Grozny, Russia - In an upset, unheralded Belgium-based Congolese Big Jack Mulowayi (10-2-1, 6 KOs) stopped previously undefeated hulking heavyweight Apti Davtaev (20-1-1, 19 KOs) in come-from-behind fashion.
Referee Alexander Kalinkin stopped the bout at 2:04 of the eighth round. Mulowayi added the WBC Asian Boxing Council belt to the already owned ABU Heavyweight title.
The beginning wasn't that joyful for the 34-year-old African champion. Davtaev was on a run, threw numerous power punches and stalked Mulowayi around the ring. However, he wasn't landing anything really big, while the Congolese boxer started to slowly adapt under the fire of the Chechen power puncher. Davtaev was especially active in the first two rounds. Round three was virtually even, though Mulowayi was mostly working behind a tight guard, rarely opening his shell.
Mulowayi turned back the tide in the fourth. He started to put himself more into the exchanges, not showing any fear of the hulking local favorite. Davtaev did his best to overcome Mulowayi's sudden pressure but his attempts were quite futile.
Mulowayi used upper body movement well, and he was also very awkward with his non-standard left jab. Davtaev used a little bit of foul tactics, specifically hitting the fighter from Belgium to the back of his head. Rounds five through seven saw Mulowayi exploiting more and more the defects in Davtaev's defense.
In the eighth, Mulowayi finally landed a really big blow that staggered the local fighter. Davtaev began to hug Mulowayi but ultimately was unable to re-group and was being continuously hit. He was wilting under fire, quickly losing energy. Referee Alexander Kalinkin bought him some time by asking Davtaev's cornermen to re-wind his loose tape. That didn't help the favorite in the end. Mulowayi continued his assault. Davatev was virtually defenseless, and there was no other choice but to stop the fight to prevent him from taking more punishment.