WBC Grand Prix in Riyadh: Who won and where did the Ukrainians reach?

On December 20, the first WBC tournament concluded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They called it the WBC Grand Prix because they were competing for a spot in the top ten weight divisions, US$200,000 and a unique Jose Solomon Trophy.

Ukrainian boxers also participated in the tournament, but none of them could make it to the finals. We will tell you how the contest ended and who won.

Brandon Mosque UD 8 Muhamet Camili. Second Featherweight Division

One of the best pairs in the tournament because of the way the men box. Mexican Camida is one of those who can fight Camili from close range and is not afraid to miss. There are a few reasons here. One of them is Brandon’s physical strength. The second is the ability to defend oneself.

Surprisingly, they both worked. Kamili tried to put pressure on his opponent, but he could not hit and therefore could not see his opponent well. Heavy blows did not hit the opponent because Camida did not allow himself to be attacked and withstood the attacks.

Victory is not easy, but it is comfortable. Brandon has shown that his level of boxing is quite high at the age of 21. He is good at dealing with difficult situations and gets out of them without any problems.

Ukraine was represented in this section by:

– Igor Semonchuk (withdrew from the competition in the 1st round, gave a good fight to Kamili, who reached the final);

– Alexander Solomennikov (twice withdrew from the tournament as a reserve fighter, losing in the first match to a boxer from Ghana and in the second to an athlete from France).

Carlos Utria UD 8 Mujibillo Tursunov. First heavyweight final

The match between a big Colombian with heavy punches and a classic Uzbek amateur. The odds were 50/50 here, that’s for sure before the fight started.

Uthria had enough advantages. Both size and impact force. And overall, he showed himself to be a moderately decent boxer who could easily outmaneuver any opponent. However, Tursunov’s style could become a problem for him. Multiple punch combinations and constant movement on the feet are the exact opposite style and will cause problems for the Colombian.

However, Özbek came with problems at the end of the meeting. Utria broke his opponent’s nose in the 1st round and broke it smoothly while he was still fresh. He then became physically dependent and the fight stabilized. But overall, Carlos was more likely to let his opponent get close to him, realizing that nothing heavy was coming.

Not ideal, but a pretty decent and confident victory for Uthria. He showed himself very well in this tournament. Now I’m wondering if this will lead to interesting career extensions.

Ukraine was represented in this section by:

– Daniil Lozan (reached the semi-finals – this is the most successful performance by a Ukrainian in the WBC Grand Prix).

Lausanne was noted for his fiery performances, cuts, knockouts and generally good boxing. However, he lost to the same Tursunov in the semifinals. The Uzbek set a high tempo and scored many accurate shots, but the Ukrainian could not cope.

Dillon Biggs UD 8 Derek Pomerleau

Australian Biggs was definitely not the favorite in the division. He was already beaten ahead of schedule – this was done by Nikita Tszyu, who is much younger. And there were a lot of talented guys in the category.

However, talent is not everything in boxing. Dillon is an experienced, very persistent guy who persevered until the finals. There he met Canadian Derek Pomerleau, the favorite in the category. This man was higher in the ratings in his division than all participants, and the power of the blow turned even fights in which he was clearly inferior before.

But neither ranking nor punching power helped Biggs. The former has no meaning in the ring if the opponent has a plan for the fight and clearly follows it. The latter did not impress the large and physically strong boxer.

Dillon had to work in the ring. It was not an easy matchup because Pomerleau is a tough lefty who fights until the end. However, by the end of the fight it was obvious that Biggs had won quite easily.

Ukraine was represented in this section by:

– Maxim Molodan (was eliminated in the 2nd round of the tournament, losing to a boxer from France);

– Dmitry Rybalko (eliminated in the 1/4 final, losing to Pomerleau; in the 1/8 final, Dmitry defeated Mohammed Issa, who was considered one of the favorites in the category).

– Petr Frolov (lost to Biggs in the quarter-finals of the tournament, but the fight was very competitive and it was not a bad performance).

Kevin Ramirez UD 8 Ahmet Krnic. Super heavyweight final

The super heavyweight division looked rather strange in this tournament. There were boxers here who were experienced, not even young, but over 30 years old. Can we call these potentials? It wasn’t likely, but maybe he had no choice.

For example, Krnic is a former kickboxer. However, neither this experience nor his physique allowed him to beat the Argentinian. Ramirez is in the heavyweight category, another branch of the competition. Many conditional cruisers were involved in it only due to the presence of these divisions. Kevin is one of those people.

But the opponent’s visible advantage in size did not affect. Ramirez has decent punching power, his combinations are long and persistent. Therefore, Krnich’s corresponding activity was definitely not enough.

This is a big breakthrough for Ramirez. He won a division filled with former Olympians and great men.

Ukraine was represented in this section by:

– Pavel Yuskiv (lost by knockout to an American in the 1st round, it was the best knockout of the round, but you definitely cannot count it as a success for our boxing);

– Vitaly Stalchenko (another nominal cruiser who lost to Tsotna Rogava, although many fans called the outcome of this fight controversial);

– Tsotne Rogava (Stalchenko, after losing to Krnich, for some reason physically sagged too much after the start and lost in the 1/4 final stage).