Khasan Uvaysovich Baysangurov vs. Paul Ramón Valenzuela Cuesta

Headlining a Boom-Box Promotions & Sparta Boxing co-promoted card tomorrow in Kiev. WBA Intercontinental middleweight title at stake, 1st defense of Baysangurov (captured in May with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Guido Nicolas Pitto - incidentally, the very man Khasan's older cousin Zaurbek Baysangurov knocked out in his professional swansong four years ago).

Khasan is the younger of the Chechen brothers - of Russian birth & Ukrainian nationality - looking to emerge from the shadow of their cousin, a very capable & rock-solid light middleweight who reigned in the first half of the decade as WBO champ (a 3x world titlist if you count the IBO). Up through now, Khasan & Khuseyn were a package deal, virtually always sharing the bill. Now they are looking to step out from each other's gloaming to let their respective lights shine all the brighter. Khasan is less of a puncher and perhaps the less bombastic fighter, with most observers (people in the Russian amateur scene, US media scouts, and even brother Khuseyn himself - proving wrong some of the skeptics early in their pro careers who doubted whether Khasan's chin or power might be prove to be deficiencies verging on liabilities) that he is the more skillful boxer - the "Lamont" to Khuseyn's "Anthony", if you will...the "Jermell" to his "Jermall", the "Max" to his "Buddy" etc. (get the picture yet? The pattern here isn't just a superior pugilistic brother; rather a case of the "inferior" brother still being a very good fighter in his own right... a little better than, say, a Matthew Hatton, or a Jose Miguel Cotto - let alone someone like Bobby Pacquiao. There still needs to be a discernible - if slight...let's say 'close but clear' - gap in quality between them...so I'd not add Wlad & Vitali onto this list, as there's a reasonable case to be made for either's supremacy and opinions are indeed split near enough to down the middle where the original K2 are concerned). In his biggest step up to date, he remained composed in the face of the Argentine-Spaniard's bobbing-&-weaving style and moderate pop, with Pitto shattering the Chechen's nose in the eighth round. Baysangurov stayed within himself, boxed tall, and jabbed his way to victory behind a steady jab and some gutsy infighting.

His opponent, billed as "Paul Valenzuela Jr." (but, like Julio César Chávez Carrasco, not a true "Junior" as his full name isn't precisely identical to his father's; the elder Paul "Momia" Valenzuela being an unsuccessful pro boxer from 2005 until 2013, a year after his progeny's debut, and climbing from super bantamweight through welter taking lumps for meager paydays) and nicknamed "Chicho" (roughly translating into "Bad Ass MoFo" ) is a tough customer, who does his best to live up to his sobriquet and the gritty "Mexican warrior" ideal. While not shying away from a battle, he possesses a good intuitive sense of self-preservation if not exactly slick defensive craft. He is heavy-handed and makes the most of what he does have by attacking with fervor, but can not alter the course of a contest with a single blow if his opponent has even slightly above-average punch resistance. In other words, he's the sort to either make a prospect look a million bucks...or expose them if they have any glaring vulnerabilities to serious pressure (along with a modicum of lateral movement plus a dash of sound evasive instinct when necessary, twitching backward above the waist and/or slap-parrying) or even just a live body posing a stiff argument. He went the distance with Jesús Antonio "La Joya" Gutiérrez Velázquez, Alan "La Amenaza" Campa, Wilky "Silky" Campfort & Tony "Superbad" Harrison but stopped by Jaime "The Dreamer" Aaron Munguía Escobedo (in his US debut), Alantez "SlyAzA" Fox, and Esquiva "Touro Moreno II" Falcão. The latter pair were a corner retirement and eye injury TKO respectively, however - so his only actual kayo loss is against then-unknown but now highly regarded WBO light middleweight champ Munguía. Valenzuela started incredibly well, arguably winning the first round as he brought the fight to Munguía (despite the latter connecting the heavier blows overall) - but it all went very wrong early in the second when they swapped hook. Don't swap hooks with Munguía.

 

For the record, Valenzuela Jr. did rise from the knockdown in question, when he & Munguía landed simultaneous left hooks. It was a brutal knockdown, and he somehow got up and had the presence of mind to duck & slip most of the next two dozen unanswered punches in the Mexican's furious onslaught (making at least 18 of Munguía's shots miss outright, by my count) - but another big sweeping left hook strapped across his jaw while he was backpedaling floored him soon thereafter. Fair enough, if a ref wanted to stop it here. BUT - Valenzuela Jr. got up, was looking very lucid and eager to survive the round and recover his wits on his stool to keep fighting, deep a hole as he was in - but as soon as Munguía ran up and started flapping at his sides with sloppy hooks that didn't even make full contact, Jay Nady started waving it off.

It was a terrible stoppage...even if Munguía probably was going to knock Valenzuela out within the next round or two anyway.

Just wanted to illustrate that Valenzuela has technically never been knocked out clean.

 

Paul Ramón Valenzuela Cuesta vs. Jaime Aaron Munguía Escobedo, December 2017:

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Khasan Uvaysovich Baysangurov vs. Guido Nicolas Pitto, May 2018:

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@Chuck Norris you think Khasan gets the stoppage despite Valenzuela's durability?

 

Card starts at 6pm local time (11am EST), presumably airing on Inter although I don't see their logo anywhere on the poster...

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In attendance will be Kievan mayor Vitali Klitschko along with his rival Lennox Lewis sitting ringside, as well as their fellow ATG heavyweight Evander Holyfield and past bantam range legends Naseem Hamed and Érik Morales and 150 more "honored guests".

Why such a star-studded crowd on a card that at first glance doesn't warrant it? Well, the WBC is having its 56th annual convention in Kiev this week; that's why.

So you know. Pretty much a no pressure situation for the fighters.

 

Huh??

I checked that same link when you posted it on your WBC Annual Convention thread and it said there were still 2.5 hours left until the broadcast.

edit: yeah, the countdown timer is still there even though it clearly has started.
"Before the broadcast left:
01:40:18"

 

Hold on, I'm going to start a separate RBR thread.