Alexander Besputin Drops Mauricio Pintor Twice, Earns 5th Round Knockout
Sep 11, 2021 • 11:11 AM ET
Russian welterweight powerhouse Alexander Besputin (15-0, 11 KOs) returned to the Krasnoyarsk Region to knock out Mexican Mauricio Pintor (24-4-1, 14 KOs) in the fifth round of their main event Saturday at Ivan Yarygin Sports Palace in Krasnoyarsk, the very heart of Siberia.
Besputin scored two knockdowns, the latter producing a full ten-count at 1:46 of round five.
Besputin, 30, was fighting for the second time since his controversial decision win over fellow compatriot Radzhab Butaev in late 2019, which was later turned to a No-Contest due to the Russian southpaw testing positive for a banned substance. Pintor, 27, was on a four-bout winning streak.
Besputin boxed in spurts throughout the main event, cleverly controlling the tempo and distance. Pintor–fighting outside of Latin America for the first time—tried to respond with an offensive attack of his own but his efforts were mostly futile. Besputin was moving quickly inside with stinging combinations then jumped out to avoid Pintor's slow counters. The Russian was getting more and more aggressive and offensive-minded with each round but it didn't affect his defense, as he had hardly allowed Pintor anything in the fight.
The end came midway through round five. Besputin landed several hard shots, including a compact left hand which put the Mexican on his back. Pintor got up but was then put down again moments later - this time for the count - after yet another left from Besputin.
Besputin acquired the WBC Peace welterweight title in this fight. Pintor has never been stopped before.
Local governor Alexander Us and pugilistic icon Roy Jones Jr. were ringside for this clash as well as a number of Russian celebrities.
In the evening's walkout bout, undefeated Russian middleweight Albert Khamkhoev (6-0, 0KOs) was forced to work very hard for his next win against hard-hitting South African John Bopape (9-8, 8 KOs). The fight ended in a unanimous decision for the Russian, who was dropped in the ninth round. The fight was close but Khamkhoev was just a notch better.
Russian middleweight champion Edgard Moskvichev (14-1-2, 4 KOs) got his third victory of 2021 in a span of just three months with a wide unanimous decision over Argentine's Damian Ezequiel Bonelli (24-10, 20 KOs).
Bonelli, 43, entered having lost eight of his last night fights, though stopped just two times during this period against opposition with an overall record of 160-5-2. He also decisioned unbeaten American prospect Derrick Cuevas in his penultimate fight.
The Argentinean started very aggressively, stalking Moskvichev—20 years Bonelli's junior—in the first. Moskvichev reserved under fire, steadily avoiding danger and outboxing his opponent with a mixture of smart movement, smart pressure and sneaky jabs when needed.
Moskvichev steadily increased his offense as the fight progressed. Bonelli was visibly fatigued and on heavy legs by round six and applied all his character and will to remain upright by the final bell, while Moskvichev was fresh and ready for more. Bonelli was applauded for his effort by the local crowd after the verdict had been announced.
Former amateur standout Pavel Sosulin (6-0, 2 KOs) dispatched previously unbeaten Artem Liashevych (3-1-1) inside of three rounds.
Liasheych was aggressive, while Ukraine's Sosulin, 24, was calm and measured, using his jab to control the distance and adding hard left hands when needed. A left hand dropped Liashevych down at the end of round two.
Sosulin continued the beatdown into the third until referee Alexander Kalinkin had seen enough and waved the fight off. Liashevich was visibly upset and even punched the referee with a short blow to the stomach.
Light middleweight Alexander Khohklov (1-0-1) got his first career win by getting a split decision over Alexey Skomorokha (0-2) in a scheduled four-rounder.
