Highlights
–An elusive Jordan Shimmell came out and jabbed, moved and landed cleanly from range against Murat Gassiev.
–With the opening round winding down, both fighters whiffed on punches—Shimmell with a jab, Gassiev with a big right. But Gassiev followed his miss with a lights-out, left hook that flattened Shimmell, who bounced off the center rope and onto the canvas.
–With Shimmell knocked out cold, referee Mark Nelson didn’t bother to count, with the official end coming at the 2:54 mark.
What would prevail, power or prowess?
That was the question entering Tuesday night’s 200-pound elimination headliner between hammer-fisted boxer-punchers Murat Gassiev and Jordan Shimmell at Black Bear Casino Resort in Carlton, Minnesota.
The answer came emphatically with 12 seconds left in the first round as Gassiev (23-0, 17 KOs) unleashed a vicious left hook that flattened Shimmell (20-2, 16 KOs), knocking him out cold. The official end came at the 2:54 mark.
Initially, the 27-year-old Shimmell of Hudsonville, Michigan, lay motionless on the canvas, where he was treated by ringside doctors and received oxygen as a precaution before regaining consciousness.
It was a stunningly swift ending, as Shimmell came out and used his four-inch reach advantage to control the distance and generally outbox his Russian opponent for much of the round. Then, as Shimmell retreated to the ropes, he missed with a jab just as Gassiev whiffed with a big right hand.
But Gassiev followed with a monster left hook that hit the bull’s eye, giving him his eighth consecutive stoppage victory. Shimmell, meanwhile, lost for the second time in his last three fights.
With the victory, the 22-year-old Gassiev became the mandatory challenger to fight the winner of Saturday’s title-unification bout in Moscow between 200-pound champions Denis Lebedev and Victor Emilio Ramirez.
