Terrible stoppage, but predictable in accordance to how ESPN n specifically Bradley was d**k riding Ford the WHOLE fight..
Kholmatov was in essence the house fighter that night, not Ford. While Kholmatov isn't with Top Rank, the promoter had bid on the fight hoping to then put Kholmatov in a unification bout with the winner of Lopez vs. Abe. Ford is with Matchroom Boxing.
Agreed...Kholmatov impressed the HELL out of me last night. Dominating a highly rated, undefeated American fighter in a championship fight on foreign soil is no joke. I had him clearly winning the fight (8-4) with 20 secs remaining before he got rocked and stopped. However, before the fight, I was watching some highlights and noticed that he had a tendency to fight wild with big swinging shots that often missed. Afterwards, I remember thinking that Ford would outbox him easily but he shocked me with his performance and actually outboxed Ford. However, towards the later rounds, he was looking for a knockout (even though he didn't need it) and his wild tendencies crept back in which allowed Ford to counter him and ultimately stop him.
Therefore, if he wants to win a world title in future, he needs to stick to boxing smart the ENTIRE fight instead of getting reckless and looking for a KO.
Kholmatov is a very good fighter who came to win, Ford did well the whole fight and got lucky at the end, was a very good fight between two quality operators.
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