by Pavel Yakovlev – Heavyweights Timur Ibragimov and Attila Levin won lopsided victories over their opponents in a card held at Lofberg Arena. Ibragimov outpointed Al Cole over six rounds, the scores being 60-55, 59-56, and 59-55. Levin stopped Adnan Buharalija in four rounds.
The Pugnus Boxing Promotions event was one of the first professional boxing cards held in Sweden since that country ended its 36-year ban on the sport in 2006. All of the bouts were subject to the strict safety controls in effect in Sweden, which essentially impose amateur boxing safety regulations and conditions on professional fights. Thus, the maximum length of a fight was only 12 minutes, broken into six rounds of two minutes duration each..
IBRAGIMOV DOMINATES FORMER WORLD CHAMPION
Ibragimov (26-2-1; 14 kayos) easily outscored former IBF Cruiserweight champion Al Cole (35-15-3; 16 kayos) in the main event. Cole fought defensively for the entire fight, constantly retreating and clinching in order to elude his younger opponent’s combinations. Ibragimov fought aggressively, hoping to end matters early by connecting with a heavy right cross, but consistently the fighters ended up wrestling at close quarters because of Cole’s holding tactics. Nonetheless, Ibragimov was able to connect with so many punches to the head and body that the outcome of the fight was never in doubt.
Ibragimov finished the bout with small cuts over both eyes, apparently caused by headbutts as he and Cole wrestled during the clinching. The referee warned Cole several times for headbutting and excessive holding.
After the match, both boxers expressed rancor about the affair. Cole lambasted the scorecards, stating “If you want real professional matches in this country, you need to get better judges. I never thought they’d give him a unanimous victory. Two judges gave me only a single round…I don’t understand it.”
Ibragimov criticized Cole after the bout, remarking “He wrestled and was not fighting…he was just trying to survive. All the time he was backing up. He didn’t land any punches, but whenever I got close he hugged me and head butted me. I was aggressive overall, but it was not my best fight because I had to keep chasing him and it was clear that he had no interest in fighting back…that’s why the fight was boring.”
Although the nature of the victory was something of a letdown for Ibragimov – he had hoped to win by kayo – the bout was valuable in providing him with much needed ring action. Ibragimov was inactive for most of the past year due to promotional problems. In July, Ibragimov resumed his career with a fifth round stoppage of Willie Palms in Atlantic City.
Having won five straight victories since his last loss – a decision to top contender Tony Thompson in 2007 – Ibragimov is now hoping to fight Michael Grant for the latter’s NABA USA Heavyweight championship. Grant is currently rated 15th by the IBF and the WBO, and his NABA US belt holds cache with the WBA. A victory over Grant would probably establish Ibragimov in the world ratings.
“I would really like to fight Grant, that’s the fight I really want,” said Ibragimov. A native of Uzbekistan, Ibragimov currently resides in the Miami, Florida area.
http://www.nwt.se/webb-tv/article577027.ece
LEVIN CRUSHES CROATIAN OPPONENT
In a supporting bout, Sweden’s Attila Levin scored a fourth round TKO over Adnan Buharalija. Levin (32-3; 25 kayos) dominated his smaller, free-swinging foe from the opening bell, scoring two knockdowns in the second round, one in the third round, and another in the fourth round. The referee waived the fight off after Buharalija (19-7-1; 14 kayos) was floored a final time by a barrage of left hooks from the hulking Levin. Buharalija, of Croatia, tried hard, but his disadvantages in height, weight, and skill were insurmountable.
Levin has now won three consecutive fights since resuming his career last year. Previously, Levin was in retirement following a loss to Nikolai Valuev in 2005. At 32 years of age, Levin is still young enough to make his mark on the heavyweight division if he can regain the form he exhibited earlier in his career. Noteworthy is that Levin holds a kayo victory over Ray Austin, who is currently a top contender in the WBA and WBC ratings.
Levin is now living in Miami, Florida. Both Levin and Ibragimov are trained by Luis Lagerman and Matt Baiamonte.
UNDERCARD BOUTS
LIGHT MIDDLEWEIGHTS: Anna Ingman (8-0; one kayo) W6 Miram Brakache (5-7-1; one kayo), unanimous decision
WELTERWEIGHTS: Patrick Bogere (3-0) W4 Konstantins Sakara (3-9-1; one kayo), unanimous decision
BANTAMWEIGHTS: Julio Vargas (4-16-2; four kayos) W4 Reidar Walstad (19-3-2; ten kayos), split decision
FEATHERWEIGHTS: Rikard Lundby (9-1; one kayo) W4 Tuomo Eronen (2-1; one kayo), unanimous decision
SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT: Badou Jack (3-0; two kayos) TKO3 Vadimas Chromychas (3-2; one kayo)
LIGHTHEAVYWEIGHT: Stefan Schallengruber (4-0; two kayos) KO1 Jevgenis Kiselevs (2-4; one kayo)
HEAVYWEIGHT: Andreas Gustafsson (3-0; one kayo) W4 Daniil Peretyatko (16-26; six kayos), unanimous decision