The finals in the World Boxing Super Series are set. All four belts will be on the line for complete cruiserweight unification. Murat Gassiev advanced today with a dominant 12th round finish over Yunier Dorticos and will meet Oleksandr Usyk in May.
The first round showed some real high level work from both men. Yunier Dorticos (22-1, 21 KOs) started it well with some aggressive work on the front foot, but Murat Gassiev (26-0, 19 KOs) closed it well on body shots. I thought Gassiev nicked it, but only barely. The second round was easier to score with the Russian landed terrific shots off the back foot. Dorticos got some nice work in, but his wider shots proved easier to evade.
The Cuban managed to keep his distance and fight at length in the third round. It was close, but I thought he scored his first round behind his jab and long right hands. Gassiev also simply just wasn’t as active. That jab was even better in the fourth round to even the fight on my card. Murat Gassiev just didn’t have an answer for it at this point in the fight.
Suddenly the IBF titleholder came to life in the fifth round. He managed to push Dorticos back a little bit, but mostly he just began moving his hands again. Near the end of the round a terrific right hand seemed to hurt Dorticos, but the bell saved him from the follow up. Gassiev spent the bulk of the sixth round pushing the WBA titleholder back, but he didn’t press his advantage all that well though he definitely won the round. At the halfway point, I had Murat Gassiev up four rounds to two.
The fight had the feeling of a contest in which Gassiev was starting to pull away in the seventh, but maybe not by as much as he could be. Whenever the Russian titleholder let his hands go, he did extremely well. Yet, he would spend large portions of some rounds inactive. Still winning them, but maybe not dominating like it seemed like he could. The eighth was more competitive as Dorticos came back to life a bit, but I still thought Gassiev nicked it.
Murat put his stamp back on the fight in the ninth. Any momentum his Cuban adversary had gained back in the eighth was lost to a barrage of of lefts and rights. The ninth was more of the same. At this point Murat Gassiev was running away with the fight. His left uppercut to left hook or vice versa combinations were particularly beautiful. It was clear at this point that Yunier Dorticos needed a come from behind knockout to win.
Needing the knockout, “The KO Doctor” let his hands go in the eleventh. Unfortunately for him, he was the one nearly knocked out by a sweeping right hand. Dorticos managed to clinch and survive the round.
A decision wasn’t good enough for Murat Gassiev, however. Starting with epic left hook that seemingly had Dorticos out, the Russian destroyer pressed for his finish. When the Cuban rose, Gassiev attacked and attacked. He put Dorticos down a second time, but he rose again. The fight was stopped when he dropped his opponent through the ropes one final time. It was an absolutely epic finish at home in Russia for the now unified cruiserweight titleholder.
Murat Gassiev now moves on to meet Oleksandr Usyk in the finals, likely in May. I for one cannot wait.
