Murat Gassiev stops Peter Kadiru in six to retain WBA heavyweight title

Murat Gassiev of Russia made a successful first defense of his WBA heavyweight title by stopping late substitute, Peter Kadiru, at 1:00 of round six.

Fighting in the main event of the IBA Pro 19 event from VTB Arena in Moscow, Gassiev, 34-2 (27 KOs), never struggled against Kadiru, now 23-2 (13 KOs), keeping a high guard and using his superior power and speed to dictate all the terms.

After five rounds of controlling an increasingly tiring Kadiru, Gassiev, a former unified cruiserweight champion who became the WBA's only heavyweight champion after Oleksandr Usyk relinquished his titles last month, drove Germany’s Kadiru into his own corner and pummeled him until a member of his team mounted the ring apron and waved the white towel in surrender.

A spent Kadiru needed several minutes of recovery before being able to participate in the post-fight official announcement.

Despite former WBO champ Shannon Briggs’ loud shouts of encouragement from ringside, 29-year-old Kadiru wasn’t able to mount much effective offense against the well-schooled 32-year-old Gassiev, allowing the powerful Russian to conserve energy and launch attacks on his own schedule. 

Gassiev was crowned WBA regular titlist last December after a one-punch sixth-round knockout over veteran Kubrat Pulev. 

Kadiru had won nine straight since his lone career defeat by shock first-round knockout to Marcos Antonio Aumada in 2022. 

With the heavyweight picture in full upheaval, Gassiev’s performance and decisive finish ensure he will be a key figure in the reshaping of boxing’s glamor division.