By Alexey Sukachev

Russia - In the main event of the evening, Russia-based Tajik Mukhammadkhuja Yakubov (13-0, 8 KOs) earned a methodical yet classy unanimous decision over Mexican import Emanuel Lopez (29-10-1, 13 KOs) in a tactical fight.

Yakubov retained his WBC international super featherweight title for the first time. Scores were identical: 100-90 across the boards.

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It took hard-punching Russian heavyweight Evgeny Romanov (12-0, 9 KOs) less than two minutes of the first to destroy bigger Canadian Dillon Carman (14-4, 13 KOs) with a crushing right cross / left hook combo. Romanov is best known for putting reigning WBC champion Deontay Wilder to sleep in 2008 while both were amateurs.

Highly ranked and rapidly rising WBC #2 lightweight Zaur Abdullaev continued his remarkable progress with a solid tenth-round stoppage of Columbia’s veteran Humberto Martinez (33-9-2, 25 KOs).

The 2017 debutant used solid technique, size advantage and sophisticated punching to dominate Martinez throughout ten rounds. The Russian dropped the Colombian in the second, and then floored him hard with a major left hook in the tenth. Martinez got up and was a bit prematurely stopped on his feet by referee Yuri Koptsev. Time of stoppage was 2:37 of the tenth. Abdullaev improves to solid but greenish 11-0, 7 KOs.

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IBF #3, WBA #7, WBC #12 rated light middleweight Magomed Kurbanov failed to impress for the third consecutive time, cruising to a wide unanimous decision over less capable yet durable Argentinean Damian Ezequiel Bonelli (23-6, 20 KOs) instead of a stoppage win.

Kurbanov used big body shots to trouble Bonelli, coupled with an overhand right but the Argentinean has been showing durability for eight rounds. He went down once in the ninth and once in the tenth rounds but heard the bell after all in a feat of its own. Kurbanov improves to 17-0, 11 KOs.

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2016 heavyweight Olympic gold medalist Evgeny Tishchenko (4-0, 2 KOs) got a good body of work to be done against Argentinean cruiserweight Jose Gregorio Ulrich (17-3, 13 KOs), getting a well-deserved unanimous decision over eight rounds.

Ulrich suffered his third consecutive loss. Tischenko was previously scheduled to fight former long-time IBO super middleweight beltholder Thomas Oosthuizen of South Africa.