© Mike Worden / Saddo Boxing

Moving his way further up the ladder of the featherweight rankings, WBC #3 ranked Juan Carlo Burgos, 22-0 (15), pulled out a scrappy ten round decision over Russia's Vyacheslav Gusev, 16-2 (3), on Friday night in order to retain his WBC CABOFE title.

Dubbed by Thompson Boxing Promotions as “New Blood 4”, the card from the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California had a good amount of the red stuff flowing. The majority of which was generated from under the right eye of Gusev after a right hand from Burgos opened a cut early in the first round.

While the cut appeared to bother Gusev early in the bout, the challenger managed to push through the adversity to give Burgos his toughest challenge to date. More...

Standing at 5 foot 11, a hairline away from 6 feet, Yakub Shidaev is a 20 year old junior welterweight who's amateur career was split between two countries.

Shidaev's nationality is Chechen but he was born and grew up in Kyrgyzstan. Chechens were considered terrorists in the USSR because they tried to break away from Russia. It was a very uneasy place to be as war broke out in 1993.

Shidaev and his family moved to America in 2000 and when he was 12 years old, he started to box. "I had a fight in sixth grade," Shidaev says. The other kid was bothering him and so they began wrestling, "I held him, I didn't hit him. I had to learn to protect myself."

He met with trainer Coach Stan Ward in 2001. Frequently returning to Kyrgyzstan, Shidaev fought in the nationals, both America and his native country, becoming a two time national champion in Kyrgyzstan. He made his pro-debut on Febrary 14, 2009, knocking out his opponent in just the first round.

Prior to lacing up his gloves, this energetic pugilist used to get into physical fights. "Since I started boxing, I have never got into a fight." Boxing is not just an interest for Shidaev, it's a way of life and has taught him self discipline and self control. More...