This time last year, Arslanbek Makhmudov was being spoken about as the man to take down either Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk, or both! However, the Russian-Canadian knockout artist now finds himself further away from a title shot than ever, after suffering a second stoppage defeat within eight months and suffered a gut-wrenching injury in the process.
Makhmudov was being linked to an epic showdown with Jared Anderson last summer after he ran through hard-hitting Nigerian Raphael Akpejiori in just two rounds last July. However, when the ‘Lion’ got his opportunity on the big stage, it was against Germany’s Agit Kabayel instead, on the mammoth ‘Day of Reckoning’ card in Saudi Arabia, accompanied by Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder on a blockbuster bill.
Unfortunately for Makhmudov, his dream event turned into a nightmare, underwhelming massively before being stopped by Kabayel in an unexpectedly one-sided affair and being tossed to the wayside in the heavyweight scene as a result, later claiming that his hand was broken in two places during the fight.
The menacing 6’5” beast returned in Canada in May and bounced back with a round two knockout win against Miljan Rovcanin but attempted to step back up in levels on Saturday night against Italy’s Guido Vianello on the undercard of Christian Mbilli’s clash with Sergiy Derevyanchenko in Quebec.
Once again, Makhmudov came up short and the bout was stopped by the doctor after eight rounds of action, with Vianello dealing a severe amount of damage to the eye of his much-feared dance partner to force the intervention, before explaining that the victory has proved that he is a ‘contender’ in the division.
“I am a contender now. I am ready for the world level, and I proved that tonight,”
“I just had to stay composed. There was a knockdown that wasn’t called, but I knew if I stuck to my strategy, I would get the knockout.”
“I thought I beat Efe Ajagba [in the fight previous], and I came into this fight with a lot of confidence. I was in the best shape of my career, and that showed tonight. I dominated him and then knocked him out.”
On his Instagram, Arslanbek Makhmudov shared an updated image of his horrific eye injury before claiming that he ‘did everything he could’ during the contest with Vianello.
Makhmudov looks well….. pic.twitter.com/PmpbcYJqpS
— Tokkerū (@ATokkers5) August 19, 2024
“After multiple head strikes, my left eye completely closed, so I didn’t see all the attacks from the right and the doctor stopped the fight in the 8th round! Alhamdulillah in any position, I did everything that I can.”
Ahead of what turned out to be an unsuccessful outing against Vianello, Makhmudov was ranked as the world #9 with the WBC and at #15 with the WBA, but he is now expected to lose that position as a result of his defeat. Although, the undeniable strength and killer instinct of the Russian powerhouse means that he will always be a must-watch contender in the division and more importantly will have a puncher’s chance in any potential contests in the future.
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