Dmytro Yurievich Zubko vs. Achiko Odikadze & Serdar Avcı vs. Daniel Peter Williams RBR

Round 3

Odikadze starts to get hit with numerous shots at once. Zubko actually does seem keen on the stoppage now, having realized that Odikadze has nothing hurtful to worry about in his own arsenal. Zubko throws wrecking ball lefts into the body to stun Odikadze into stillness, nudges a few jabs into his chin to range-find and get his aim calibrated, and then flurries on him, dropping him with a series of swatting blows with both hands. Odikadze beats the count but is flurried down again moments later and then saved by the bell.

10-7 Zubko

30-25 Zubko

 

Round 4

Odikadze is desperately throwing wild haymakers while hurtling inside - and Zubko just eases himself onto his rear foot, plants it, and slots in a right hand lead on the brow. Odikadze keeps rushing in, and Zubko has flurries waiting for him, and Odikadze goes down again. WHOA, THIS IS CRAZY! The corner throws in a towel (purple, not white) during the ref's count and the ref PICKS IT UP AND THROWS IT BACK AT THEM, finishes the count, and leaves it up to Achiko himself whether to continue. He wants to, and he launches himself at Zubko throwing with all his might - but is dropped again, pounding the canvas with his fist in frustration as he's finally waved off.

TKO4!

 

Zubko actually got in a few extra shots there, at least 2-3 chopping rights on the back of the head as Odikadze was already on a knee. He is DAMN lucky to not get disqualified and fined there. In hostile territory with a less generous official he very well could have been.

 

That last round was so wonderfully chaotic ...Odikadze putting it all on the line, attempting to go super-Saiyan... the purple towel... ref saying "nope" and yeeting it out... Zubko being a dirty SOB in victory... Odikadze knuckling the mat harder than he managed to ever hit Zubko...

 

Actually yeah, it definitely is rare but has come up before. Towel-throwing is pretty customary in most parts of the US (and I think UK) but not allowed everywhere. Some jurisdictions have the "only the referee (or doctor) can stop the fight" rule, so the corner if they do that anyway risk either getting ignored (causing their guy to absorb extra punishment while the ref deals with the distraction) or he can DQ the fighter and they can be liable for penalties for interference.

 

Wow...just happened to glance at Serdar Avcı's page on Wikipedia. He started out in the amateurs competing for the Fenerbahçe Boxing Club of Istanbul... at bantamweight. He actually holds a victory over Albert Selimov (aka the only man to defeat Vasyl Lomachenko in the am's) - crazy!

I have so many questions now. Most importantly:

1. How did a former standout bantamweight amateur get so goddamn fat he went from being 54kg to 96? ALMOST DOUBLING HIS BODY MASS
2. How did someone that beat Selimov end up getting SCHOOLED BY ALMOST 50 YEAR OLD SHOT TO SMITHEREENS DANNY WILLIAMS?!?!

 

By the way, Serdar Avcı vs. Danny Williams starts at 4:52:20 in the video, if anyone's curious to see:

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Dude for a minute here and there he actually looked pretty good!

...which, just makes it sadder.

What a redemption arc that could've been. Snapping a 14 month retirement, years after everyone in the boxing world had written him off as just a recurring punchline, and lifting somebody's pro zero? Even if just a washed-up tub of lard themselves? Would've been dope.