In a clash of unbeaten fighters, IBF cruiserweight champion Murat Gassiev meets the WBA cruiserweight champion Yunier Dorticos in the second semifinal of the World Boxing Super Series at the Bolshoy Ice Drome in Adler, Russia on Saturday night.
The winner of this fight will meet Oleksandrr Usyk in the final in May.
The 24-year-old Gassiev from Russia, who has a record of 25-0; 18, won the IBF belt in December 2016 with a split decision win over former three-time world cruiserweight champion Denis Lebedev.
He then retained the belt against former champion Krzysztof Wlodarczyk on a third-round knockout in the WBSS quarterfinal in October last year.
Miami-based Cuban Dorticos, 31, has scored wins over capable opponents like Youri Kalembe Kalenge (rsf 10) and Dmitry Kudryashov (rsf 2) in his last two fights.
Gassiev is big for a cruiserweight with a height of 192cm and a reach of 193cm.
He throws combinations with deadly accuracy and with his power could win inside the distance.
However, he does have lapses in his defence at times, as does Dorticos.
The fight is in Gassiev’s home country and he will possibly be the aggressor against Dorticos, who may fight from the outside to take the fight into the later rounds, as Gassiev tired in the later rounds against Lebedev.
Both fighters have solid chins so the fight could also go the distance in what could be an entertaining encounter. .
On the undercard in a WBO lightweight title eliminator, Roman Andreez (20-0; 14) from Russia meets Welsh southpaw Craig Evans (17-1-2; 3).
supersports
Comments
Post a Comment