Eduard Valentinovich Troyanovsky vs. Josef Zahradník & Batal Zurab Chezhia vs. Dzhamal Usmanov RBR

Usmanov jabbing into the guard taking a backward step, then planting his feet and lobbing a lazy hook into the outer bulge of Chezhia's right glove. That is his entire offensive workload in the first minute of round 6. Not gonna cut it. :

 

58-56 Chezhia, has all the momentum and is blasting Usmanov with unanswered three-pieces slamming into either cheek early on here in the 7th!

 

Clever use of the jab by Chezhia, letting Usmanov feel a couple of light raindrop versions and then resetting on the outside and knifing a HARD double power jab into his face while crab-running in.

 

68-65 Chezhia

I think either his corner has runs short on ideas or the Ukrainian is just unused to such deep waters (longest he previously had gone was 6 rounds, and before that 4) and can not bring himself to execute their instructions.

 

I don't actually have a problem with Chezhia's effort, as the resident feather-fist in this match-up he found himself in an early hole as it was more of Usmanov's type of fight at first, and has slowed the pace, controlled the distance and imposed his style. He's boxing smart.

Usmanov is the one I'm somewhat disappointed in. The second things stopped going exactly his way he began to just deflate, giving this fight away basically.

 

Usmanov being reduced to leaping in with haymakers, primarily as smokescreens for a clinch, being routinely backed against the ropes or into corners with his jaw peppered constantly by sharp, clean, straight punches in multiples from Chezhia. Isolated moments of success for Usmanov timing an uppercut grazing the chin (but partially muffled on the neck) as Chezhia presses in, but too few.

78-74 Chezhia

 

Crowd yelling but neither fighter seems to care about their restlessness. Chezhia just keeps jabbing Usmanov in the face, walking him down, and then allowing himself to get tied up on the inside, while Usmanov flees until his back hits the ropes and then springs in with messy deterrent flurries.

88-83 Chezhia

 

Chezhia landed something like three jabs and then converted a quick hook off the last jab, all in one fluid motion countering past a single lumpy, slow punch from Usmanov.

 

"JA-MAL!" has a vociferous cheering section, but they only have one frame left to be given any reason for excitement...and that is looking increasingly less and less plausible as their boy is blowing hard, and has been for most of the second half.

 

About 90% of the shots thrown by either man in round 10 are under the auspices of "holding & hitting".

Usmanov seemed to lose the first two minutes pretty clearly but might have caused a buckle in Chezhia's knees with a wild overhand in the final twenty seconds.

 

What flag did that fan just drape over himself?

It had green on it...so, not the Georgian nor Ukrainian. (nor Russian, obviously)

 

n/m, found it - that is the flag of Abkhazia, which is a semi-sovereign region in Georgia. Chezhia is from its capital, Sukhumi.

 

Official cards:

in Russian ...for Usmanov
in Russian ...for Chezhia
in Russian

...split draw.