Diablo wins intercontinental title, Cieślak stops Kubicz, Zimnoch victorious again
Krzysztof Włodarczyk (51-3-1, 37 KO) stopped Kai Kurzawa (37-5, 25 KO) in the fourth round of the main event at the show in Szczecin. The Pole also captured the IBF intercontinental junior heavyweight title. Both fighters’ styles matched well, especially since the German was willing to engage in exchanges at close range. In the middle of the first round, he beat Włodarczyk to the punch and landed a clean left hook. “Diablo” was not particularly impressed, however. In the second round, he caught Kurzawa’s wide hooks on his guard while effectively working with a stiff jab to set up his opponent. The German did not abandon his pressure. “Open him up with punches to the body,” trainer Fiodor Łapin instructed Włodarczyk in the corner. The Pole quickly followed the advice. He first landed several right hands to the body, then suddenly fired a right hook toward the temple. Kurzawa stumbled, cleverly dropped to one knee and also spat out his mouthpiece. After the count of eight, he gained a few seconds to recover. He survived until the bell, but immediately afterward Włodarczyk’s right overhand staggered him again. This time, there was still no knockdown. A minute later, the Pole jumped in with a left-right combination, broke through the guard and landed upstairs. Kurzawa knelt down for the second time. He rose at nine, but referee Grzegorz Molenda stopped the fight.
Previously unbeaten Aleksander Kubicz (9-1, 6 KO), who had mainly faced anonymous opponents, proved to be by far the toughest opponent of Michał Cieślak’s (13-0, 9 KO) career. The Pole came out aggressively from the start against the shorter and physically weaker Russian. In keeping with the Russian boxing school, however, Kubicz was awkward and technically well schooled. He dipped his head low, lowered his stance and stayed constantly in motion. During the first two rounds, he was not hit cleanly upstairs. Cieślak landed to the body, but Kubicz answered in kind. In the third round, Michał imposed a very high pace. He gave his opponent no moment’s respite, activated his jab and trapped the Russian against the ropes. He landed a hard right, followed by a left hook. An unexpected turn came in the fourth round. Kubicz landed two right uppercuts, remained mobile and avoided most of the Pole’s powerful punches. After the break, Cieślak backed onto the ropes, and when Kubicz attacked, he caught him with a very hard countering left hook. The representative of the “Sbornaya” was hurt, but had no intention of surrendering. After a brief clinch, he returned to boxing. In the sixth round, Cieślak extended the distance, worked behind his jab and controlled the awkward opponent. The seventh round had two distinct phases. Initially, the Russian took the initiative, hunting with a left hook under the right elbow. Michał eventually broke him down physically and forced him onto the defensive. Włodzimierz Kromka also punished Kubicz with a warning for leading with his head. In the eighth round, the Russian began to swell, while Cieślak increased the pace further. The referee deducted a second point from Kubicz for additional illegal head attacks. At the beginning of the ninth round, the Russian suffered a split eyelid after a clash of heads. Following a consultation with the doctor, the referee stopped the fight. Since the injury was caused by Kubicz, Kromka declared the Pole the winner by TKO.
Krzysztof Zimnoch (19-1-1, 13 KO) made a successful return after his first professional defeat. The boxer from Białystok stopped Konstantin Airich (23-17-2, 18 KO) in the fourth round. The Pole had the advantage in speed and landed a left-right combination several times, but he also made mistakes of his own. Among other things, he took a right hook from his opponent. At the beginning of the second round, after a punch to the body, he landed a short left hook. The Kazakh with a German passport responded with his own right hook once again. The first six minutes unfolded at a fast pace, which surely pleased the fans. At the beginning of the third round, Zimnoch drew his opponent into a good right-hand counter. He then began controlling the distance with his jab. From the start of the fourth round, Airich was visibly tiring. At the beginning of the third minute, Zimnoch landed a short right hook around the ear. He spotted an opening and immediately repeated the attack. He added two more heavy bombs, sending his opponent crashing to the canvas of the Szczecin ring. Airich rose at eight, but after further punches, a towel was thrown from his corner.
Paweł Stępień (4-0, 4 KO) put on an impressive display in front of his home crowd. Wasyl Kondor (18-17-1, 5 KO), brought in almost at the last minute, proved to be a tough and determined fighter. The Pole opened with powerful left hooks to the liver. At one point, he landed a right cross and followed with the same punch, making his opponent “dance.” Kondor cleverly clinched and survived the crisis. At the beginning of the second round, the Ukrainian was once again close to trouble. A minute later, after more bombs from Stępień, he was “swimming” along the ropes, but quickly regained his balance. In the third round, Paweł again attacked with a left hook to the liver, followed by a straight right. A dozen or so seconds later, he thudded a left hook under the right elbow. Kondor clearly felt the punch, but continued to fire back. In the middle of the fourth round, Stępień exploded with a left-right combination. His opponent was suffering, but had no intention of quitting. Almost exactly with the bell, he took another short right hook and returned to his corner on unsteady legs. The fifth round was another one-sided demolition, although Kondor impressed with his durability. With a minute remaining, Stępień landed a long right to the jaw, followed with a right hook and finished the dazed opponent with a left-right combination. The tough Ukrainian finally capitulated. Although he rose at eight, a towel came flying from his corner.
Jordan Kuliński (2-0-1, 1 KO) defeated Andrejs Pokumeika (9-11, 7 KO) by a majority decision. From the opening bell, the Pole applied intense pressure, changed position and alternated punches upstairs and to the body. In the first round, he landed a powerful left hook. He continued to hold the advantage in the next two rounds. He battered his opponent with two- and three-punch combinations, although he was unable to break through the tight defense. In the fourth round, he landed a right hook and moments later a left cross thrown from a southpaw stance. Kuliński himself, however, began breathing increasingly heavily. The beginning of the fifth round belonged to his powerful hooks to the body. His consistent work downstairs opened the way for Kuliński to attack upstairs. Little happened during the final three minutes. After the final bell, the judges produced rather surprising scorecards. One of them scored a draw for a boxer who had clearly been inferior to the Pole. The final scores were 57:57, 58:56 and 59:55.
Earlier, hometown fighter Tomasz Król (3-1-1, 1 KO) successfully avenged last year’s defeat to Jacek Wyleżoł (14-16, 8 KO). After six rounds, all the judges awarded Król the victory. They scored it 59:55, 59:55 and 60:54.
Source: bokser.org
