By Alexey Sukachev

At the Torwar Sport Hall in Warsaw, Poland, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk raised his record to 44-2-1, with 32 KOs, as some had their crossed fingers behind his back after a controversial victory over surprisingly competent American challenger Jason Robinson (19-6, 11 KOs) in twelve disgraceful rounds. Being put on the brink of defeat by his awkward southpaw opponent and with his possible spot at Super Six cruiserweight tournament at risk, Wlodarczyk barely squeaked by with a dubious unanimous decision. Scores were: 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113 - in his favor. BoxingScene saw it quite differently: 114-116 - for the American.

It was expected to be an easy night for the local fighter. Wlodarczyk was coming off a dominant TKO 8 over Italian Giacobbe Fragomeni in his last battle in May when he captured a vacant WBC cruiserweight regalia and became a champion for the second time. Robinson, on the other hand, fought just thrice in last six years and suffered three kayo losses among his defeats. He got his title chance by hardly outpointing 42-year old John McCane to acquire the NABF title which provided him with the #10 spot by the WBC. Local crowd was fueled up in anticipation of a quick victory for their hero.

Things turned to bad almost immediately after the start. Using his unorthodox approach, Robinson controlled Wlodarczyk's movements and prevented him from throwing any hard right hands and left hooks. He mostly ducked or blocked Pole's punches while establishing rare but pin-point left hands to bother Wlodarczyk time and again. Despite being a fighter who literally worked as an aggressor, the Maywood (IL) native delivered an impressive defensive performance but didn't forget to deliver some shots on his offensive. Wlodarczyk experienced a hard time finding both rhythm and distance for his actions.

All rounds were pretty close to score but it was clear that Wlodarczyk, though a fresher and a stronger fighter of two, was playing Robinson's game almost all night long. It's necessary to point out that the Pole dealt his share of punishment but he was never close to rocking Robinson. After six pretty similar rounds it was an even fight. However, Robinson started to be more and more effective and offensive as the bout progressed. The Pole on the other hand found that fighting from the outside and in spurts could be useful against such an opponent as Robinson. Krzysztof used it in rounds nine to eleven, and found it as the right strategy against a seemingly not-fatigued opponent. However, the very end of the bout was in Robinson's favor as he clearly took the last round.

Referee in the ring was Daniel Van De Viele. Wlodarczyk should improve much in order to be competitive against better opposition which he most probably will meet in the tournament, being produced by the Sauerland Event in the nearest future.

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In the opener, WBO #10 Krzysztof Benias (41-4, 16 KOs) survived some rocky moments but finally edged determined Latvian Konstantins Sakara (6-14-1, 5 KOs) over six heated rounds. Sakara was surprisingly aggressive and also effective with his aggression in the first two rounds, pressing action against aging and rusty Polish fighter. Benias utilized his vast experience and prevailed in rounds three and four with smarter and more precised combinations and single punches. Sakara mounted a slight comeback in the fifth and cut the Pole badly over his left eye. Dealing with this adversity Benias proved he is indeed a superior fighter in the sixth round finishing the fight really strong. All three judges scored this fight in favour of Benias, though no detailed scores were announced publicly. BScene saw it as a narrow 58-57 decision for the Polish boxer.

Light heavyweight Maciej Miszkin (now 11-0, 3 KOs) scored a workmanlike yet an easy six-round decision over Frenchman Ousman Domiguez (2-3, 2 KOs). Miszkin was more consistned, less clowning and much more effective with his steady pressure than Dominguez, who fought in spurts. The French import had his moments in the second round but from that point on it was all Miszkin who dominated over his opponent. In round five, Miszkin bloodied his opponent with several jabs and he was close to finishing him off in the sixth stanza but Dominguez was able to survive till the bell despite some severe punishment. Scores were unanimous (but anonymous) for the Pole. BScene scored it 59-54 - also for Miszkin.

WBC #21 heavyweight Andrzej Wawrzyk (now 20-0, 10 KOs) survived some rocky moments in the first and in the second stanzas to score a harder-than-expected decision over Latvian journeyman Pavels Dolgovs (5-9-1, 3 KOs) in six heated rounds. The Latvian fighter was close to score an upset kayo moments into the first round, when he cornered bigger and stronger Wawrzyk with big, fast combinations. The Pole survived this wild assault and gradually got better under fire and down the stretch of the fight. He started to outbeat the Latvian in rounds three and four and scored a major knockdown seconds before the end of the fifth stanza with a hard left hook to the body of Dolgovs. Clearly shaken the Latvian pugilist bravely beat the count and was even able to survive through the final sixth round. All three judges awarded a victory to Andrzej Wawrzyk, who didn't look like an elite heavyweight in this one. BScene had it 59-54 - for the home fighter.

Heavyweight Krzysztof Zimnoch (4-0-1, 4 KOs) destroyed debuting and hugely overmatched Cameroonian Joe De Maradja (0-1) in the first with several big shots.

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In a grueling battle, WBC #9 cruiserweight Tomasz Hutkowski (18-0-2, 12 KOs) retained his WBC Youth title but failed to add the WBC Baltic belt after a hard-fought draw with Frenchman Zakaria Azzouzi (11-1-2, 9 KOs) over ten rounds of trench warfare. Scores were 95-95 (twice) and 96-94 (for Tomasz Hutkowski), which can be justified as there were several very close stanzas, and, in fact, almost all of them could have been scored for both rivals.

Hutkowski was an aggressor, but a cautious one, as he was visibly afraid of a huge left hand of French kayo artist. The Pole relied more on his jab and numerous but square punches, while Azzouzi fought in spurts and was dangerous doing so. In round two, both fighters were involved into an accidental headbutt, and Hutkowski was deducted a point according to the WBC rules. Azzouzi added more heat in the same stanza rocking the home boy twice at the end. All other rounds were pretty similar with Hutkowski being more active and more consistent in his actions but Azzouzi punching a lot harder and with more conviction. Both boxers gave their all in concluding rounds of the fight but none of them had ultimately prevailed resulting in this disappointing result. Referee was Ian John-Lewis of England, WBC supervisor was Mikhail Denisov, Polish inspector was Maya Stachowska. A considerable delay occured before an official announcement.

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MORE RESULTS TO COME.............