St. Petersburg, Russia - His fight with Ukrainian Olexander Hryschuk was a first in many ways for the WBA Gold super flyweight champion Mikhail ‘Misha’ Aloyan. It was the first successful defense of his title and it was also the first stoppage that Aloyan, 32, scored as a pro.
The Russian southpaw, who debuted in prizefighting at a solid age of 28 in 2017, used his superior skill set and still sharp reflexes to continuously frustrate the Ukrainian, who was coming in with the four-fight losing streak.
Hryschuk, 35, was a very late sub for Nicaraguan Ricardo Blandon, who himself was a sub for South African Lindile Tchemesi. The Ukrainian was rather active but just couldn’t connect to his elusive opponent. Aloyan was using fast combinations, then went backwards to avoid Hryschuk’s late offensive.
Hryschuk saw some success at the end of the fifth but Aloyan got bigger in the next couple of rounds. outperforming the Ukrainian. Finally, Aloyan delivered several hard blows in the eighth, while the Ukrainian’s punch output decreased significantly. Hryschuk surrendered after the eighth for medical reasons.
Former two-time world amateur champion (2011/2013) Aloyan moved to 6-1, with 1 KO. As a pro he is best known for a spirited effort in his fifth fight – a close decision loss to Zolani Tete in the quarterfinals of the WBSS Season 2. Hryschuk drops down to 16-5, 6 KOs.
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Khariton Agrba’s fight with Peruvian Jesus Bravo was cancelled due to undisclosed reasons. Agrba (5-0, 2 KOs) promised to reveal them later.
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Lightweight Alexey Mazur (3-0, 2 KOs) stopped experienced yet overmatched Georgian import Achiko Odikadze (22-17-1, 8 KOs) in five rounds, dropping him in the third and in the fifth rounds.
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Pavel Sosulin (5-0, 1 KO) continued his progress by outpointing ultra durable Estonian import Pavel Semjonov (24-17-2, 9 KOs) over eight rounds.
Sosulin, 24, was definitely better than his 36-year old opponent, connecting well with both jabs and power shots, using sidesteps and lateral movement to avoid being hit by Semjonov’s mostly wild swings. The Estonian, who was stopped just once before (because of an injury), was very brave but lacked refinement and finesse to land something of note. Both boxers were deducted points (Sosulin in the fifth, and Semjonov in the sixth) for minor infractions.
The decision was unanimous but scores weren’t announced. BoxingScene had it 79-71 – for the Russian light middleweight.
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Light heavyweight Ruslan Kolesnikov, 21, debuted with the first-round blowout of career traveller Ruslan Rodzivich of Belarus. Kolesnikov (now 1-0, 1 KO) connected with a left hand to the shoulder of Rodzivich and then with a left to his body, which put the Belarussian down for the count midst into the first. Rodzivich, 35, is down to 15-33, 14 KOs.
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Light middleweight Igor Ivanchenko (5-0, 3 KOs) continued his pro education with an easy stoppage of Colombian import Jose Agustin Feria (24-12-1, 16 KOs) at 0:40 of the third round.
Ivanchenko, 27, immediately delivered heat to his opponent, beating him at will. Feria, 38, looked spent but somehow managed to survive through the first couple of rounds. The end came soon thereafter with a smashing left to the liver section of Columbian, which immediately had him down in pain. Feria has been stopped in each of his losses.
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In a TV-opener, talented Uzbek (super) heavyweight Lazizbek Mullojonov (2-0, 2 KOs), who combines his pro boxing activity with amateur education, easily tore down Estonian journeyman Anton Sjomkin (14-15-1, 12 KOs) in two rounds. Southpaw Mullojonov, 22, was just too strong and too young for his 41-year old opponent. Sjomkin was knocked down with an overhand right hook early into the third and continued to be pummeled after that.
Sjomkin survived to the second round but then was put down on a knee with a straight left to the chin followed by a left to the mid-section. He was counted out at 0:31 of the round. The Estonian is just 1-12-1 over the last ten years.