Gallimor, Ryskeldiev Battle To a Split Draw in Burbank
By Francisco Salazar
BURBANK, Calif. - Urmat Ryskeldiev looked like he was on his way to a decision win over Nathaniel Gallimor.
Unfortunately, fatigue got the better of Ryskeldiev, along with Gallimor rallying late in the fight.
Ryskeldiev and Gallimor fought to an eight round split decision draw before a boisterous and near-sold out crowd at the Marriott Convention Center in this Los Angeles suburb.
After an even first round, Ryskeldiev was in control of the opening round, mostly walking Gallimor down and beating him to the punch. Ryskeldiev forced Gallimor to fight off his back foot, which prevented Gallimor from mounting a consistent offense.
As the bout progressed through the middle rounds, Ryskeldiev began to slow down. His punch output dropped and he began holding Gallimor more with each passing round.
Gallimor began letting his hands go more, landing straight rights and counter lefts hooks flush to Ryskeldiev's head. Both had their moments in the final round, but Gallimore seemed to be the fighter with more energy.
One judge scored the bout 78-74 for Ryskeldiev, one judge scored the bout 77-75 for Gallimor, while the third judge scored the bout 76-76.
Gallimor, who hails from Jamaica, goes to 9-0-1, 8 KOs. Ryskeldiev goes to 11-3-2, 7 KOs.
In the walkout bout of the evening, heavyweight Rishid Akzhigitov stopped David Johnson in the third round. Akzhigitov (3-0, 2 KOs) dropped Johnson with a barrage of punches in the first round. Johnson gave a good account of himself in rounds two and three, but Akzhigitov was too busy and landed the more-telling blows. In the fourth and final round, Akzhigitov dropped Johnson (5-24-8) with a right hand to the head. Johnson got up, but was met with a cascade of punches from Akzhigitov. Referee Jack Reiss saved Johnson from further punishment, stopping the bout at 1:41.
In an all-out brawl, junior featherweight Azat Hovhannisyan knocked out Jesus Serrano in the third round. After a competitive round, Serrano (8-4-2, 6 KOs) hurt Hovhannisyan with a left uppercut to the head in the second round. Serrano tried to follow, but Hovhannisyan (8-2, 7 KOs) turned the tables moments later, hurting and dropping Serrano with a barrage of punches at the end of the round. Serrano tried to rally in the third round, but Hovhannisyan dropped him with a combination midway through the round. Serrano got up, but dropped to a knee courtesy of a right hand to the stomach. Referee Jack Reiss counted Serrano out at 2:29.
In featherweight action, Joshua Greer won a six round unanimous decision over Christian Silva. Greer (3-0, 2 KOs) was the quicker of the two fighters, which allowed him to quickly counter Silva with right hands to the head. Silva (4-6-1, 1 KO) found some success landing lead right hands and uppercuts to Greer's head. But Greer had enough to pedigree to outbox Silva during most of the fight. All three judges scored the bout in favor of Greer, 60-54, 59-55, and 58-56.
Middleweight Azamat Umarzoda (2-7-2, 1 KO) scored an emphatic fourth round knockout win over Kelin Sharp. In the opening round, Umarzoda pressed the action in the opening round, landing lead left hooks or rights to the head of Sharp. It was all Sharp (3-2, 3 KOs) in the second and third rounds, as he walked Umarzoda down, landing at will to the head and body. Sharp controlled the action in round four until a left hook from Umarzoda dropped Sharp hard to the canvas. Referee Jack Reiss began administering an eight-count, but waved the fight off at 59 seconds.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
