One gear is all it took for Ababiy to walk away victorious
On the undercard of Jacobs v Rosado, super middleweight prospect Nikita “White Chocolate” Ababiy (10-0, 6 KO’s) defeated Brandon Maddox (7-4-1, 5 KO’s) by way of fifth-round TKO. With the win, he kept his unblemished record intact. This was the third straight loss for Maddox, who has not been in the win column since 2017.
ONE-WAY TRAFFIC
For the opening round, Maddox appeared as if he was going to make the bout interesting. He moved well, popped a precise jab and did not look overly bothered by Ababiy’s power. While Maddox was playing matador, White Chocolate imitated the bull.
The native Virginian utilized no jab and just attempted to walk his opponent down with pure brute force. Nearly every shot he threw was full-power and soaked in bad intentions. In walking Maddox down however, Ababiy wisely dedicated himself to double-fisted body attack early. It was evident that his Detroit-born adversary was increasingly and visibly being drained by the heavy blows.
During the fourth period, Ababiy sent Maddox to the canvas with a severe low blow. Like most fighters opt to do, Maddox chose to resume the fight after only about a minute break. However, now he fought and looked to be all but completely exhausted. This same demeanor persisted throughout the fifth.
WHEN THE DUST SETTLED
Surprisingly, Maddox seemingly caught a second wind in the sixth and final round. He even managed to catch Ababiy with a hand full of crisp straight right-hands. Unfortunately for him, it was a case of too little too late. Despite, White Chocolate showing some signs of fatigue himself, by that point Maddox was too far in the hole. When the scorecards were read, Ababiy won on all the judges’ cards.
While it was obviously beneficial for him to grab the win, Ababiy still displayed many flaws. Aside from the weariness that set in, the hard-hitting fighter performed in very one-dimensional fashion. If he intends on maintaining his winning ways, he will have to add quite a few more wrinkles to his game.
By: Bakari Simpson
