Issa Akberbayev: record, next fight and profile →
An MTK Fight Night event took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with highly-rated debutants Kamshybek Kunkabayev and Tursynbay Kulakhmet proving their worth by overcoming dangerous opponents.
Upset-minded former Russian light middleweight champion Maxim Churbanov almost pulled it off a week ago in Byalystok, Poland. Fighting in his opponent’s backyard, Churbanov used his vast experience and underrated boxing skills to frustrate Michal Syrowatka in a number of rounds but ultimate came short on a very narrow scorecard: 97-94, 97-94, and 94-96.
With his former teammate Olexander Usyk, the reigning WBO cruiserweight champion and arguably the best 200lber in the world watching closely from ringside, lightweight Denys Berinchyk (8-0, 5 KOs) acquired a vacant WBO Oriental 135lb belt with a dominant sixth-round stoppage of hard-nosed Filipino Allan Vallespin (11-2, 8 KOs). Time was 1:53 of the sixth.
The Kazakh fight scene opened up its new boxing season with a bang, starting it a week ago on Saturday, Sep. 24, at the Baluan Sholak Palace of Sports in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s former capital.
WBA regular super middleweight champion Giovanni De Carolis (24-6) will reportedly make the first defence of the title he won from Vincent Feigenbutz against Tyron Zeuge (18-0) on July 23 in Berlin.