By Erik Schmidt: Unbeaten heavyweight contender Denis Boytsov (24-0, 19 KOs) destroyed journeyman Israel Carlos Garcia (19-3, 11 KOs) on Saturday night, stopping him in the 2nd round of a scheduled 12-round bout to win the vacant WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title at the Stadthalle, Rostock, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Boytsov, 22, dropped the 38-year-old Garcia with a left-right combination early in the 2nd at 2:03 of the round.
Denis Boytsov
News – Darchinyan-Arce, Chagaev-Drumond, Kotelnik-Maidana, Boytsov-Garcia
Following his dominating world title unification victory over Christian Mijares, Vic Darchinyan asked reporters at the post-fight press conference “Did I keep my promise (to knock him out)? What about my pound-for-pound ranking? Mijares was No. 6.”
News: Kotelnik-Maidana, Chagaev-Drumond, Boytsov-Garcia
Undefeated Argentinean knockout artist Marcos Rene “El Chino” Maidana, the WBA No. 1 contender, challenges WBA light welterweight champion Andreas Kotelnik for the title belt and worldwide respect February 7 on “The Champion Returns” card, featuring WBA heavyweight “Champion in Recess” Ruslan “White Tyson” Chagaev versus unbeaten challenger Carl David Drumond, live on pay-per-view in the United States from Rostock, Germany.
Is Boytsov The Future of The Heavyweight Division?
By Erik Schmidt: Only 22, undefeated Denis Boytsov (23-0, 20 KOs) is already one of the best heavyweights in the division and possibly good enough already to be ranked in the top five. A former amateur star from Oryol, Russia, Boytsov is well on his way to becoming perhaps one of the heavyweight champions in the not too distant future.
Dimitrenko vs. Krasniqi, Boytsov-Maddalone, Sartison-Guedes On Saturday
By Erik Schmidt: In a stay busy fight, undefeated heavyweight contender Alexander Dimitrenko (28-0, 18 KOs) will go up against hard-hitting Luan Krasniqi (30-3-1, 14 KOs) in a 12-round bout at the Burg-Waechter Castello, in Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.
Felix Sturm Defeats Randy Griffin, Tajbert, Zbik and Boytsov Also Victorious
By Scott Gilfoid: In a fight much closer than the ultimate scores handed down, WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm squeaked by with a narrow, unimpressive 12-round unanimous decision over American Randy Griffin on Saturday night at the Gerry Weber Stadium, Halle, in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. I had the fight scored as a draw, with Sturm losing five out of the last six rounds of the fight after tiring out early. Though other people have called Sturm’s win as impressive, don’t believe, that is, unless you consider a fighter running, covering up, and getting out-punched for the last half of the fight, impressive. The final judges’ scores were a mixed bag – 116-112, 116-113 and 118-110. The last score was simply ridiculous. The fight should have been scored a draw.
Sturm looked good early on, I give him that. His jab was working well in the first two rounds, and he used it keep Griffin on the outside. Griffin seemed to be fighting a different type of fight this time around, not going after Sturm immediately like he did in the first fight. In hindsight, this tactic seemed like a mistake, because without Griffin putting a lot of pressure on Sturm, this allowed him to stand on the outside and throw his jab without any incoming fire to worry about.
Denis Boytsov vs. Fernely Feliz on Saturday
By Erik Schmidt: Undefeated heavyweight prospect Denis Boytsov (21-0, 18 KOs) will be facing Fernely Feliz (23-8, 16 KOs) in a scheduled eight-round bout at the Gerry Weber Stadium, Halle, in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. Boytsov, 22, is a former Russian standout with over 100 amateur wins, including a victory at the 2004 Junior World championships.
Boytsov Stops Connelly
Undefeated Russian heavyweight prospect Denis Boytsov (20-0, 18 KOs) obliterated his badly out of shape and overmatch American opponent Tommy Connelly (17011, 13 KOs) in the 1st round of a scheduled eight-round bout on Saturday night at the Burg-Waechter Castello, in Dusseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. Boytsov, 21, a former amateur standout from Russia, had little trouble with Connelly, knocking him down three separate times in the 1st round before the referee Heinrich Muehmert moved in and halted the bout at 1:51 of the 1st round.
At the start of the bout, Connelly, 26, came out fast, landing a left-right combination followed by another right hand that got Boytsov’s immediate attention. Not to be out done, Boytsov landed a right hand of his own, then added several jabs to back Connelly up to the ropes. Once he had in position, Boytsov landed a hard 1-2 combination that dropped Connelly to the canvas. He immediately sprang to his feet and initiated a clinch as soon as the action was resumed, trying to buy some time to clear his head. However, Boytsov began pouring in huge combinations, hitting him at will with a volley of shots, ending with two lefts and two rights that knocked Connelly to the canvas for the second time in the round.