Boxing

Toygonbayev Wins Hard-Fought Unanimous Decision Over Tsurkan, Undefeated Chagaev Scores TKO Over Previously Unbeaten Graham

23.05 - In an excellent fight that featured non-stop action, World Boxing Council (WBC) No. 4 middleweight and World Boxing Organization (WBO) No. 4 junior middleweight contender, Kuvanych Toygonbayev registered a crowd-pleasing, unanimous 10-round decision over former WBC Youth champion Andrey Tsurkan Thursday on "ShoBox: The New Generation" on SHOWTIME. In a battle of unbeaten heavyweights in the co-feature, Uzbekistan Olympian Ruslan Chagaev went to the whip early en route to winning by third-round TKO over Zakeem Graham. The doubleheader from Yonkers Raceway was promoted by Millennium Events P/L and aired on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT. The fight card was the 30th in a series of "ShoBox" telecasts that began on July 21, 2001.

Toygonbayev (21-1, 14 KOs), of Las Vegas, Nev., by way of Andizhan, Uzbekistan, came close to knocking out Tsurkan in the bout's finals 15 seconds, but had to settle for a well-deserved decision by the scores of 99-92, 97-93 and 96-94. Winning for a ninth consecutive time, "Kuva" showed excellent patience and was precise with his punches throughout the briskly contested affair. There were no knockdowns. The victory was Toygonbayev's second in a row on SHOWTIME. In his network debut on May 18, 2002, in Las Vegas, he scored one knockdown and dominated former world title challenger Oba Carr en route to recording a lopsided 10-round decision by the scores of 100-87 and 99-88 twice. The hard-hitting contender turned pro at age 21 on Sept. 3, 1997. In his 13th start, Toygonbayev suffered his lone defeat when he dropped a six-round decision to Kassim Ouma on Oct. 13, 2000, in Ledyard, Conn.

Tsurkan (19-2, 12 KOs) of the Bronx, N.Y., by way of Mogansk, Russia, forced the pace and never quit coming forward even though he absorbed an amazing amount of punishment. The courageous local favorite finished with heavy swelling under both his eyes, but he made his presence felt for 30 minutes and never allowed the winner to relax. Tsurkan, who is 1-2 in his last three outings, captured the WBC Youth 154-pound belt with a second-round TKO over Paulino Avitia on July 28, 2000, in Las Vegas. Prior to turning pro on Nov. 6, 1999, in Phoenix, Tsurkan captured the Ukrainian national title four times during a nearly 200-fight amateur career.

Chagaev (6-0-1, 5 KOs), of Uzbekistan, had his way from the outset. The aggressive, hard-punching southpaw did not register a knockdown, but he had Graham thoroughly battered and beaten by the time the referee stopped the bout at 2:26 of the third. Chagaev was making his first start since boxing to a disputed third-round technical draw against Rob Calloway Oct. 5, 2002, on SHOWTIME in Detroit. A two-time world amateur champion, Chagaev registered an eight-round unanimous decision over Christopher Issac in his SHOWTIME debut on May 11, 2002 on "ShoBox."

Graham (9-1-1, 7 KOs), of Cincinnati, never got anything going offensively, and his nose began to bleed in the second round.

"ShoBox: The New Generation" features up-and-coming prospects determined to make a mark and eventually fight for a chance at a world title. The best of the new generation of hungry, young boxers will have an opportunity to showcase their talent and heart as they battle each other in competitive fights in front of a national television audience. "ShoBox: The New Generation" is pure, basic boxing, reminiscent of the golden days of the sport.

SHOWTIME will televise "ShoBox: The New Generation" at 11 p.m. ET/PT on Thursdays every other week. The telecast will repeat the next day, Friday, on SHOWTIME TOO at 11 p.m. ET/PT. It also will air the following Saturday on SHOWTIME at 6 p.m. ET/PT and the following Monday on SHOWTIME TWO at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

The next "ShoBox" telecast June 5 in Detroit is scheduled to feature four unbeaten boxers. In the 12-round main event, Rico Hoye (12-0, 10 KOs) will face Prince Badi Ajamu (15-0-1, 7 KOs) for the vacant International Boxing Association (IBA) Continental light heavyweight title. The 10-round co-main event will feature Carl Johanneson (12-0, 6 KOs) against Koba Gogoladze (8-0, 4 KOs) in a lightweight match.

Nick Charles called Thursday's action from ringside, with Steve Farhood serving as expert analyst. The executive producers of the telecast were Jay Larkin and Gordon Hall, with Richard Gaughan producing.

For information on upcoming "ShoBox: The New Generation" and SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecasts, including complete fighter bios and records, related stories, and much more, please go the SHOWTIME website at http://www.sho.com/boxing

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