Usyk defeats Romero; Uzelkov beats Codrington

By Boxing News - 11/10/2013 - Comments

usyk5By Allan Fox: 2012 Olympic heavyweight gold medalist Oleksandr Usyk (1-0, 1 KO’s) won his pro debut in stopping journeyman Felipe Romero (16-8-1, 11 KO’s) in the 5th round of a scheduled 6 round bout on the K2 promoted card at the Sport Palace, Kiev, Ukraine. The 26-year-old, 6’3″ southpaw Usyk knocked Romero down twice in the fight. The bout was halted after Usyk nailed Romero with a left to the head in the 5th that put him down on his hands and knee. He was too hurt to continue fighting.

In the 3rd, Usyk dropped Romero with a left to the body near the end of the round. He got up and was barely able to make it out of the round.

Usyk showed a good jab in the fight, and that was easily his best weapon. He looked very stiff and robotic throughout the fight, and his power wasn’t that impressive. Usyk showed zero power with his right hand, and left wasn’t nearly powerful as it should be if he’s to compete with the top contenders in the cruiserweight division. Usyk doesn’t compare favorably with Rakhim Chakhkiev, who has better power with both hands and looks more athletic. Usyk didn’t move well, and seemed kind of awkward with his movements. If K2 is going to develop him into something one of these days, it’s going to take tremendous amount of work and even then it’s possible he’ll never be more than a contender.

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34-year-old Alexander Uzelkov (30-3, 19 KO’s) stopped Jaidon Codrington (21-4, 17 KO’s) in the 6th round. Uzelkov staggered Codrington with a left hook that sent him backing up to the ropes. Uzelkov then moved in and threw a three punch flurry, missing with everything but a right hand that put the tired Codrington down. The fight was then halted after he got back to his feet. Codrington wanted to continue fighting but the referee halted it anyway. It was just as well, because he was tired and no longer fighting effectively.

Uzelkov took a lot of punishment from Codrington in the fight, and this turned out to be a much tougher fight than it should have been. Codrington shouldn’t have been able to be this competitive with the #9 WBO Uzelkov, and the fact that he was might be a sign that Uzelkov is getting up there in age at nearly 35. It’s hard to see Uzelkov making any kind of impact in the 175 lb. division now with him struggling to beat the likes of Codrington. Chakhkiev blew Codrington out in one round last year.



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