Ievgen Khytrov Makes Smashing Debut In New York
Photos by Damien Acevedo for BoxingScene
by Sarah Deming
MANHATTAN–Two minutes and fifty-seven seconds into his pro debut here at Webster Hall on Wednesday, Ievgen Khytrov landed a left hook to Christian Nava that ended the night.
Khytrov seemed like he was just getting started. Built for power, the barrel-chested middleweight has a aggressive style that promoter Dmitri Salita is already comparing to Kazakh killer Gennady Golovkin.
Khytrov looked virginal in his white trunks and peasant blouse before the bell, as he watched tiny twin girls sing the Ukrainian national anthem. The 2012 Ukrainian men were arguably the best Olympic boxing team in recent history, and Khytrov was one of their stars until a controversial decision left him with only a bronze.
It’s a long road from London glory to a club show at Webster Hall. Had Khytrov’s Olympic luck been better, he might have been fast tracked like his teammate Vasyl Lomachenko, but now he will have to take the scenic route to a title.[[MORE]]
Happily, Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller (6-0-1) has given up wearing diapers into the ring. Nobody wants to see a heavyweight in diapers. The former K-1 star manhandled his opponent and almost ended it in the first, but Sylvester Baron was 8-2 and had come all the way from Washington State. He fought back gamely and made it last two rounds.
Light welterweight Dimash Niyazov (4-0-1) of Brooklyn was light on power and conditioning, and Rafael Luna of Albany (3-6-2) hadn’t read the memo about being the opponent, making their active six-rounder the most entertaining fight of the night. The judges’ scores of 58-56 for Luna and 57-57 (twice) made it a majority draw. The crowd booed, but the result seemed fair.
The entertaining Peter “Coco Loco” Reyes (3-0) entered the ring wearing a creepy animal mask and shooting off party poppers before winning a crude four-round war with Ruben Ortiz of Providence, who fell to 0-3.
Undefeated cruiserweight Stivens Bujaj got his tenth win against Mike Bissett of Biloxi, who was 5-3 and looked bad just climbing up the ring stairs. Bujaj played it cool, picking his shots despite the urging of his large Albanian cheering section to end it quickly. The referee stopped it at 2:55 of round 5, as blood dripped freely from Bissett’s left eye.
Usually you can tell who the prospect is just by looking, but Polish southpaw Michael “TNT” Chudecki (6-0-1) was less glamorous than Yuchua Nieves, who was 2-2 and covered in sparkles and gangster tattoos. This was a brutal fight in which both men landed frequently, but Chudecki had the edge in accuracy and activity. A lead right hook in round five caught Nieves off balance and dropped him. Referee Steve Willis took a point from Nieves for a low blow in the sixth, leading to a final score of 60-52 three times for Chudecki.
A live bongo player accompanied Golden Glove champion Wesley Ferrer’s ring walk. Ferrer’s pro debuting opponent looked serious about winning and came in good condition, but Ferrer batted him down quickly with a right hand and then put him down for good with a tight left hook at 1:06 of the first.
Glenford Nickey’s ring nickname is “Black Beauty,” and he did look pretty under the lights of Webster Hall. Rigoberta Miranda (0-0-2) was confused by his switch-hitting, and Nickey improved to 3-1-1.
Super middleweight Akil Frederick-August (2-1-0) trains at my gym when he isn’t working one of his two jobs or studying for his computer science degree. He teed off on Jermin King (0-1), who was wincing from the first punch and fell twice before the stoppage at 33 seconds of the first. Tough way to make a living.