Tokyo gold medalist Albert Batyrgaziev powered through serious adversity in Serpukhov this afternoon to finish Jono Carroll and claim the interim WBA super featherweight title.
Carroll (24-3-1, 7 KO), a nearly 12-to-1 underdog, came storming out the gate with heavy swings as Batyrgaziev (11-0, 8 KO) looked to get his jab and right hook going. About a minute into the third round, Batyrgaziev dipped down for a straight left to the body and was too slow in bringing it back, allowing Carroll to blast him in the temple with a wound-up right hook.
Batyrgaziev did the chicken dance for a moment and very clearly put a glove on the mat to steady himself, but the referee didn’t call a knockdown, allowing Carroll to swarm him against the ropes. To his credit, Batyrgaziev managed to weather the storm and work his way back into the fight
After a number of competitive and entertaining rounds, Batyrgaziev started ramping up his offense in the eighth, cracking Carroll with volleys of 1-2s. One round later, Batyrgaziev’s body work paid off when a left to the liver sent Carroll to his knees. Though Carroll managed to beat the count, a subsequent onslaught from Batyrgaziev soon put him down again and forced the referee into action.
It’s a very solid win for Batyrgaziev over a battle-tested veteran who had never been stopped, but he showed some noteworthy flaws he’ll need to address before his mandated shot at Lamont Roach Jr. While he’s got a genuinely lovely jab and works the body well, he tends to flare his elbow when launching his left upstairs and has a bad habit of bringing his hands back low without moving his head. Still, not bad for 26.
You can watch the event in its entirety on the IBA’s YouTube page; Batyrgaziev vs Carroll kicks off at almost exactly the five-hour mark and concludes around 35 minutes later.
The main event saw Tokyo heavyweight silver medalist Muslim Gadzhimagomedov (4-0, 3 KO) demolish the overmatched Zhaoxin Zhang (12-3-1, 7 KO) for the WBA’s first-ever “bridgerweight” belt. Zhang got this opportunity by starching the undefeated Evgeny Romanov last February in one of 2024’s most ludicrous comeback knockouts, but had nothing to offer Gadzhimagomedov, who battered him en route to a fourth-round stoppage.