By Jake Donovan

Charles Manyuchi secured by far the biggest win of his career, boldly marching into hostile territory to claim a unanimous decision win over previously unbeaten Dmitry Mikhaylenko in their welterweight bout Friday evening in Ekaterinburg, Russia. 

Scores were 118-110, 116-114 and 115-113 in a fight that is only available in fragments, but has been described by those fortunate to have seen it as one of the best fights of 2016. 

For now, it certainly rates as the year's most significant upset. Mikhaylenko was more than a 14-1 betting favorite to remain unbeaten and move within a fight or two of challenging for his first major title. The 30-year old from Gelendzhik, Russia made his HBO debut earlier this year, scoring a 10-round win over Karim Mayfield in a fight that didn't particularly leave viewers demanding more, but at least put him in the conversations of welterweights to track. 

Manyuchi didn't seem the least bit fazed, making the long journey from Zimbabwe to deliver a career-best performance. A presumably competitive fight through 10 rounds got away from Mikhaylenko (21-1, 9KOs) down the stretch as Manyuchi dialed up the intensity in the championship round. 

In the eyes of two of the three judges, it was the difference between a narrow loss and a major upset, while a third card had the visiting welterweight well ahead with room to spare by that point. 

Having never previously fought outside of Africa prior to last July, Manyuchi (18-2-1, 11KOs) has now scored back-to-back wins in his opponent's home countries. The 26-year old welterweight traveled to Italy last summer, where he knocked out Gianluca Frezza in six rounds.

The feat was celebrated by his countryman as a big deal at the time, but news of Friday's win has already dominated his local market. 

With a strong team behind him that includes manager Egis Klimas and Main Events - his promoter for his past five fights in North America - Mikhaylenko's potential to re-enter the welterweight mix will depend entirely on when he's ready to return to the ring and move past his first loss.

A far more detailed account of the fight will come on BoxingScene.com once video is made available.  

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Follow his shiny new Twitter account: @JakeNDaBox_v2