Five Take Aways - Daniyar Yeleussinov vs Julius Indongo

11/30/2020

On Friday night we saw unbeaten Kazakh fighter Daniyar Yeleussinov (10-0, 6) claim his latest win as he took a 2nd round TKO victory over former unified world champion Julius Indongo (23-3, 12). The win was, on paper, a big step up for Yeleussinov, but he made it look easy and showed why he was an Olympic champion.

With the win under his belt his focus will be on then future, and it should be a bright one, but before we look at that lets look back over the bout that was, as we give the bout our Five Take Aways treatment.

1-This is best we've seen from Yeleussinov in the pro's
When Daniyar Yeleussinov turned professional in 2018, following the 2016 Olympics, there was real expectations on his shoulders to be one of the big stars of Kazakh boxing. Then his first few professional fighters underwhelmed as he tried to adapt to the style of professional boxing. On Friday night however it looked like it had suddenly all clicked for the 29 year old Kazakh who looked razor sharp, aggressive, heavy handed, focused, and with a mean streak. This really was as good as he has looked since turning professional and was the sort of performance he needed to make a statement. Given he's now 29 it really is time to kick on, and a performance like this will hopefully convince his promoter to move to him towards a world title eliminator and a major fight in 2021.

2-Indongo Quit
Over the weekend there was a lot of conversation over whether Daniel Dubois "quit" or not. What there wasn't conversation about was Julius Indongo, who did, definitely quit. Indongo was dropped in round 1 and in round 2, and after beating the count in round 2 he made it clear he didn't want to continue. We won't criticise Indongo for choosing to say enough was enough however, he had been down twice, was 35, completely out classed and made the right decision. We just thought it was funny that no one has really mentioned this in the Daniel Dubois "quit" debate. Sadly however this is probably the end of Indongo as a serious fighter in the sport, and we suspect he'll either retire or trade on his name and pick up some pay days on his way out.

3-DAZN broadcasts are dire
We suspect this will be something we end up saying a lot in this series, but the commentary was awful, the camera angle used for much of the fight wasn't great, the canvas was poor and the venue looked very meh. There really is no redeeming factors in a DAZN broadcast at the moment. We had Sergio Mora suggest this was going to be a "sleeper" and tried to make out Indongo was a dangerous fighter at the first bell, Chris Mannix was more apt in his comments but they added little. The three man broadcast team really do not add anything to bouts, and either they need a shake up. Of the three Todd Grisham is the best, by some margin, but it doesn't sound like a coherent 3-man unit at all. Almost everything about the production here was bad, which is a shame given that DAZN is, for all intents, a premium service for boxing fans.

4-Indongo's success is hard to explain
It's going to sound harsh to say but Julius Indongo's success, and the fact he is a former unified champion, really is hard to explain. We saw him upset Eduard Troyanovsky in 2016, less than 4 years ago, with one of the biggest upsets of the year and we saw him follow up with a win over Ricky Burns the following year. We him score those wins. With our own eyes. But yet we are sat here in 2020 having no idea how he had that success. There's really nothing about him that suggests he was ever a world class fighter, and in 2020 he looks a shadow of what he once was. Yes he the older, more battle worn man here, but still he looked completely clueless when he was throwing wild hayemakers and getting caught by shots he shouldn't have been caught by. It's maybe unfair to say it, but he's among the worst "unified" champions in recent memory from a technical point of view.

5-Yeleussinov needs to be moved quickly in 2021
With his 30th birthday coming in March Daniyar Yeleussinov is no spring Chicken. Whilst it is fair to say he only made his debut in April 2018 it's still clear that he's not a spring chicken and he really does need to kick on. A win over Indongo is all good and everything, but from here on out it needs to to be really meaningful fights against fellow notable Welterweights. We'd love to see him face someone like Sergey Lipinets, David Avanesyan, Custio Clayton, Yordenis Ugas or Shawn Porter by the end of next year. Sure he's not the old man of the division, he's very much coming to the point where he needs to be in big fights. Fingers crossed Matchroom don't do the dirty on him and instead let him loose on the better fighters in the divison, the fighters he can actually test himself against.

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Current Rankings - The top 10 Asian Welterweights

5/24/2020

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The Welterweight division is a one of the most notable in the sport, and has been heavily dominated by American fighters in recent years, with the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr, Keith Thurman, Errol Spence, Terence Crawford, Shawn Porter, Timothy Bradley and others all being among the big name US fighters of the last years. It's also a division where Central Asian fighters are starting to make a mark, and where a certain Filipino still resides. It's not the best division for Asian fighters but it's certainly not the worst, and more than interesting.

1-Manny Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39)
The Filipino might be 41 years old but it's hard to deny that is the #1 Asian fighter in the division. Last year he scored good wins over Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman, showing their was still life in his legs. He's really in a league of his own in regards to Asian fighters at 147lbs and whilst he is certainly not the rapid fire, prime Pacquiao we all fell in love with, he's a more calculated and smart fighter and is going to be a very tricky man to dethrone. Talk of big fights for Pacquiao remain on the radar and it's going to be very interesting to see what is next for him.

2-Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (17-0, 9)
Unbeaten Uzbek Kudratillo Abdukakhorov might be some way behind Pacquiao but is also some way ahead of those ranked behind him. He's set for an IBF title fight, at some point, and with wins against Keita Obara, Luis Collazo, Charles Manyuchi and Dmitry Mikhaylenko he's got a very strong record for a contender. Sadly whilst it's clear that Abdukakhorov is a talented boxer, very skills, we do wonder about his power, his toughness and his physical tools, all of which are perhaps not on the same level as his movement, skills and hand speed. A very talented fighter, but someone who is perhaps going to struggle when he mix at the highest level.

3-Daniyar Yeleussinov (9-0, 5)
Another central Asian fight with a lot of potential and a very high skill level is unbeaten Kazakh Daniyar Yeleussinov. The excellent Yeleussinov won an Olympic gold medal in 2016, at the Rio Olympics, and has been matched impressively so far whilst managing to take some good strides forward. There has been questions over his style and power, but stoppages in 2019 over Reshard Hicks and Alan Sanchez were impressive and he certainly has the tools to go a very long way. Can he adapt and become a world champion? We'll see but the 29 year old certainly has the potential to fight at the highest level.

4-Keita Obara (23-4-1, 21)
Hard hitting Japanese national champion Keita Obara may now have had enough to over-come Abdukakhorov but there's not many Asian fighters who would be favoured over the heavy handed man from Tokyo. Obara isn't going to be a world champion, we've seen him suffer a spectacular loss at world level before and suffer several setbacks since then, but he's in a good gatekeeper like position in the sport. Those above him have the potential to go all the way, but those below him in this list are unlikely to get close to the top, or at least get close to the top any time soon.

5-Nursultan Zhangabayev (8-0, 5)
Another unbeaten Kazakh here is Nursultan Zhangabayev, who looks like the dark sheep of the division. He's not had much attention, especially in the west, but has already scored notable victories Xingxin Yang, Arnel Tinampay, Ivan Matute and Steve Gago. Not only has he scored some solid wins but he has also been picking up wins around the globe, with bouts in China, Russia, Kazakhstan and Australia. Strong, tough, with a good work rate, and a real will to win, Zhangabayev is someone who is showing the tools to go a long way in the sport, but will need some strong backing to help him get the bouts he needs to make it to the top.

6-Riku Nagahama (12-2-1, 4)
Another Japanese fighter in this top 10 is OPBF champion Riku Nagahama. The 28 year old scored the best win of his career last time out, defeating Kudura Kaneko, and has shown great improvement since being stopped by Yuki Nagano around 2 years ago. There are still questions for Nagahama to answer, and his chin certainly doesn't seem anything amazing, but he's improving and the win over Kaneko is good enough for a mid-place ranking here. He has the potential to climb up these rankings but in reality it's going to take another big win to see him climb and we're not sure he can get another big win any time soon.

7-Yuki Beppu (21-1-1, 20)
Another Japanese fighter who deserves to be mentioned in here is WBO Asia Pacific champion Yuki Beppu, who really has been under-rated for much of his career, following his win in the Rookie of the Year. Beppu has been matched for the most part, but he earned a draw against Charles Bellamy, an impressive result at the time, ran Yuki Nagano close in a Japanese title eliminator and then took part in an amazing bout last year against Ryota Yada. Beppu might not be the best, or have the greatest chin, but his will to win is incredible, he has solid power and under-rated skills. He's someone who will struggle to get into would level bouts, but will be a major player at regional level.

8-Bobirzhan Mominov (10-0, 8)
Unbeaten Kazakh hopeful Bobirzhan Mominov has yet to score a big win but has shown enough to be excited about and has shown he can do it where ever he is. He has notches wins in Argentina, Kazakhstan and the US. Sadly however his level of competition added to inactivity, with just one bout in 2019, do leave us with a lot of question about his potential. Fingers crossed we see what Mominov has to offer later this year. He's looked good, but hasn't had the competition needed for us to really know anything about his potential.

9-Roman Zakirov (7-0, 4)
It's good to mention new countries in these pieces, and especially countries we don't think of when we speak about boxing. One great example of that is Azerbaijan, which is the birth place of the talented Roman Zakirov. Zakirov struggled on his professional debut, but since then has gone from stride to stride, with wins over Karen Avetisyan, Daniel Vega Cota and Meshack Mwankemwa. It's going to be interesting to see where Zakirov can go and who will help push his career along. Fingers crossed we see him making a mark at the highest level, but it's a push to imagine him ever having the backing needed to be a champion. At 23 he's young, talented and has potential. Hopefully that potential can be developed.

10-Kenbati Haiyilao (6-2-1, 1)
China's Kenbati Haiyilao rounds out the top 10 thanks to an upset win last year over Nick Frese. The tall, rangy Chinese fighter wasn't expected to be a test for Frese but ended up out boxing the Thai based Dutchman. Aged just 24 Haiyilao has shown something to get excited about and despite the 2 losses against his name he certainly has a lot of promise and is someone we're looking forward to seeing more of. He looks skilled, he's proven he can do 10 rounds, he can box, has a good jab and has the potential to go further in the sport. If he can be matched well and get good sparring. A talented yet unknown hopeful.

*For the sake of these Rankings Sergey Lipinets has been regarded as Russian

On the bubble:
Yuki Nagno, Fazliddin Gaibnazarov, In Duck Seo, Youli Dong and Kudura Kaneko

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19 for 19: Part 2 - A Rookie, an Uzbek puncher, a Pinoy Prodigy and an Olympic champion

12/9/2018

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Earlier this week we posted part 1 of our 19 for 19, looking at Asian prospects. If you missed that it's available to read here 19 for 19: Part 1 - The Teenage Prospects.

Here's part 2. Unlike the first part there isn't a set theme to this, but we have included a trio of youngsters, taken fighters from 4 different countries, including an Olympic champion, a rising Uzbek, a Filipino prodigy and a Japanese Rookie of the Year.

Fumiya Fuse (7-0, 1)
The unbeaten Fumiya Fuse impressed last year, when he not only debuted but also went on to win the All Japan Rookie of the Year at Bantamweight. This year he has only fought twice, but has really impressed, taking the unbeaten record of Yohanis Tatul and shining on the road in Korea, where he schooled Dong Young Lee over 6 rounds. Although lacking power the 20 year old is gorgeous boxer to watch in action, with clean crisp punching, great movement a fantastic engine and a very good boxing brain. The only issue really is his lack of power, and hopefully that'll change as he matures.

Ulugbek Sobirov (9-0, 5)
The Uzbek scene is red hot right now, with a number of rising youngsters coming from the country. One of the youngest is 20 year old Light Middleweight boxer-puncher Ulugbek Sobirov, who looks freakishly mature for such a youngster. He only debuted in January, but has stepped up through the year whilst picking up international experience with bouts in India, Malaysia, the Philipines and Thailand. He's lacking a real break out win, but has been fighting experienced regional opposition and been looking very good so far.

KJ Cataraja (9-0, 7)
The Philippines has, for a long time, relied on it's trio of aging legends, Manny Pacquiao, Donnie Nietes and Nonito Donaire, to keep interesting in boxing high. Thankfully however it's got a number of amazing prospects, the best of which may well be Kevin Jake "KJ" Cataraja. In fact he may well be one of the world's very best prospects, with an offensive and free flowing style that combines skills, speed, power and under-rated defense. Cataraja is still some way from fighting for a world title, but at 23 years old he has a lot of time to mature before being thrown in with world class opponents, which could come by the end of 2019.

Daniyar Yeleussinov (5-0, 3)
At the 2016 Olympics we saw Daniyar Yeleussinov take his most notable amateur tournament win, winning the gold medal in the talent laden 69KG division. Since then the Kazakh has began to make a mark in the professional ranks. Originally he didn't look like he suited the professional style though his last two fights have changed that opinion, a lot, and he looks like he is now settling into the professional ranks in a very fashion. He still has a lot of questions to answer, but the story out of Kazakhstan is that he will be moved into minor title fights in summer 2019 and so we should see those questions being answered in the near future.

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A Vs B - Daniyar Yeleussinov Vs Shakhram Giyasov

9/8/2018

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Over the coming years we're expecting to see a number of rivalries that began in the amateurs ranks and now boil over into the professional ranks. For us one of the most interesting is the rivalry we expect to see form between 2016 Olympic 69KG Gold medal winner Daniyar Yeleussinov (3-0, 1), from Kazakhstan, the man he beat in the final, Shakhram Giyasov (4-0, 3) from Uzbekistan. Both are similarly aged and both are very highly regarded prospects with very bright futures ahead.

We've decided to look at these two men in our first ever “A Vs B”, where we look at the two and try to predict who will have the better future.

Given that Yeleussinov [Данияр Маратұлы Елеусінов] won the Olympic gold medal we'll start by looking at him first.

The Kazakh was an outstanding amateur fighter who had essentially been the best at 69KG's for several years.

Between 2008 and 2016 he had claimed major international medals on a consistent basis. These included a silver at the Youth World Championships in 2008, Asian Games gold medals in 2010 and 2014, gold medals at the 2013 and 2015 Asian Championships, a gold at the 2013 World championships, and a silver at 2015 World Championships as well as the 2016 Olympic gold medal.

Following his sensational amateur career Yeleussinov's signature was one that many promoters were chasing, with Matchroom Sports managing to edge out others and sign the Kazakh. Since then here has hardly put a foot wrong, winning his first 3 professional bouts. Despite the good start there are many suggesting his style is still very amateurish and he's not yet learned to really sit on his shots yet. He's very much showing signs of being an overly patient and skilled counter puncher, who unfortunately hasn't been matched with aggressive opponents and instead of being given show cases around his strengths he has almost struggled to shine.

Whilst not yet impressive in terms of his professional performances Yeleussinov has shown some glimpses of genius. His hand speed is fantastic, his timing is brilliant and his understanding of distance is unquestionable. It's not his skills that are underwhelming, just his style in the ring which needs a lot of tweaking is he's to become a star.

With his current style there is a chance Yeleussinov will be able to win a world title. He's that gifted. But he will not be a star unless he can begin to fight on the front foot and begin to press the action, force mistakes and control the pace. Sadly at 27 years old we do wonder how many bad habits he has and how stuck in his ways he is. It may be just a touch too late for him to change his style, potentially. If however he does adapt the world is his oyster.

Although Giyasov did come up short against Yeleussinov in the Olympics he didn't have a particularly bad amateur career himself. In fact not only did he claim an Olympic silver medal but he then went on to claim the gold medal at both the Asian Championships and the World Championships in 2017. By the time he was done with the amateurs he was seen as one of the hottest properties, but did remain outside of the professional ranks whilst he finished his time in the WSB, preparing him as a pro-ready fighter before his debut.

Given he was a sensational amateur and had been through the WSB experience there was no wonder that several promoters chased his signature, before he signed with World of Boxing, the promotional power house run by Andrey Ryabinsky, with Giyasov signing along fellow Uzbek amateur standout Murodjon Akhmadaliev. Although he's a Uzbek promoted by a Russian he's actually based in the US, where he will be able to get fantastic sparring and training.

Having had a stellar 2017 as an amateur Giyasov made his professional debut this past March with a lot of expectations on his shoulders. It amazingly took just 15 seconds for him to get his debut over and done with, stopping Nicolas Atilio Velazquez with pretty much the first combination of the bout. Since then he has looked fantastic, exciting, aggressive, offensive and a touch arrogant. Not only has he looked great since turning professional but he has also been stepping up his competition and in August he scored an excellent win over Albert Mensah.

As a professional Giyasov looks like he has a style suited more to the professional side of the sport than the amateur side. He's hard hitting, sits on his shots, switches between head and body, throws sharp body shots and will fight on the front foot. Unlike Yeleussinov it does seem like Giyasov has transitioned swiftly and is looking to prove that almost immediately. He's obviously not the perfect fighter, yet, but he certainly looks to be very good at a very early stage in his career.

In our eyes the more polished professional skills, and the style of Giyasov is more likely to see him having a stronger professional career. He is already a step ahead of Yeleussinov in terms of competition and we think he may be more aggressively matched. We wouldn't be surprised to see both men win world titles, but we expect Giyasov's reign to be a better, longer and more impressive one. But feel free to vote in the poll below.

(Image courtesy of Sky Sports and World Boxing Series)

Who will have the better career?

Created with PollMaker

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Five Take Aways - Daniyar Yeleussinov vs Julius Indongo

Current Rankings - The top 10 Asian Welterweights

19 for 19: Part 2 - A Rookie, an Uzbek puncher, a Pinoy Prodigy and an Olympic champion

A Vs B - Daniyar Yeleussinov Vs Shakhram Giyasov

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