Kurbanov Gets Split Decision Over Soro; WBA Title Fight vs Madrimov Possible
Junior middleweight contender Magomed “Black Lion” Kurbanov (25-0, 13KO) got a favorable split decision victory over Michel Soro (35-4-2, 24KO). Next, he could be called upon to face WBA number one contender Israil Madrimov (9-0-1, 6KO) next for a title.
The Black Lion, fighting in his home country of Russia, was off to a bad start after suffering a cut above the left eyebrow from a clash of heads. He primarily fought off the back foot while looking to land counterpunches for the majority fight.
Soro pushed the action early and often behind the jab while digging at the body of the Russian. He opened up another cut on the side of Kurbanov’s eye from repeated overhand rights. Down the stretch, Kurbanov mounted an offense by going to the body and landing counter left hooks with the straight right hand.
Ranked number two by the WBA, Soro was the more effective fighter, hurting Kurbanov a few times in the fight. He was clearly winning three of the four criteria in scoring a boxing match: ring generalship, effective aggression, and clean punching.
Both fighters received a scorecard of 115-113, with the final judge scoring it a ridiculous 116-112 in favor of Kurbanov.
WHAT COULD BE NEXT FOR KURBANOV?
In this author’s opinion, Soro got robbed. Nonetheless, Kurbanov will undoubtedly get bumped up to the number two slot. Undisputed champion Jermell Charlo is out until further notice from a hand injury. Moreover, he still has a date with WBO mandatory Tim Tszyu to fulfill, which could take place in October.
In the meantime, the WBA could order a fight between Kurbanov and Madrimov, with the winner being named the WBA Regular champion. Afterward, the next move would be to order a belt consolidation match between the Super and Regular champions.
TAG JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT ISRAIL MADRIMOV MAGOMED KURBANOV MICHEL SORO
