43 mins ago
1 min read
LONDON – Umar Dzambekov continued his steady rise up the light heavyweight rankings with a vicious body-shot stoppage of Zach Parker in London on Saturday night.
The Austrian southpaw caught the eye when he viciously dispatched Ahmed Elbiali in the second round of their clash at Meta Apex, Las Vegas in February.
Now nine months on, the 28-year-old produced the biggest victory of his career as he put Parker (26-3, 18 KOs) away after 1:47 of Round Four. The pair met in the final off-TV prelim on the Zuffa Boxing show headlined by Chris Billam-Smith vs. Chev Clarke at Copper Box Arena.
In the end, it was a finish worthy of any main broadcast as Dzambekov (15-0, 11 KOs) crashed a pinpoint left-hand bolo into Parker’s solar plexus from the southpaw stance.
“My weight was perfect, camp was perfect and I couldn't wait to come here and show the British fans what I’ve got,” he said afterwards.
“My last fight was a step up but Zach Parker was another step up, and I’m happy that I finished it the way I did.”
Dzambekov had made a good start in front of a nearly empty arena, landing with a big left hand to the head after a minute, which appeared to stiffen up Parker’s legs.
The Derby man regrouped well and began having his own success, particularly with the straight right hand to the body. However, he struggled to spot Dzambekov’s arcing back hand, which he landed regularly to Parker’s chin.
At the start of the fourth, the Englishman touched down briefly after a tangle of legs but it was not long before he was over legitimately. This time, he was unable to reach his feet before referee Kieran McCann completed his 10-count.
At the start of the night, 28-year-old Dzambekov was not ranked inside the top 10 with any of the four major sanctioning bodies but that will now likely change.
“I want any of the names, whoever it is,” he said. “I’ll take a little rest and then come back for the next fight.”
Other prelim results:
- Vinnie Kemp (1-0, 1 KO) def Liam McElhinney (0-3) TKO 1.
- Masood Abdulah (14-1, 8 KOs) def. Adan Palma (14-2, 9 KOs) UD 8.
Results
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