, May 31 from the Cotai Arena at The Venetian Macao Resort in Macau,China. Photos by Chris Farina.
Simpiwe Vetyeka makes the first defense of his featherwiegh title, as he takes on former three-division champ Nonito Donaire. The bout headlines an eight-fight card at the Venetian Macao in Macau, China, and will air via same-day tape-delay on HBO.
It looks like Evgueny Gradovich (18-0, 9 KOs), one of the biggest sensations of 2013 and reigning IBF featherweight champion, will pay his obligatory dues in his next fight on May 31 in Macao, China. The ultra-aggressive El Ruso Mexicano will most likely face IBF #3 Alexander Miskirthcian (24-2-1, 9 KOs), who won an IBF eliminator against Frenhcman Sofiane Takoucht this past January. The news was confirmed by Gradovich’s manager Egis Klimas in his recent discussion with Allboxing.ru. The Russian slugger is presently in the States, preparing for his next outing under the tutelage of Robert Garcia.
Country Hall, Sart-Tilman in Liege, Belgium - In another close encounter, Alexander Miskirtchian (24-2-1, 9 KOs) of Belgium won a twelve round majority decision over French boxer Sofiane Takoucht (27-3-1, 12 KOs) in an IBF final featherweight eliminator. The scores were 115-113, 117-111, 114-114. The two boxers previously met in September of 2011 in France, where Miskirtchian was able to win a close twelve round split decision with scores of 115-113, 115-114 and the third judge had it for Takoucht with 115-113. Miskirtchian is now the mandatory challenger to IBF champion Evgeny Gradovich.
Boxing in Belgium kicks off 2014 with a bang as featherweight Alex Miskirtchian, 23-2-1, take on Frenchman Sofiane Takoucht, 27-2-1, in an IBF eliminator tomorrow (Jan 11) in Liege on an Alain Vanackere promotion. Miskirtchian, who relinqushed the EBU title for this chance, is # 3 in the IBF ratings while Takoucht is # 5. It´s also a rematch and Alex won the first encounter in France in 2011 on a close, split decision in what was reported as a fight of the year candidate in Europe.
Belgian featherweight Alex Miskirtchian, # 3 in the IBF ratings, hasrelinquished the EBU featherweight title to concentrate on a IBF eliminator for the # 1 spot. At first # 4 Australian Billy Dib was in the picture but he pulled out and there are now negotiations with Frenchman Sofiane Takoucht, # 5 in the IBF ratings. Number one and two are both vacant. Miskirtchian´s decision to vacate the title has over the last few days affected a number of fighters. First Alex´s voluntary defense against Italian Davide Dieli was cancelled, then the above mentioned Takoucht was named mandatory challenger along with Brit Lee Selby, who already was official challenger.
EBU featherweight champ Alex Miskirtchian, 22-2-1, will defend the title June 21 in Charleroi, Belgium on a show staged by 12 Rounds Promotions. Opponent is to be announced. Miskirtchian stopped Andreas Evensen in February in Denmark in his last fight.
EBU featherweight champion Alex Miskirtchian, 22-1-1, fresh off an impressive last round stoppage of tough Norwegian challenger Andreas Evensen, 17-3-1, last weekend, will now enjoy a two week break before resuming training with a fight lined up later in the spring. If all goes well Miskirtchian will defend the title after the summer or fight a final WBC eliminator. "The result of the fight against Evensen was as we had expected," says promoter Alain Vanackere. "But Evensen had more stamina, guts and technical skills than we had anticipated."