By Andrey Krikunov

Young unbeaten heavyweight prospect Denis Boytsov (26-0, 21 KOs) knocked out American Jason Gavern (18-6-3, 8 KOs) in a spectacular fight filled with knockdowns and other funny stuff.

The main question before this fight was arguably its potential length. Russian heavyweight Denis Boytsov won 20 out of his 25 bouts by knockout, and 13 times he did his job in the very first round. At the same time Boytsov’s opponent Jason Gavern had never been knocked out despite his 5 career losses. Thus the 26th bout of Boytsov had to become the real test of his knockout prowess.

During the actual bout the question was indeed in whether Boytsov could finish his performance with a knockout. At first it seemed that the Russian was close to his classic first round win. One of his first power punches sent Gavern to the floor. Denis rushed to finish his opponent but the latter turned out to be tougher than expected and even managed to land a shot himself.

In the second round Gavern found himself on the canvas again. After Boytsov’s left hook the American was left crawling towards the public. But after the count the bout continued. Jason took numerous shots at the ropes but his chin proved to be made of steel and Boytsov couldn’t knock his opponent out.

Jason Gavern is well-known not only for his ability to take punches but also for his comic talent which he for some reason decides to demonstrate in the ring. To entertain the audience and himself during this one-sided encounter Gavern made a real show. He produced strange sounds, hopped on one leg after the punches, danced, made faces and in the end of the fight even tried to imitate torero. That could have shaken the concentration of the Russian boxer but he managed to stay focused and even demonstrated his own sense of humor by making some elaborate dancing move with his torso. The German audience (including Universum boxers) apparently enjoyed the show, at least it was a change from the usual routine.

It seemed that Boytsov wouldn’t be able to finish the fight early but gradually his punches started to wear Gavern down. He was floored again in the round 6th and began the next one in the same fashion. This knockdown forced Gavern to sit on the deck without fooling around. After the bout continued Boytsov once again moved forward to finish his victim and this time he finally succeeded. When the referee looked into the eyes of Gavern he decided to put an end to the fun, giving the American a TKO loss.

Denis Boytsov managed to get yet another victory and add another knockout to his record, by beating the opponent who turned out to be not as funny as he seemed.
The undercard featured another interesting bout - Olympic champion Rakhim Chakhkiev from Russia made his debut in the professional ring with the fight against little-known Bulgarian Tayar Mehmed. Chakhkiev apparently didn’t waste his time for the preparation and showed his best sides. In the first round the Russian slaughtered his opponent, aiming for power shots and hoping to finish the bout early. In the second round Rakhim managed to land several good combinations, and then knocked his opponent out with his left hand.

Chakhkiev’s prospects were evident even before this fight so it will be interesting to witness the further progress of this talented southpaw.