Vadim Tukov got into a scrappy contest with the Uzbek import Bakhromjon Fozilov. The Russian middleweight came as a winner with a hard-fought unanimous decision over ten rounds Saturday evening at RCC Boxing Academy in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

All three judges had it for "Tukich": 99-91, 98-92, and 98-92 in a fight that seemed a bit closer than it was scored.

Fozilov, 26, is a hard-hitting, ever-charging fighter with less sophisticated skills than those of a more delicate fighter in Tukov. The Uzbek boxer, who came into this fight with a streak of solid wins in his native land (after a year of fighting in Russia) and in Armenia, tried to bully Tukov early on but the Russian withstood the pressure in the opening rounds, which were mostly even.

Tukov used his potent left jab to control Fozilov and constantly frustrate him, also a compliment of his smart movements. The southpaw Uzbek applied some roughing and wrestling but also added cleanly at times. Yet, Tukov, 29, was mostly successful in repelling his foe. Fozilov charged hard but the outcome was low. He had some success in rounds three, eight and nine (also punching Tukov at the back of his head), but the Russian boxer came on top of a hard challenge.

Tukov moved to 11-0 with four knockouts after his latest win. Fozilov dropped down to 10-2-3, with 9 KOs.

Flamboyant and controversial Russian light heavyweight Vasily Voytsekhovsky (12-0, 7 KOs) punched his Nigerian opponent Gabriel Oluwasegun Olanrewaju (11-3-1, 10 KOs) in four rounds. Time of stoppage was 0:45.

Both boxers engaged in two-way exchanges but Voystekhovsky was just punching harder, even though Olanrewaju had his own chances. The Russian fighter was primarily on the offensive and finally, in the fourth round, he landed several hard shots, cornering the Nigerian, where the latter shook his head and raised his right hand to signalize the stoppage. Even though Olanrewaju said afterward that he was ready to go, the word had already been dropped.

Tajik lightweight Bakhodur Usmonov (5-0, 2 KOs) got the second-stoppage of his career with a body-breaking liver punch, which forced referee Victor Panin to halt Usmonov's contest against usually durable Russian Tikhon Netesov (10-4, 3 KOs), even though the latter beat the count.

Usmonov, 25, started to show his overwhelming boxing skills immediately after the opening bell. Southpaw Netesov, 23, was slow and plodding, allowing the 2021 Tajik Olympian to land his trademark right bomb at will. Netesov took headshots well and continued his march. He gained nothing in return though - only more and more leather. Usmonov was very precise with his punches but lacked power to really put Netesov into trouble.

In round two, Netesov, who has never been stopped before, had some success with big shots of his own but it wasn't enough to stop Usmonov in his tracks. The Tajik boxer did more and he also produced more effect. Finally in round four, Usmonov had some mild success during the first two minutes, then found his spot and landed a crushing left hand to the body of the Russian, dropping him. Hurt and dazed, Netesov made it up at eight, but the referee deemed him unfit to continue. A sound win for the 2023 WC bronze medalist for Tajikistan.

Uzbek super middleweight Odiljon Aslonov (4-0-1, 2 KOs) scored a dominant fourth-round stoppage of dangerous upset artist Vasiliy Shtyk (5-5, 4 KOs). Aslonov controlled the fight from the start, choosing necessary range and tempo and forcing Shtyk to accept them. Shtyk tried to work as a counter-puncher, but his speed wasn't enough both to avoid Aslonov's punches and connect with counters of his own. Aslonov gradually walked Styk down, finally cornering him and unleashing a series of unanswered punches. Referee Victor Panin stopped the contest to save Shtyk from further punishment at 2:34 of the fourth round.

Hard-punching light welterweight Gor Khachatryan (5-0, 4 KOs) came back to the ring after a year and a half of inactivity and outpunched fellow undefeated Chechen fighter Idris Adalaev (5-1, 2 KOs) in a fan-friendly slugfest.
 
Khachatryan, a mean hard-hitter with dynamite in both gloves, used elements of the peek-a-boo style on his way in against the longer but less powerful Adalaev in search of a slugfest. Adalaev used his jab to keep Khachatryan at bay (sometimes) and tried to counter him in a timely manner. He was just partially successful in his approach. Khachatryan managed to break through and dealt solid damage to Adalaev when he did so. At the end of the third, Adalaev moved laterally along the ropes and was caught by a hard left uppercut of the Russian Armenian. He went down but successfully beat the count.
 
In later rounds, Khachatryan showed signs of fatigue but continued to deliver punches in bunches. Adalaev's punch output decreased and he was tagged hard several times in the closing rounds but managed to last till the bell. Khachatryn fought his previous four fights as a pro in 2021, stopping all his opponents, including journeymen Jose Luis Prieto, Jesus Bravo and Dmitry Mikhaylenko.
 
Amateur light heavyweight standout Saveliy Sadoma, who also competes as a prizefighter, got his third pro victory in a hard six-round contest against previously undefeated compatriot Evgeny Ivanov (1-1). Despite a solid difference in skills and experience, Ivanov delivered a strong performance and forced Sadoma (now 3-0, 1 KO) to use all his arsenal to earn a unanimous decision.
 
In an upset, experienced Armenian featherweight Andranik Grigoryan (15-2-1, 4 KOs) was held to an eight-round majority draw with unheralded Tajik fighter Usmonali Abdulloev (1-2-2, 1 KO).
 
Grigoryan, 29, started confidently against a boxer who hasn't been seen in the ring since the start of 2022 but decreased his intensity as the rounds went by. Grigoryan didn't look overly interested in what was happening in the ring. He allowed Abdulloev to lead the contest and let him into the close quarters in the middle rounds. Abdulloev did enough to take a majority of those rounds but ran out of gas in the closing round, allowing Grigoryan to rock him a couple of times and end the fight on his terms.
 
Grigoryan, who spent several years fighting in Canada before the COVID pandemics, is just 1-2-1 after going 14-0 early on in his career. The Armenian fighter lost one-sidedly to dangerous Uzbek fighter Otabek Kholmatov in the States, and then to undefeated but untested Aznaur Kalsynov in Russia in January 2023.
 
Ivan Erkhov jumped up in weight to make a successful cruiserweight debut, stopping Ramil Baygin (1-2, 1 KO) in two rounds. Erkhov—a squat but tough super middleweight—measured his opponent in the first and exploded with thunder in the second. A heavy straight right hand put Baygin on the tip of his pants midst into the second round. Baygin bravely raged back into the fight but was soon overpowered, hurt badly and forced into a hapless position at the ropes. Referee Irakliy Malazonia stopped the action at 2:04 with Baygin still standing. Erkhov improved to 5-4, with 3 KOs.
 
In a battle of debuting light welterweights, Aladdin Sultonov (1-0) got the better of Ilya Ivanov (0-1) with a unanimous decision over four rounds.