Everyone is familiar with the saying, “the show must go on”. This past Saturday night at Madison Square Garden should NOT have been one of those nights. Sultan Ibragimov was originally slated to challenge Shannon Briggs for the WBO Heavyweight title, but Briggs was forced to pull out due to a case of pneumonia. The promoters wanted to salvage the card and were turned down by Ray Mercer and Dominick Guinn before securing Javier Mora on short notice.
This fight was a mismatch from the making. Mora is not ranked by the WBO or any of the sanctioning bodies. His biggest fight was a 10 round loss to Fres Oquendo and if it was possible to make the fight even less attractive, he only had about two weeks to prepare. The lack of interest was apparent with attendance at 2,478, which is only 50 % of arena capacity.
The bout started and ended at a fast pace with Ibragimov dropping Mora with a left hook. Mora would beat the count only to have the fight stopped by the referee from several unanswered blows at 46 seconds of the first round.
Ibragimov improved to 20-0 (18) and still has his sights set on getting his shot at the WBO Heavyweight title. After the fight he told the press, “I hope to see Shannon Briggs soon, I hope to see him in the ring. He talks too much.”
Undercard results:
Heavyweights – 10 Rounds
Roman Greenberg 25-0 (17) UD10 Michael Simms 19-7-1 (13)
Welterweights – 8 Rounds
Shamone Alvarez 17-0 (11) KO1 Travis Hartman 8-5-1 (6)
Jr Featherweight – 4 Rounds
Eilon Kedem 2-0-3 (0) SD4 Manuel Angulo 1-2-0 (1)
Welterweight – 8 Rounds
Edgar Santana 21-2 (13) SD8 Dario Jose Esalas 30-7 (25)
Super Middleweight – 6 Rounds
Peter Quillin 10-0 (9) TKO2 Nathan Martin 8-7 (4)
Welterweight – 4 Rounds
Khabib Alakhuerdiev 1-0 (1) TKO1 Miguel Ortiz 0-2
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