​MOSCOW (AP) — Murat Gassiev began his defense of the WBA world heavyweight title with a sixth-round stoppage of Peter Kadiru on Saturday, securing a dominant win that improved his professional ledger to 34-2. Gassiev’s corner threw in the towel after a sustained assault from the champion, who asserted his dominance late in the sixth round to seal the victory.
The bout marked an unexpected turn in Gassiev’s title ambitions. He was originally slated to face Tony Yoka for the WBA’s secondary heavyweight crown, but a swap up to the full title occurred after unified champion Oleksandr Usyk vacated his belts last month. Yoka pulled out with a back injury, and Kadiru, a 23-2 German fighter with a résumé largely comprised of relatively obscure opponents, was summoned as a surprise replacement challenger on short notice.
Gassiev now sits among the ranks of boxers who have claimed titles at both cruiserweight and heavyweight, following in the footsteps of Usyk. Usyk defeated Gassiev in 2018 to secure the two belts he held at the time, unifying the cruiserweight division before making the leap to heavyweight the following year.
Known as “Iron” for his imposing presence, Gassiev’s heavyweight career did not proceed without bumps. He suffered a setback in 2023 when he lost to Otto Wallin, but he rebounded last year by stopping Kubrat Pulev in Dubai to capture the WBA’s “regular” title. At 32 years old, the Russian fighter appears poised to remain a prominent figure in the heavyweight division for the foreseeable future.
Kadiru was a surprising choice as the opponent. He is perhaps best known for capturing a Youth Olympics gold medal as a 17-year-old amateur in 2014. Before Saturday, he had 24 professional fights, most of which were against relatively unknown opponents, with the majority of his bouts taking place in Germany. His lone previous defeat came by knockout in under a minute at the hands of Marcos Antonio Aumada in 2022, an opponent who also resided outside the sport’s most celebrated tier.
As the fight concluded, Gassiev extended his presence in the division, continuing a lineage of champions who have navigated the heavyweight landscape with power and resilience. For Kadiru, the loss marks another learning moment in a career that has seen rapid rises and the occasional stumble, with the Youth Olympics gold still serving as a notable highlight on a relatively brief professional resume.
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