Canelo lookalike Mark Urvanov and his team gave no attention to match-fixing claims after the super-featherweight scored a one-punch body jab knockout.
In the aftermath of Urvanov’s quick win over Seymur Isayev in Russia on Friday, RCC Boxing praised the victory as a bonafide liver shot despite its slight nature.
“What a comeback from Urvanov! With the first blow to the liver, Mark knocked out the undefeated Seymur Isaev in Chelyabinsk. In the third pair of the evening of professional boxing in Chelyabinsk from RCC Boxing Promotions, Mark Urvanov and the undefeated Seymur Isaev met. They faced an eight-round fight in the up to 59 kg category,” said RCC Boxing.
“Urvanov did not appear in the ring for more than a year and got the undefeated Seymur Isaev from Azerbaijan into rivals. However, the fight ended when it had barely begun. Mark surely punched his liver, diving into the opponent’s hand, and Isaiah fell on his knee. Seymour was so stunned that he couldn’t continue the fight – a fantastic victory for Mark Urvanov!”
Despite RCC’s seeming oblivion to the controversy, Isayev’s manager, Grisha Zeigermaher, denied match-fixing allegations in an exclusive interview with World Boxing News. Zeigermaher responded to the viral video of the knockout making the rounds on social media.
“I’m embarrassed. Being knocked out is not a problem, but not in this way. We [GZ Fight Management] work hard to provide our fighters with opportunities. We have never been involved in any match-fixing and always do our best for the fighters so their chances of victory increase.”
On the liver shot, which does look well-placed on closer inspection but not with nearly enough power to do the damage it did, Zeigermaher added, “Seymur said that it hit him right on the liver, and he couldn’t breathe after the fight.
“We have given him two chances already, and in both of the fights, he lost by KO [one of the fights was an exhibition fight]. We are not hopeful for a rematch or any other big fights at the moment.
“Seymur needs to find a good team with proper sparring partners where he can improve. Then we can think of his future fights.”
Urvanov moves on to bigger and better things while Isayev contemplates how his reputation recovers from losing in just four seconds.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
