Punch and Fist: how Gassiev defended the WBA champion belt

Murat Gassiev defeated German Peter Kadira in the main fight of the tournament IBA.PRO 19, which took place in Moscow. The fight ended with a technical knockout in the sixth round. Thanks to the victory, the Russian boxer defended the WBA heavyweight championship belt. Murat's next opponent may be the famous but already aged Dereck Chisora (the boxers managed to have a battle of looks immediately after defeating Kadiru). But whether he needs such a fight now is a question. Gassiev himself is counting on the unification of titles.

A sought-after sparring partner

There is one hole in Kadir's professional record — a sensational first-round knockout loss to Argentinian Marcos Aumada (he won the other 23 fights). In an interview, Peter admits that he underestimated his opponent, did not focus, and his thoughts were preoccupied with accumulated personal problems. According to him, if he had fought this Argentine ten more times, he would have won all ten fights, but that night he paid for his negligence.

For a prospect, a knockout defeat at the start of his career means the loss of sponsors, money and status. The defeat was an obstacle to Peter's career, but it was it that completely changed his life. Being on an emotional low, he found God. Peter, who had previously believed in nothing, became a deeply religious Protestant Christian. Now his main mental support is the Bible. He believes that this defeat knocked him down and saved him from making big mistakes in the future.

Kadiru is one of the most sought—after sparring partners in the world. He worked in training camps with Daniel Dubois, Anthony Joshua and Alexander Usyk. Comparing them, Peter notes the incredible physical strength of the British: according to him, Dubois has the heaviest and toughest jab, and Joshua has the most crushing forehand (cross).

But Kadiru was most shocked by working with Alexander Usyk, with whom he spent two months in Spain. Peter admits that in the first sparring sessions, Usyk simply destroyed him. Kadir had to hold the block tightly to survive. Alexander impressed him with his timing, superhuman endurance, incredibly fast legs and precision of every movement. Unlike heavyweights who rely on one punch, Usyk breaks down rivals with intelligence and pace.

Over time, Peter adapted: he began to lower his hands, snap and hit hard. Usyk's team sent other sparring partners home, but Peter was asked to stay, as he gave the champion excellent competition. This camp was the main lesson for Kadiru in his career — he realized that at the highest level it is not athleticism that decides, but boxing IQ.

Now he had to fight Murat Gassiev, who had long been considered Usyk's main competitor and met him in July 2018 in the finals of the World Boxing Super Series.

Gassiev plans to combine the championship belts

There is some difficulty in telling about Gassiev's fight without downplaying the importance of the heavyweight championship fight in Russia (in terms of overcoming international sanctions), but also not to exaggerate, given that the opponent from Germany replaced Tony Yoka, who was eliminated due to injury. Formally, instead of the Olympic champion, Murat received the champion of the Youth Olympic Games as a rival — a conditionally equivalent replacement.

However, Kadir could not do anything against the Russian. It wasn't until the fourth round that Peter snapped. In fact, he got tired of taking a lot of shots on the block, and he decided to work as the first number, shooting from his favorite left from a distance.

Yes, he is not Usyk or even Otto Wallin, based on general experience, the level of rivals and, of course, the opportunities to prepare. Peter did not hide at the press conference that the offer of a fight came as a surprise, and there is no system in nature that will allow you to reach the peak of your form in such a short time (less than three weeks). And then you box the way rusty does because of inactivity or just an older fighter. And the lefty factor ceases to be particularly significant, speed, movement, and everything else.

In other circumstances and in a different form, of course, the German-Congolese boxer would not have had much more chance either. Those few bursts of activity in the fourth and fifth rounds were too few to cause damage to the opponent. Gassiev respectfully took half a step back, without changing his face, and in the next round he drove his opponent to the ropes, felt him in the liver area, punched an uppercut twice between his hands and shook the challenger's head with a left hook. His seconds had a towel ready. Technical knockout in the sixth round.

Would Wilder or Chisora be better than Kadir today? Derek even got into the Moscow ring and had a battle of looks with Murat. The fight with 42-year-old Chisora (a contender for the WBC World heavyweight title in 2012 and 2022, who also held several minor titles) is certainly fun, but it's unlikely to be a competitive match. And this is based on the assumption that Gassiev is really good.

Is he as good as he was at the time of the unification of the belts in the first heavyweight eight years ago? No, and it is unlikely to be. But today's Gassiev, led by Anton Kadushin, is a little closer to the concept of a "mature boxer" than to the natural disaster of the first season of the World Super Series, where only Usyk was better.

Gassiev's mature season is unlikely to be long. By and large, taking into account the weight shift and the pause due to injuries, Murat has already had two separate careers, and in both he became world champion. By the way, he is the first from Russia who succeeded. Nikolai Valuev regained his lost belt, but with the same unfortunate John Ruiz and the assistance of Don King — and there was very little energy and pride in these victories. There was only the result. There was energy in Povetkin, but history ordered otherwise, he could not return the belt.

Somewhere shortly before Kadiru was stopped, there was a shout of "Put him out!" in the hall. In his youth, such a nickname would have suited him: Murat "Extinguish him!" Gassiev! And now it's very serious. Mature. He understands the situation in the world and that there are certain opportunities that are difficult to realize in the current circumstances. Although the boxer himself has stated that he is ready to unify the belts.

— I'm interested in more than one belt. I need everything. And I'm ready," Gassiev told TASS.

Gassiev now has 34 wins (27 by knockout) and two defeats.