By Erik Schmidt: Cruiserweight contender Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (42-2-1, 31 KO’s) defeated Bulgarian journeyman Konstantin Semerdjiev (27-12-2, 16 KO’s) by an easy eight round decision on Friday night at the Hala MOSiR, ul. Kolbego 11, os. Baranki, Elk, in Poland. The final judges’ scores were 79-72m 80-71 and 80-72. Wlodarczyk, 28, knocked Semerdjiev down at the start of the 2nd round with a short right hand to the head.

Other than that one knockdown, there was very little excitement in the fight. Wlodarczyk dominated every round and landed at will against the slower 37-year-old Semerdjiev.

In rounds one through four, Semerdjiev took the fight to Wlodarczyk, charging forward and trying to land with big shots. Wlodarczyk showed great skill in being able to retreat backwards and fire off punches while doing so. More often than not, Wlodarczyk was able to catch Semerdjiev with hard right hands while in full retreat.

At other times, Wlodarczyk would time Semerdjiev perfectly as he was coming in and would tag him with right hands just as the Bulgarian fighter was getting in distance to land a shot. In the 2nd round, Semerdjiev came charging forward trying to land and was met with a short chopping right hand from Wlodarczyk that sent Semerdjiev down on the canvas.

Wlodarczyk spent the remainder of the round landing left hooks to the midsection and right hands to the head. Wlodarczyk looked really good, very technical and more highly skilled compared to the vast majority of other top cruiserweights in the division.

In rounds five though eight, it was now Wlodarczyk who began to come forward as he looked to be trying to score a knockout over Semerdjiev. In the previous round, Semerdjiev was cut under his left eye from a right hand from Wlodarczyk. The 5th round was all Wlodarczyk. He jabbed away at Semerdjiev and loaded up with right hands and lefts. Semerdjiev tried dashing forward once in the round but missed badly with a wild left hand.

In the 6th and 7th rounds, Wlodarczyk tattooed Semerdjiev with big right hands to the head and left hooks. Semerdjiev was now barely throwing anything back and just looking like a big punching bag. Wlodarczyk stalked Semerdjiev around the ring nailing him with one big shot after another, while Semerdjiev did his best just to survive. In the 8th round, Wlodarczyk went all out trying to land a big shot to finish off Semerdjiev. However, the Bulgarian fighter showed a great chin in taking every big shot that Wlodarczyk threw his way.

Wlodarczyk, ranked number #1 in the World Boxing Council cruiserweight division, needs to step it up against better competition than this in his next fight. He would probably be too much for 35-year-old WBC cruiserweight champion Zsolt Erdei if they were to fight right now. Erdei looked fat and old in his last fight with Giacobbe Fragomeni. As long as Wlodarczyk throws a lot of jabs and power shots, he should be able to beat Erdei.