PolSat Extra BoksGala: Robert Talarek vs. Artem Karpets & Jakub Dobrzyński vs. Dmytro Bereznii RBR

Robert Talarek vs. Artem Karpets, 8 rounds @ super middleweight

 

Round 1

Talarek is blocking up high when Karpets throws straight-ahead combos leaning forward lightly on the ball of either foot, then willingly soaking up body flurries when Karpets bends in low and starts hooking away. Talarek is squeezing his fists together with his wrists knotted but elbows spread apart forming a steeple with its point at the bridge of his nose, stepping forward, then executing a quarter-turn and crab-walking the rest of the way, dispensing a few light probing side-out left jabs to feel Karpets out. Talarek attempting to hook off the jab and score with a wide looping right on Karpets' temple as he's circling away. So far Talarek having difficulty finding his target, seeming a little dry & stiff.

10-9 Karpets

 

Round 2

Talarek is laboring to keep his 1-2's fed out in a straight line, and is punching very slowly, as if he were tarred & feathered in the locker room before walking out. Karpets is able to successfully trap either arm of Talarek in his armpits by simply clamping down over them, with plenty of reaction time on account of Talarek's constant telegraphing and predictable modes of attack. Karpets lazily pumping out defensive stay-away jabs in haphazardly strewn fashion, not even aiming. Karpets grows a little too complacent, however, as he is drilled onto the canvas by a right cross on the brow off a triple nudging chest jab while navigating a corner! Talarek starts to drub his guard as Karpets plays the rest of the round safe, covered up & circling away.

10-8 Talarek

19-18 Talarek

 

Talarek is absolutely the "puncher" in this match-up, and the likelier to score a stoppage rather than be stopped. His kayo rate of 37% is meager in the grand scheme but dwarfs Karpets' mere 21% - and Talarek has been stopped just once (in over a dozen losses in almost three dozen bouts) whereas half of Karpets' eight defeats were via KO.

 

Round 3

Talarek is sallying forth, in a crab stance, jabbing from the hip up into Karpets' bicep or sometimes pushing his outer elbow in against his ribs, landing on the sharp tip of the joint. Talarek is eating some jabs between the eyes on the way in as he fails to bring his gloves back to home base to defend, so Karpets is able to reach over the top and brush down across his face with a right hand from outside while leaning comfortably back out of Talarek's reach. Karpets fighting negatively & effectively here, using constant movement in a very awkward rhythm, wary of getting dropped again.

10-9 Karpets

28-28

 

Also has for the most part fought (and defeated) the overall superior opposition...but they're both essentially just barely sub-Euro level journeymen tbh.

 

Round 4

Talarek is fishing with his jab, leaving it hung out suspended like a lance and jousting in on Karpets with it - resulting in Talarek gobbling up a breadcrumb trail of light jabs & straight rights almost every time he takes a step toward his rival. Karpets just reacting, not doing anything too skillful or creative in setting up his own shots - just hunkering down, slinking backward in retreat and dropping an extra half-level when Talarek starts jabbing in, then surfacing with a flood of weak straight blows that bounce off Talarek's undefended face.

10-9 Karpets

38-37 Karpets

 

Round 5

Talarek is chasing after Karpets, jabbing into the pinky edge of his gloves, and jumping in from way too far outside with lead uppercuts (delivered primarily after he already picks his feet up off the ground. Ugly stuff, but Karpets is now in full retreat, moving backward, clinching frequently and sapping his own energy in futile attempts to wrangle Talarek still. Talarek manages to whip a fat right hand around the guard of Karpets, who is hurt and forced to raise his guard. Talarek loops a shot into the solar plexus and Karpets is down. Again near the bell, again he skates through.

10-8 Talarek

47-46 Talarek

 

For real.

Interesting fight though.

 

Round 6

Talarek is loading up from almost comically wide distances, letting his legs scramble to scissor him to his destination without tripping himself up or going full akimbo while he slings his fists into the air in Karpets' general vicinity. All the head shots miss. Like, all of them. Karpets is winning that battle, reaching in with cheeky love-tap rights over the eye socket and poking backfoot jabs, and even some of his own can-openers downstairs shot below Talarek's nonsense up high. Talarek is still occasionally taking all the wind from his sails with heavy body shots, however, as Karpets is forgetting to protect himself from those, and he nearly takes a knee a few times from diving rights just above the belt line.

10-9 Talarek, close, somewhat uneventful in terms of flush connects either way.

57-55 Talarek

 

Karpets looks like the product of the Klitschko family intermarrying with Tomasz Adamek's and this new hybrid clan then severely inbreeding for about 5 or 6 generations.

 

Round 7

Talarek is walking onto double jabs and then a right hand whips across his face as Karpets starts to snap-pivot to cut his corners, boxing Talarek into an invisible square prison around the Rafmet logo at ring center. Karpets is tying up, releasing, and lying in wait to ambush Talarek with a slashing hook or a straight combo whenever he dares tread even an inch toward him. Talarek very ineffective swiping from outside, wide, dodged and ducked before Karpets grabs him and starts the process all over. Rinse & repeat.

10-9 Karpets

66-65 Talarek