Dmitry Kudryashov vs. Illunga Makabu June 16 In Russia

By James Slater - 06/07/2019 - Comments

Someone is getting knocked out in this one.

Set for June 16th, a Sunday, in Ekaterinburg, Russia, a cruiserweight clash between Dmitry Kudryashov and Illunga Makabu promises to be a lively, action-packed affair. For however long it lasts. The card will comprise of no less than six cruiserweight bouts, with a number of unbeaten 200 pounders in action – Aleksei Egorov, 8-0, against Mike Perez, 24-3-1, for one interesting match-up.

But the main event will be the fight worth tuning in for (and UK fans can do so on Box Nation). It wasn’t long ago that Kudryashov, 23-2(23) was leaving carnage in his wake as he was making a name for himself as the next big puncher of the sport. This was back in 2014 and 2015, when the 33 year old “Russian Hammer” was taking out good names such as Juan Carlos Gomez and Francisco Palacios in double-quick, eye-catching fashion.

Then Kudryashov ran into Olanrewaju Durodola in November of 2015, and two-rounds later, his unbeaten record was gone. Kudryashov avenged the loss with a stoppage win of his own seven months later, but Kudryashov was then badly stopped by Yunier Dorticos in a WBSS bout in September of 2017. Since then, the bearded slugger has won two, by stoppage, over decent enough opposition, and now he faces Makabu for the vacant WBC silver belt.

Makabu, 24-2(23) of South Africa, is best known for his losing fight with Tony Bellew. The 31 year old briefly dropped Bellew in May of 2016 but the southpaw was hammered to defeat inside three-rounds. Since then, Makabu has reeled off five low-key wins, three of them over guys who had losing records. We can now brace ourselves for what should be a slugfest between Makabu and Kudryashov.

It could be a short night (or afternoon) or we could see the two punchers (a combined 46 KO’s, 23 each) slug it out for quite a few rounds. It’s a 50/50 fight and the only certainty seems to be the fact that someone will go to sleep. It could be a case of who lands first, wins.

Fans love a puncher and with this card they get two bangers going at it.