Russian light heavyweight Sergei Gorokhov couldn’t contain his delight when he knocked out undefeated contender Emirkhan Kalkan on away soil at the Besirli Kompleksi in Trabzon, Turkey on Saturday night. However, his moment of joy quickly escalated into a potentially life-threatening situation with him and his team being savagely attacked by a group of local spectators.
Gorokhov put Kelkan on the canvas twice on the way to a brutal finish in the third round. The little-known UBO (Universal Boxing Union) world title was on the line in in Kelkan’s hometown, while the show was co-promoted by Serdar Avci and Emirkhan Calik.
In a video published by NEXTA you can see Gorokhov celebrating his victory by hugging his two corner men and then kissing the canvas. He then runs to his opponent, who is receiving attention in the corner, with his arms open. However, a member of Kalkan’s team pushed Gorokhov back. This prompted Gorokhov’s trainer in pushing Kalkan’s team member back, who returned a left hook for his troubles. As the two men began to trade punches, the ring was descended on by 30 to 40 highly aggressive and agitated locals.
As countless plastic chairs were flung into the ring, Gorokhov’s trainer was mercilessly beaten and kicked by a group of over ten men. Meanwhile, as Gorokhov pleaded with them to stop, he was sucker punched. As the Russian hit the floor he was pounced upon by another separate group. Defenseless, he was kicked and punched by multiple people and hit with the chairs that had been thrown into the ring moments earlier. In a disturbing end to video, Gorokhov and his team disappeared under the melee of volatile supporters.
In a separate video published by Bulvar Medya you can see the riot continue with Gorokhov’s cornerman Igor Sudalainen laying on the floor holding his head, while security and some members of Kalkan’s team struggled to stop potentially life changing injuries. One man burst through the shield of people trying to protect the victim, cowardly punching him multiples time in the head.
In a remarkably unbruised state, Gorokhov shared positive updates from the local hospital on his Instagram stories: “Hello everyone. We’re currently in a hospital in Turkey. Ismail [trainer] has suffered a head injury and is having an MRI scan right now. I’ve come through it the least badly. The gloves helped protect me. Who saw the broadcast? There were probably about 80 people there attacking us. They got in the ring and beat us up after our brilliant victory in the second round, where we knocked this fighter out twice. But the Turks behaved very badly. But thank God, everyone is alive. That’s the sort of brawl that happened, a tough one. I’ll tell you more later. We’ve got a police escort now; we’ll head straight from the hotel to our rooms. I don’t think we’ll be staying there tonight. If anyone tries to pull a stunt, we’ll fly straight to Georgia. Then we’ll drive through Georgia overnight to Mineralnye Vody, and from there to Kaliningrad. Thanks to everyone for your support. We’ll be in touch. I’ll tell you everything tomorrow. The world champion’s belt – we’ve got a world champion in Russia, in Kaliningrad, in boxing. It was a very good fight.”
Gorokhov’s other cornerman, Sudalainen, was seen being escorted into the hospital by a wheelchair with bandaging to his head. Gorokhov added the caption, translated from Russian: “Igor, what a beauty. They beat the old man. F**cking dogs.”
The 36-year-old from Kaliningrad in Russia has spent much of his career fighting on the road. Gorokhov’s current record is 17-11-2 (12 KOs). His victory over Kalkan is arguably the biggest scalp of his career. That’s if there is no funny business in recording Gorokhov’s emphatic victory on Boxrec. Some Turkish outlets have reported that the fight was waved off due to the riot, while not reporting on the devastating knockout!
Gorokhov and his team did make it to Georgia safely. He posted another video to his Instagram of the three men enjoying a drink and some food in a Georgian restaurant. “We are in Georgia. We have the belt, we are the champions. Thank you very much for your support friends.”
