WBC #8 / TBRB #9 Magomed Kurbanov (23-0, 13 KOs) continued his winning streak by defeating former WBO light middleweight titleholder Patrick Teixeira over ten rounds with a unanimous decision. Kurbanov, who dropped Teixeira hard in the first, combined his sometimes underrated boxing skills with always-present toughness to competitively outbox the Brazilian with the scores: 99-90, 98-91, and 97-92.

Their first meeting was scheduled to take place this past December as a co-main event of the Bivol vs. Salamov showdown but Kurbanov got ill hours before the fight leading to its temporary cancellation. He was last seen in the ring in May 2021, narrowly outpointing grizzled British veteran Liam Smith in a very close fight. Meanwhile, Teixeira managed to lose before the two dates of the fight to unheralded Paul Valenzuela Cuesta on a DQ. That was in April of 2022. 

Kurbanov is usually a slow starter but this time he immediately got huge success, dropping Teixeira very hard at the end of the second minute of the first round with a smashing right hook. Up at six, the Brazilian looked dazed but survived the onslaught. 

Equally known for toughness and his desire to rumble, Teixeira started to rumble with Kurbanov in the second. Feeling uncomfortable in open exchanges, Kurbanov chose a more measured approach by smothering his opponent's wild offense with his shoulder rolls, upper guard, and body movement. As always, Kurbanov wasn't exemplary quick but his timing has improved over years, which helped him to get an upper hand in exchanges.

Teixeira was less versatile and more limited than his opponent, abandoning jab for a two-gun shoot-out. This tactic wasn't a key to success but allowed the Brazilian to remain active while the Russian was piling up a lead. To his credit, Brazilian had some moments during the mid-rounds, but Magomed's lead had never been in any danger. Kurbanov connected with some well-timed hooks and also changed his stance to an extent, posing more problems for a bit stiff opponent.

Both boxers rumbled furiously during rounds eight and nine but put their feet of the gas pedal during the last round. With the win, Kurbanov proved again he belongs to the top-10 of the 154lb division. Teixeira (now 31-4, 22 KOs) has dropped his third straight and is now off the title picture at least for quite a time.

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WBC #1 / TBRB #8 super middleweight Pavel Silyagin (11-0, 5 KOs) showcased his finesse and superior boxing skills in a one-sided points victory over aggressive upset-minded Mexican Jose de Jesus Macias over ten rounds.

Silyagin, 28, who has recently taken part in a semi-pro International Boxing Cup tourney, was very sharp against a fighter with several upset wins in his resume. Silagin chose to use his reach advantage and to box against the Mexican at a distant range. However, Silyagin also showcased excellent footwork and had speed and reflexes to supplement his vast amateur background.

Macias, 30, was determined but was unable to pull a trigger against the constantly moving opponent. He winged much but hit mostly air, although he was also able to have Pavel's nose bleeding by the end of the fight. Macias had his moments during the later rounds but his only hope was to get a knockout, which was a far cry for the brave but slow fighter.

All three judges had it for the Russian: 100-90, 99-91, and 99-91. The Mexican moves down to 28-11-4, with 14 KOs. For Silyagin the sky is the limit on the other hand.

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2016 Olympic heavyweight gold medalist Evgeny Tishchenko continued his revival after the loss to Thabiso Mchunu in March 2021 with the fourth-round stoppage of fellow compatriot Kureysh Sagov (now 6-2, 2 KOs).

Tishchenko, a very tall cruiser at 6'5'', kept Sagov at bay with his potent left jab. The Ingush fighter did his best to respond accordingly but missed much and failed to induce a fire-fight in the booth. Sagov connected with some solid shots reddening Evgeny's left eye but was unable to follow it up with something consistent. Tishchenko, on the other hand, was successful in every round.  

At the end of the fourth, Sagov threw a right hook but damaged his ankle in doing so. He was unable to go on, and referee Irakly Malazonia put a halt to the contest at 2:17 of the fourth. Tischenko is now 10-1, 7 KOs.

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2021 WC bronze medalist Saveliy Sadoma (1-0) also kicked off his pro career by outpointing tough and determined but vastly underskilled Uzbekistani Farrukh Juraev (6-7-1, 2 KOs) over four rounds. Unlike Dilanyan, Juraev created some problems for the bigger, younger Sadoma and fed him some good leather despite clearly dropping the fight.

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In a major debut, 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist and 2019 world amateur champion Gleb Bakshi destroyed usually resilient Manuk Dilanyan (12-9-2, 5 KOs) in sixty-three seconds. Bakshi dropped Dilanyan with a hard left hook and then poured on punches at the defenseless opponent when the latter somehow managed to get up. Middleweight Bakshi (1-0, 1 KO) had victories over two-time Olympic champion Arlen Lopez and Filipino Eumir Marcial among others as an amateur. He is expected to make a quick rise in the ranks if it is possible under present political circumstances.

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Heavyweight Sergey Egorov moved to 2-0, 1 KO, after a unanimous decision over tough and resilient journeyman German Skobenko (5-12-2, 2 KOs) in a six-rounder. Egorov boxed at a measured pace but outworked plodding Skobenko in each round, although his opponent has never been rocked or in danger of stoppage.

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In an upset, cruiserweight Yaroslav Doronichev (1-1) suffered his first career loss, dropping a split decision to rugged and determined Igor Vilchitskiy (6-4, 1 KO) over six very close rounds. 

Vilchitskiy, 31, set the tone early on, dropping Doronichev with a huge overhand right to the whiskers of his 27-year-old opponent. Doronichev survived the round and turned back the tide in the second round, outboxing Vilchitskiy in rounds two and three. In the fourth, Vilchitskiy got back into the fight with huge uppercuts in close quarters, and he also rocked Doronichev in clinches. Rounds five and six were close but Vilchitskiy did a notch better. BoxingScene had it 57-56 - for Vilchitskiy.

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Heavyweight Alexander Dorofeev (6-0, 2 KOs) scored a workmanlike, methodical decision over experienced and hard-nosed Belarussian journeyman Victor Chvarkov (2-7, 1 KO) in a scheduled eight-rounder. The decision was unanimous but no scores were announced.

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Former kickboxing standout Mamuka Usubyan made his pugilistic debut and earned a unanimous decision over well-traveled and battle-tested veteran light middleweight Pavel Mamontov. Usubyan has dominated the fight, beating the aging opponent to the punch and pressurizing him over the entire four rounds. Former Russian national 154lb titleholder Mamontov is winless since 2017, having lost 14 of his last 15 fights. He is 12-18-3, with a single kayo, now.