A man who is quickly garnering a reputation as one of the most fearsome punchers in world boxing in the form of the undefeated IBF Cruiserweight Champion Murat Gassiev once again showed why he is one of the most sinister presences in the sport as he recorded the 25th victory of his career after emphatically dismissing the former champion Krzysztof Wlodarczyk with a body shot knockout in the third round of their World Boxing Super Series quarter-final matchup from Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
From the opening bell, Gassiev as he so often does took the role of the hunter and proceeded to carefully stalk his opponent around the ring and force him into an exchange where he could utilise his power.
Wlodarczyk was in contrast very cautious in his approach, seemingly very aware of his opponents power, he was content to circle the ring boxing on his backfoot and looking to minimize any risk.
The former champion’s output was very low and he didn’t manage to put together any real meaningful offence besides his jab, nothing else really found its mark and more importantly nothing he had in his locker could stop Gassiev coming forward and look to walk him down.
Gassiev began round 3 with more of the same, demonstrating patience while looking for openings. Just over halfway into the round, Gassiev saw an opportunity as he backed a retreating Wlodarczyk into the ropes and fired a lethal two-punch combination starting with a left uppercut upstairs which followed with him bringing the same hand down and ripping it to his opponent’s liver with a hook, leaving him down on the canvas, in a crumpled heap and out for the count.
With this victory, Gassiev proceeds onto the Cruiserweight World Boxing Super Series semi-final stage . A mouth-watering showdown against fellow knockout artist and WBA champion Yunier Dorticos is next up on the agenda for Gassiev. Cuba’s Dorticos was in attendance on Saturday night to get an up close look at his next opponent and promised Gassiev during a post fight face off that he would inflict the first defeat of his career via knockout.