By Alexey Sukachev
Kiev-based Russia-born Belarussian Alexander "The Great" Ustinov (25-0, 19 KOs) continued his rise in heavyweight ranks with another non-inspiring but very effective performance against Russian veteran Denis Bakhtov (33-7, 23 KOs) at the Budivelnik sports arena in Cherkassy, Ukraine. WBA #4 ranked heavyweight Ustinov, 34, retained his European (EBA) title in the contest, and he is also expected to get a higher position in the next WBA rankings.
Bakhtov, 31, was slightly faster than his opponent in the starting rounds but his legs got much heavier as the bout progressed. As the result, Bakhtov often found himself along the ropes with much bigger Ustinov, who is less experienced (as a boxer) than the Russian, throwing huge combinations on the inside. Bakhtov's defense wasn't tight enough to prevent Ustinov for dealing more and more punishment with each fought round. Bakhtov, on the other hand, did everything he could possibly do, to deliver his share of hard punches to Ustinov and he was particularly successful in the middle rounds.
Both fighters developed serious cuts during the fight. However, while Ustinov's cut over his right eye wasn't very bothering, Bakhtov's right eye started to close in the last quarter of the bout. At the end, all three judges saw it unanimously for the reigning champion: 117-111 (Jose Ignacio Martinez), 118-110 (Torben Seeman Hansen) and 119-110 (Ove Ovesen). BoxingScene's scorecard reads as 117-111 - also for the giant Belarussian fighter. Referee was Lahcen Oumghar of Netherlands.
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WBO #2 middleweight Maksim Bursak (23-0-1, 9 KOs) successfully tuned-up his skills with the third-round TKO over Uzbek journeyman Abdulaziz Matazimov (13-7, 6 KOs). Matazimov was down once in the first, twice in the second and, finally, in the third round.
A fight between light middleweights Kostya Rovenskiy (17-0-1, 4 KOs) and Igor Fanian (10-3-2, 6 KOs) ended in a split technical draw with the scores 39-38, 38-38 and 37-39. Rovenskiy was badly cut twice by Fanian in what were accidental headbutts.
Light heavyweight Olexander Cherviak (11-2, 3 KOs) put down Belarussian opponent Dmitry Adamovich (15-26, 7 KOs) thrice to get a deserved TKO 4 over his opponent.
Other scores:
Vitaly Neveseliy (11-0, 6 KOs) UD 8 Isroil Kurbonov (7-7-1, 2 KOs)
Igor Panckevich (2-0) UD 4 Sergey Marshal (0-3)
K2 Promotions arranged this event.
