WBA Heavyweight champ, Russian Murat Gassiev, took advantage of his newly elevated status with an expected KO of late replacement fighter Peter Kadiru in Moscow Saturday night.
Russian Murat Gassiev made the first defense of his newly elevated WBA heavyweight title in dominant fashion, overwhelming late substitute Peter Kadiru of Germany before forcing a sixth round TKO on Saturday night at Moscow's VTB Arena.
The bout headlined an IBA Pro event, was streamed on DAZN. and was one-sided from the opening bell. Gassiev controlled every round with his superior power and accuracy before Kadiru's corner elected to save their fighter, throwing in the towel just one minute into the sixth round.
Gassiev, now 34-2 with 27 KOs, entered the contest as the full WBA heavyweight champion, when lineal and unified champion Oleksandr Usyk vacated his remaining WBA, WBC and WBO belts on June 26th.
Originally, Gassiev had been scheduled to fight against 2016 Olympic super heavyweight Gold Medalist Tony Yoka. However, the Frenchman withdrew from the fight on July 2nd after suffering a back injury during training camp. That left the little known Kadiru to accept the opportunity on just six days' notice.
Kadiru, now 23-2, arrived riding a nine-fight winning streak since suffering a shocking first-round knockout loss to Marcos Antonio Aumada in Hamburg in November 2022. Despite the momentum—and having fought as recently as May 15th, the German contender was unable to trouble Gassiev in the least.
The Russian former unified cruiserweight champion dictated the pace throughout, landing heavy right hands to both the head and body while Kadiru spent much of the fight in a defensive shell. Although the challenger connected with a handful of clean right hands, he offered little sustained offense against the champion's relentless pressure.
Gassiev began breaking Kadiru down in the third round, driving him to the ropes with a left to the body before unloading combinations. The punishment intensified in the fifth, when a sharp uppercut trapped Kadiru in the corner and made it increasingly clear the fight was nearing its conclusion.
The end came early in the sixth. Gassiev backed Kadiru into his own corner with a crushing overhand right before unleashing a barrage of left hooks and uppercuts. Seeing their fighter no longer able to compete effectively, Kadiru's corner threw in the towel, prompting referee Gustavo Padilla to halt the contest at the one-minute mark.
Watch Gassiev finish things here,
“I am delighted to get the victory, and defend my title,” Gassiev said post fight through a translator. “I can now look forward to resting and enjoying time with my family. When I return, I plan on becoming unified champion.”
The victory improved Gassiev's record to 8-1 as a heavyweight after he had captured the WBA "regular" heavyweight crown in dramatic fashion last December. That night, he knocked out Kubrat Pulev in the sixth round after trailing on all three scorecards.
He previously held two of the crusierweight world titles before losing an undisputed battle to Usyk in 2018.
"Murat delivered a phenomenal performance," said IBA Pro promoter Al Siesta. "Peter Kadiru is a seasoned fighter with significant amateur experience and accepted this challenge believing he could become heavyweight champion. But Murat showed the difference that elite-level skill and power can make. His timing, composure and punching power were exceptional.
We believe he is the best heavyweight in the world. Now we want the fights where he can prove it to the rest of the world.
“Whether it is (Daniel) Dubois, (Agit) Kabayel or maybe, Moses Itauma, who I think lost his pen when he was ordered to face Murat, we are ready.”
Realistically, Gassiev hasn't done much as a heavyweight overall, was gifted the elevation to full champion and just beat a guy Saturday night, who isn't ranked in the top 15 in any of the four organizations.
So, he's likely not getting an important fight next, but rather another title defense and quite possibly back in Russia, again. British veteran heavyweight Derrick Chisora was in Moscow and came to the ring to "challenge" Gassiev to a subsequent fight. However, Gassiev may choose a more younger, dangerous opponent that could pay hmi more, too.
