15.10.07 – By Ron Hansen: Super flyweight Dimitri Kirilov (29-3, 9 KOs) won a hard fought 12-round unanimous decision over Jose Navarro (26-3, 12 KOs) to win the vacant International Boxing Federation super flyweight title on Saturday night on the undercard of Holyfield-Ibragimov at the Khodynka Ice Palace, in Moscow, Russia.
Kirilov, 28, overcame a poor start in which he appeared to lose five of the first six rounds to come on strong in the second half of the fight to pull out the decision. The final judges’ scores were 116-112, 114-113 and 114-113. I personally scored it 114-113 for Kirilov, who used his powerful right hand to take control of the bout after being badly outlanded in the early going. Though Kirilov continued to outworked by the busy Navarro, Kirilov’s punches were harder.
Navarro, 26, was knocked down in the 3rd round by a short right hand thrown by Kirilov. Upon getting up, Navarro was attacked immediately before the referee could get in between them wipe off Navarro’s gloves. Navarro, however, was unhurt and proceeded to control the round with the use of his busy jab and fast combinations.
Navarro was cut under the right eye in the 5th round due to a headbutt from Kirilov. In rounds six and seven, Kirilov edged Navarro in two very close rounds, just barely doing enough to win the round. The action was back and forth with both fighters trying to pay each other back for every shot landed.
Navarro appeared to win rounds eight and 10, using his jabs and straight left hand to control the action. In the 11th and 12th, Kirilov came alive and poured it out with fast combinations. Both rounds continued to be close and could have gone either way. Kirilov was cut under the left eye in the final round when he clashed heads with Navarro near the end of the round. The cut didn’t slow Kirilov down, however, as he continued throwing hard right hand shots up until the final bell.