Gassiev Makes Kadiru Submit In 6 In First World Heavyweight Championship Defense

The story going into recently crowned WBA World Heavyweight champion Murat Gassiev’s first title defense against late replacement Peter Kadiru on July 11th in Moscow, Russia at the VTB Arena was not as much about the fight itself as it was for what the encounter represented in the aftermath of former unified world champion Olekaandr Usyk’s decision to relinquish the world titles he held in the division as he nears retirement. Coincidentally, this fight was the first world championship bout in the division since that announcement, and thus, started as this observer stated in the days before the fight, the beginning of a new era for the Heavyweight division.

The aforementioned description is where the significance of this fight ended. From the opening bell, the champion  Gassiev put Kadiru on the defensive and constantly backed him up where Kadiru simply did not throw enough punches to turn the momentum in his favor.

A fight that frankly resembled a sparring session had an anti-climatic conclusion when  Gassiev was able to corner Kadiru in round six and, despite not being able to seemingly land a significant blow that would have hurt his opponent, Kadiru’s corner threw in a towel and stopped the fight.  Although Murat Gassiev was in some ways denied the highlight catching moment to signify the start of his reign at the top of the Heavyweight division as a world champion, ultimately, he did what he had to do and was able to retain his claim to the World Heavyweight championship. It was a workmanlike consistent performance and sometimes that is really all you can ask of a fighter. 

The question coming out of this fight is what does Gassiev do moving forward. Although this observer would feel safe in betting money that I do not have, in saying that most Boxing fans likely want a unification process to again take place in the post Olekaandr Usyk era of the division, and for that process to happen fairly quickly, the reality is that at minimum, it will probably take at least two to three years before the idea of unification of the World Heavyweight championship could begin again. Why such a long period will be necessary is, though frustrating, it will take time for championship vacancies to be filled, for new champions to be ordered to fight new mandatory challengers by the respective sanctioning organizations, and obviously for those fights to take place where the winners of those bouts will theoretically be free to pursue unification bouts. 

While this could be an introductory class in Boxing politics, protocols, and procedures that yours truly is vastly familiar, what it means for a fighter in Gassiev's position is he will have to continue defending his WBA world championship until such time as a unification bout, which would start the process of trying to fully unify the division again, can be signed. Perhaps a fight against top contender Tony Yoka, who was originally supposed to face  Gassiev in his first title defense can be made once Yoka recovers from the back injury that forced him to withdraw from the scheduled July 11th bout. Gassiev might also want to pursue a different opponent in the interim if a fight with Yoka is indeed the aim. What is crucial, however, is that Gassiev must remain active. Not only as a means of staying in fighting shape and in competition, but now also, to remain out in front of the public in trying to establish himself as an active world champion and thus over time build an argument for himself as the division’s next central figure. With a successful first title defense now behind him, the goal should be to try and get back in the ring at least once before the end of 2026. If he does and who his opponent would be is obviously to be determined, but the goal should be to stay active and give himself the best chance to make a strong argument as a world champion that many will regard as the champion of the division. With the Heavyweight division essentially wide open as Usyk has relinquished his championships and appears nearing retirement after one final fight against a yet to be named opponent, the more active Gassiev can be, and more importantly, if he can continue to win, the better it will be for him long-term.

“And That's The Boxing Truth.

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved. 

Follow Beau Denison on the following Social Media Platforms:

X: (Formerly Twitter) www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BeauDenison1  

Threads: www.threads.net/@BeauDenison1  

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/BeauDenison1     

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/beaudenison1.bsky.social  

Gassiev-Kadiru: The Beginning Of A New Era For The Heavyweight Division

Recent times in Boxing’s Heavyweight division have seen the division inch closer and closer to a period of transition. Some might recall earlier this year when the World Boxing Organization (WBO) named its top contender Fabio Wardley world champion following the previous two-time Undisputed champion of the division Olekaandr Usyk, choosing to step into the ring with legendary World Heavyweight Kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven, rather than make a mandatory defense of the WBO title, which was due to be fulfilled. This led to a thrilling encounter where Wardley was stopped by former IBF World Heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois, making Dubois a two-time World Heavyweight champion.

 As for Usuk, in a truly unique event, the still unified world champion of the Heavyweight division survived a significant scare in his bout against Verhoeven at the Pyramids in Egypt in rallying to stop the novice boxer in the final round of a surprising competitive fight given the experience disparity between the two in terms of Boxing experience. It was perhaps that fight in which Usyk, a fighter that has dominated both the Cruiserweight and Heavyweight divisions in his career, did not look anything like a man who fully unified the Heavyweight division twice, that led to him choosing to relinquish his remaining world championships in the division, in this case, the WBC, WBA, IBF, and IBO world championships, saying he wanted the next generation of Heavyweights to vie for the crown while seeking one last fight before retirement against a yet unarmed opponent.

Thus, begins the period of transition fully in the Heavyweight division. While the various sanctioning organizations that Usuk vacated their respective versions of the World Heavyweight championship began naming their respective top contenders as world champion in accordance with each’s respective rules, the first world championship fight in the post-Oleksandr Usyk era will take place on July 11th in Moscow, Russia where recently named WBA world champion Murat Gassiev will make the first defense of his title against veteran contender Peter Kadiru at the VTB Arena in a scheduled twelve round world title bout that can be seen worldwide on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN. 

Often when a period of transition like this begins, fighters in Gassiev’s position are treated unfairly by both fans and commentators due to their being named champion rather than winning the title they now hold inside the ring. Although the circumstances that put fighters in such position tend to vary on a case by case basis, this puts the new champion in almost a no win situation, despite being the previous number one contender and being named champion when the previous champion was either stripped of their title or in this case chose to vacate as Usuk did because it brings about questions regarding the legitimacy of the title, particularly amongst fans who either do not know or simply turn a blind eye to each respective organization's policies that often calls for the current number one contender/Interim/Regular champion in the case of the WBA, to be named world champion in the event of a circumstance such as this.

If the prospect of being in a no win situation isn't stressful enough for a fighter, in Gassiev’s case, he also has to deal with a change in opponent for his first title defense after previously named opponent Tony Yoka withdrew from the fight due to a back injury. This opens the door for Peter Kadiru to step in on short notice to challenge for a world title for the first time in his career.

Although Peter Kadiru is currently unranked by the WBA in the Heavyweight division, he does have a respectable record of 24-1, with 13 Knockouts. The potential red flag here is Kadiru has not fought any noteworthy opposition that could be viewed as a world contender and is now tasked with taking a significant step up in class to challenge the former unified World Cruiserweight champion Gassiev in the champion's first title defense as a World Heavyweight champion. 

Murat Gassiev has a significant edge here in terms of overall experience as well as facing a higher caliber of competition including against Usyk when the two met as Cruiserweights in July 2018. As a Heavyweight, Gassiev has only been defeated once when he dropped a twelve round split decision to top contender Otto Wallin in September 2023. Since that setback,  Gassiev has won his previous three fights including defeating longtime Heavyweight contender and former multi-time world title challenger Kubrat Pulev in his last fight in December of last year.  Gassiev does have a near 80% career knockout percentage, having stopped twenty-six opponents inside the distance in his thirty-three career wins.

This would suggest that he might be looking to make a statement in his first title defense. A word of caution, however, not just for  Gassiev, but also for fans who may see this as a far gone conclusion, Peter Kadiru has won regional titles in both the WBA and IBF previously in his career, and despite not currently being ranked in the top fifteen by the WBA currently, sometimes a fighter only needs an opportunity and though he is frankly facing steep odds not only in facing someone of  Gassiev’s caliber, but doing so on a little more than a week’s notice, he should not be dismissed.

Regardless of what happens in this fight, the foreseeable future in the Heavyweight division will continue to have the recurring theme of transition and fighters both those who are now being moved into positions as world champion and contenders all looking to make their claim as the division's next central figure. Often the process of transition in Boxing tends to be messy regardless of division with no shortage of red tape and disgruntlements amongst fighters, promoters, and sanctioning organizations, and now the prospect of the upstart Zuffa Boxing promotion that appears intent on bringing the promotional based model of the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) to Boxing by refusing to work within the existing structure of working with existing sanctioning organizations and determining their own world champions, all of the above looking for legitimacy as recognized world champions and world championships. No matter the outcome in this fight, this is step one in a much wider picture that is for better or worse, part of an emerging era. 

“And That's The Boxing Truth.

Gassiev vs. Kadiru takes place on Saturday, July 11th at the VTB Arena in Moscow, Russia. The fight can be seen worldwide on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN available to both base and ultimate subscribers beginning at 2:30PM ET/11:30AM PT.

(*North American Start Times Only.* *Card and Start Times Subject to Change.*)

For more information about DAZN including schedules, list of compatible streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, availability around the world, local start times in your area, and to subscribe to either a standard subscription or DAZN Ultimate subscription please visit: www.DAZN.com. 

The Boxing Truth®️ is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

Follow Beau Denison on the following Social Media Platforms:

X: (Formerly Twitter) www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison       

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BeauDenison1       

Threads: www.threads.net/@BeauDenison1     

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/BeauDenison1  

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/beaudenison1.bsky.social