Miika Forsström: Finnish middleweight contender “Idi” Amin Asikainen (25-1, 16 KOs) did what he was expected to do and knocked out Roberto Oliveira de Jesus of Brazil (13-3, 6 KOs) August 30 in Tampere, Finland. Asikainen, 32, dominated the opening round and in the second round Asikainen landed a crashing right hook at the chin of the Brazilian. Oliveira de Jesus went down face first and was down for several minutes. Fortunately Oliveira de Jesus seems to be all right after the brutal knockout..
It was a tune-up for Asikainen before his European middleweight title bout against Khoren Gevor of Armania. Date and venue to Asikainen vs. Gevor are still to be announced. Asikainen had been out of the ring since February due a thumb injury. In February he stopped former super welterweight champion “Yori Boy” Campas in round seven in Helsinki. Asikainen is rated #6 by the IBF, #11 by the WBA, #12 by the WBO and #17 by the WBC. Asikainen is ranked as middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik’s number four challenger by the respected Ring magazine.
On the undercard rising Russian super lightweight prospect Dennis “Djingis Khan” Shafikov (16-0, 9 KOs) was extremely impressive, when he stopped Slovakian Andrzej Sark (14-5, 13 KOs) already in the second round. Sark had never been stopped before. 23-years old Shafikov dropped Sark in the first round with a left hand and in the second round the referee Erkki Meronen had to stop the fight as Shafikov battered Sark against the ropes bloodying his nose.
At the same weight talented 21-year-old Edis Tatli (5-0) of Finland had no trouble in handling Idiozan Matos (16-6, 8 KOs) of Brazil. The faster Tatli won every round in the judges scorecards. The scores were 60-54. 60-54 and 60-56 all for Tatli. Experienced amateur star Jussi Koivula started his pro-career with an easy third round KO over Tibor Rafael (6-34-2, 1 KO) of Slovakia. A big left hook of Koivula ended the one-sided battle. As an amateur Koivula, 24, was six-times national champion and he won several international tournaments.
At the heavyweight division Jarno Rosberg (3-0, 1 KO) blow out journeyman David Vicena (2-12-2, 1 KOs) in the first round. Southpaw Rosberg ended the bout with a right hand to the body. Juho Haapoja (6-2-1, 4 KOs) stopped Jevgenijs Stamburskis (4-16, 1 KO) easilly in round one. Sami “The Bull” Elovaara failed to impress against Lithuanian spoiler Remigijus Ziausys (7-15, 5 KOs). After six close rounds Elovaara got the victory with a majority decision.