Carlos Gongora outboxes and stops Ali Akhmedov!
If you let IBF middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin tell it, his prized protege Ali Akhmedov is the next “big thing” in boxing! Basically, the 25 year-old from Kazakhstan has the goods to be his successor as a dominant force in the sport hailing from the Central Asia region. Although, he had a tough matchup against undefeated southpaw from Ecuador Carlos Gongora that proved otherwise!
APPLY RELENTLESS PRESSURE OR BOX SMART?
Against the advice of trainer Jonathan Banks, Akhmedov had one gear in the first round. His mission: come forward and apply relentless pressure. However, against a fresh southpaw boasting an eight inch reach advantage, the pressure would need to be applied in a calculated fashion. With Akhmedov trying to figure out Gongora, this strategy had him running into jabs and nicely timed straight-lefts down the middle.
While he arguably did not win that first round, it was clear the pressure could eventually pay off. This because the Ecuadorian did not have elusive footwork nor a sound defense. His offense is his defense. The Kazakh just needed to be smarter with his execution.
What would happen in the second round set the tone for the rest of the fight. Early in the round, Akhmedov landed a short right hand that had Gongora on wobbly legs the entire round. Though he did not go down, the Ecuadorian mounted no respectable attack and stayed primarily on the defensive.
LETS FIGHT
After getting hurt and nearly knocked out, Gongora felt he needed to make this a fight. This decision ended up paying off in the end. Now would be the time where Banks’ plan for the 25 year-old would come into play. While the Kazakh prospect is the more skilled fighter, Gongora seemed to be more intelligent at putting his punches together and knowing where and when to shoot them. Now deciding to fight at mid-range, the Ecuadorian would land some big shots in this fight.
By the middle rounds, Akhmedov decided to take his trainer’s advice. He started placing his punches well and looking to move away from counter shots. Depending on how one saw this fight, this could have been too late or right on time. Although by this time, Gongora’s confidence was sky-high! He was now applying effective aggression while having the prospect fighting off his back-foot!
Needless to say that is not a comfortable position for Akhmedov. For as many punches he took when applying pressure, he took double that while he was on his back-foot. This became evident as in round seven, a gash opened up from the steady dose of left uppercuts the prospect absorbed.
TAKING CONTROL
Going into the ninth round, it was clear Gongora was picking his opponent apart! Akhmedov was busted up and trying to keep distance. He had been reduced to no longer being that highly aggressive freight train. Actually, that moniker could have been given to the Ecuadorian! While the Kazakh looked like every punch he threw had all his might on it, Gongora looked calm, cool and collected as he made his opponent consistently run into combinations.
If there was a hub at the top of the screen that illustrated the status of both men, Akhmedov’s health gage would be nearly depleted while Gongora’s would still be half full! As much information as Banks gave his fighter involving the need to slip punches, it is ingrained in Akhmedov’s style not to slip shots. Especially on his back-foot! He had no idea how to defend the uppercut!
In round eleven, the prospect when back to what he is used to. He started applying relentless pressure again and arguably won the round. Would he be able to regain control?
Gongora answered that question with an emphatic “NO” as another big uppercut shocked Akhmedov, dropping him to the canvas! He recovered only to be dropped again by the same punch! As mentioned earlier, the 25 year-old could not defend the uppercut and it ended up contributing to his first loss as the referee waived the fight off!
A shocking win for the virtually unknown Gongora. Apparently, he got the knockout at the right time as all three judges had Akhmedov winning the fight at the time of the stoppage.
3kingsboxing.com scored the fight 105-104 for Gongora at the end of the eleventh round. DAZN mentioned prior that this fight would be the best on the entire card. They may have been right!
By: EJ Williams
