Yunier Dorticos vs. Dmitry Kudryashov

Yunier Dorticos vs. Dmitry Kudryashov was a professional boxing match contested on September 23, 2017, for the WBA (Regular) cruiserweight championship.[1]

Yunier Dorticos vs. Dmitry Kudryashov
DateSeptember 23, 2017
VenueAlamodome, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Title(s) on the lineWBA (Regular) cruiserweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Cuba Yunier Dorticos Russia Dmitry Kudryashov
Nickname "The KO Doctor" "The Russian Hammer"
Hometown Havana, La Habana, Cuba Volgodonsk, Rostov Oblast, Russia
Pre-fight record 21–0 (20 KO) 21–1 (21 KO)
Age 31 years, 6 months 31 years, 10 months
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) 6 ft 2+12 in (189 cm)
Weight 199 lb (90 kg) 200 lb (91 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBA (Regular)
Cruiserweight Champion
TBRB
No. 9 Ranked Cruiserweight
WBA
No. 6 Ranked Cruiserweight
TBRB
No. 10 Ranked Cruiserweight
Result
Dorticos defeated Kudryashov via 2nd round KO

Background

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After becoming the mandatory to the WBA's champion Denis Lebedev following a win over Fulgencio Zúñiga,[2] WBA allowed Lebedev to unify against IBF title-holder Victor Emilio Ramírez before facing Dorticos. In turn, the WBA ordered Dorticos to fight Youri Kalenga for an "interim" title.[3] Dorticos would stop Kalenga in the tenth round via technical knockout.[4]

Following this victory, Dorticos entered a purse bid for a fight against WBA (Regular) champion Beibut Shumenov. The fight was delayed several times, due to promotional issues before being called off due to an eye injury that Shumenov suffered during sparring.[5] In June 2017, Shumenov vacated his title due to that same injury. The WBA elevated Dorticos from interim champion to regular champion, despite Dorticos being away from the ring for over a year.

A day after being elevated to Regular champion, Dorticos joined the World Boxing Super Series. The field included 3 of 4 major title-holders from the 4 major sanctioning bodies, with only WBA (Super) champion Denis Lebedev not present. Dorticos was revealed to be the tournament's 4th seed.[6] The bookmakers had him is the third favourite the tournament.[7] At the WBSS draft Gala, held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on 8 July 2017, Dorticos was drawn against unbeaten Russian Dmitry Kudryashov. It was set for September 23 in San Antonio, Texas and was the to be the second cruiserweight quarter final after the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Marco Huck bout two weeks earlier, as well as the Super Series' first match in the United States and the third overall.[8]

The match up generated some excitement, as Kudryashov and Dorticos were both known as knockout punchers, with 42 out of 43 of their combined previous fights ending by way of knockout.[9] A percentage of the gate revenue was donated to the San Antonio Food Bank to aid victims of Hurricane Harvey.[10]

At the official weigh-in, Dmitry Kudryashov initially missed weight by half a pound, coming in at 200 1⁄2 lbs. However, he was able to come in at exactly 200 lbs in a second try 45 minutes later. Dorticos weighed in at 199 lbs.[11]

The fight

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The fight started with a slow-paced, feel out round, with both boxers studying their opponent. Dorticos successfully executed a pull counter as the bell sounded. In round 2, the pace of the fight increased, with Dorticos and Kudryashov trading combinations. Eventually, Dorticos gained the upper hand by landing a series of one-two combos, as Kudryashov retreated behind his high guard. Dorticos ended the contest by knocking out Kudryashov with a right hook. The referee waived the count with a minute left in round 2.[12][13]

Aftermath

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With the win, Dorticos progressed to the semi-final stage of the Super Series and was to face the winner of the Murat Gassiev vs. Krzysztof Włodarczyk quarter final, scheduled for 21 October 2017.

Undercard

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Confirmed bouts:[14]

Broadcasting

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Country Broadcaster
Baltic & Nordic countries Viasat[15]
  Belgium VOO[16]
  Bulgaria Nova
  Canada Super Channel
  Germany SAT.1
  Russia Match! Boets[17]
  Singapore StarHub
Sub-Saharan Africa TVMS
  Turkey Tivibu Sports[18]
  United Kingdom ITV
  Ukraine Inter

References

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  1. ^ "Fight:2182176". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  2. ^ Castillo, Elisinio (8 February 2016). "Denis Lebedev-Yunier Dorticos Clash Ordered By The WBA". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  3. ^ Sukachev, Alexey (28 March 2016). "Kalenga vs. Dorticos for WBA Interim title, May 20 in Paris". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  4. ^ Associated Press (20 May 2016). "Yunier Dorticos stops Youri Kalenga for WBA cruiserweight title". espn.com. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  5. ^ Woods, Michael (20 April 2017). "Shumenov withdraws from April 29 fight". ringtv.com. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  6. ^ Random Hits (7 July 2017). "World Boxing Super Series Reveals Tournament Seeding". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  7. ^ Joe O'Neill (10 July 2017). "World Boxing Super Series Betting Odds". irish-boxing.com. Irish Boxing. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  8. ^ Dan Rafael (10 August 2017). "Yunier Dorticos-Dmitry Kudryashov WBSS bout set for Sept. 23 in San Antonio". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Dorticos-Kudryashov WBSS quarterfinal has fight-of-the-year potential". 20 September 2017.
  10. ^ Ringside. "WBSS to donate percentage of Dorticos v Kudryashov gate to Hurricane Harvey fund".
  11. ^ "Dorticos, Kudryashov make weight". 22 September 2017.
  12. ^ "World Boxing Super Series results: Dorticos wrecks Kudryashov in second round". 23 September 2017.
  13. ^ Dan Rafael (24 September 2017). "Yunier Dorticos beats Dmitry Kudryashov to retain cruiserweight world title". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  14. ^ "BoxRec - event".
  15. ^ "MTG will be the exclusive home of the World Boxing Super Series in the Nordic and Baltic regions". europawire.eu. EuropaWire. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  16. ^ "TV PARTNERS". worldboxingsuperseries.com. World Boxing Super Series. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  17. ^ Andrew Karlov (14 October 2017). "Groves vs Cox. Where to watch live". ringside24.com. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  18. ^ WBN Staff (9 September 2017). "WBSS agree further European media rights deals". worldboxingnews.net. World Boxing News. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
Preceded by Yunier Dorticos's bouts
23 September 2017
Succeeded by
Preceded by Dmitry Kudryashov's bouts
23 September 2017
Succeeded by
vs. Mauricio Barragan