Top Rank’s boxing event on Saturday, August 26th, featured heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson emerging victorious against Ukrainian veteran Andrii Rudenko, while a disqualification occurred on the same night during the heavyweight bout between Efe Ajagba and Zhan Kossobutskiy. The event took place at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.
Jared Anderson (16-0, 15 KO’s) was coming off a July victory over late replacement Charles Martin (29-4, 26 KO’s), who managed to push him to a full 10 rounds. In his recent match against Andrii Rudenko (35-7, 21 KO’s), Anderson secured a victory in just half the time, stopping Rudenko in the fifth round.
The first four rounds of the fight were relatively uneventful, with Jared Anderson taking the rounds, but Andrii Rudenko putting up enough of a contest to keep the rounds closely contested. Facing an experienced veteran in Rudenko who had suffered six losses prior to facing Anderson, Anderson displayed some defensive vulnerabilities similar to his match against Martin. However, his offense proved to be the deciding factor in the bout.
Anderson appeared to win the first four rounds, largely due to his higher output. By the fifth round, Anderson was landing more impactful punches as Rudenko’s resistance dwindled under the barrage of body shots. Rudenko was forced to cover up, prompting the referee to step in and award Anderson the victory by technical knockout in the fifth round.
While the fight didn’t showcase sensational knockouts or stoppages, Anderson demonstrated offensive capabilities that could make him a potential threat to the division’s top contenders. At 23 years old, Anderson’s defensive skills still appear to be somewhat lacking, as evidenced by his match with Rudenko, who managed to trouble him with jabs and right hands.
The card also included another heavyweight matchup between Nigerian contender Efe Ajagba (18-1, 13 KO’s) and Kazakh heavyweight Zhan Kossobutskiy (19-1, 18 KO’s).
The fight lasted only four rounds but proved to be highly competitive, with both fighters seeking to establish dominance early on. The heavy-hitters were aggressive from the start, resulting in a relatively fast-paced match for the heavyweight division. However, the bout was marred by dirty fighting from both competitors.
Low blows were the issue, as both Kossobutskiy and Ajagba landed punches below the belt in various rounds. In the second round, Kossobutskiy was penalized a point for repeated low blows, and both fighters received warnings for the same offense in the third round.
The fourth round became pivotal not due to boxing skill but rather due to conduct. Zhan Kossobutskiy, despite prior warnings and a point deduction (a first in his career), delivered another low blow to Efe Ajagba within half a minute of the round. This led to Kossobutskiy’s disqualification for repeated low blows, ignoring the previous warning.
Efe Ajagba secured his 19th victory through disqualification, but the bout provided no definitive conclusion as to the superior fighter. However, based on Kossobutskiy’s conduct, Ajagba was the rightful winner. As no scorecards from the judges were available, it’s unclear who was leading at the time of the disqualification.
The Top Rank card also saw an upset in the middleweight match between Nico Ali Walsh (8-1, 5 KO’s) and Sona Akale (8-1, 4 KO’s). The 6-round fight was competitive, but Muhammad Ali’s descendant, Ali Walsh, experienced his first career loss after completing the rounds. He was defeated by majority decision by fellow American contender Akale.
Zhan Kossobutskiy’s inclination to repeatedly execute illegal blows could have been a result of him being outboxed by Efe Ajagba. Despite this, the match remained fairly even before Kossobutskiy’s disqualification in the fourth round. His behavior was certainly unexpected from a fighter who had never previously received a warning or had a point deducted for such actions.
The repercussions for his actions were swiftly realized through a disqualification. While Kossobutskiy can still carry on with his career, the manner in which he lost the fight might cast a shadow on his progress in the heavyweight division.
