Junior welterweight contender Khariton Agrba, a Georgia-born southpaw fighting out of Russia, was stopped in two rounds by Argentine puncher Ruben Nestor Neri Munoz in July. It was a devastating loss but today, on the IBA Pro show in St Petersburg, Russia, Agrba returned to winning ways notching a 10-round decision on Namibian Charles Shinima.
Argba found his distance and rhythm early and delivered a disciplined performance to take a decision to improve to 16-1 (9 KOs), while the Shinima slipped to 19-3 (13 KOs) following scorecards of 98-92, 99-91 and 97-93.
Undefeated Russian Karina Tazabekova, from St Petersburg, 6-0 (1 KO), won a competitive six-rounder against Zambian junior lightweight Lina Kaskewa, who is now 9-3 (4 KOs).
Kasweka came out aggressively, firing in both hands and cutting Tazabekova by the right eye but Tazabekova managed to get a foothold in the fight and, despite Kasweka clearly disagreeing with the verdict, all three judges at her behind 58-55 at the end.
Debutant Igor Sviridchenkov, boxing just over the 154lbs division limit, got off to a rapid start in the pros, dropping Rattawut Thongaram three times before stopping him in the second round.
The Thai southpaw, now 10-5 (8 KOs), was down twice in the first and looked vulnerable to the body. Sviridchenkov (pictured) was teeing off on Thongaram in the second and the visitor again hit the deck for a final time and the fight was waved off.
Russian junior welterweight Tamerlan Ozdoev, 3-0 (1 KO) and Juma Kijo, from Tanzania and 7-2 (3 KOs) shared six hard rounds in a close fight. There seemed little between them, but Ozdoev won by margins of 57-56 (twice) and 58-56.
Cheerav Ashalaev, a Russian super middleweight debutant, defeated Iranian Sajad Mehrabi by unanimous decision, but scores were not provided. Ashalaev had won a couple of IBA Pro bouts in recent months.
Middleweight Nikita Kuzmin is now 8-0 after a commanding six-round victory over Nekruz Salimov, who is from Tajikistan. It was Salimov’s second loss on the IBA Pro circuit.
