Carlos Takam did what no boxer had done before, Friday at the Casino de Montreal. He held off Arslanbek Makhmudov, who won by virtue of a first career decision.
Announcing a “destruction”, Makhmudov (15-0, 14 K.-O) had to work hard to get this unanimous decision. In fact, the Russian had never needed more than seven rounds to end a fight. Despite this unexpected result, he won the WBC Silver heavyweight belt while retaining his NABF and NABA titles.
The winner did not hide a certain surprise about the sustained pace of the Frenchman.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect him to be in such good shape, because I saw his last fights. He was getting tired. That’s why I was in no rush. But I’m happy because I had never done 10 rounds.
A good start
Unsurprisingly, the one nicknamed the Lion started the fight with his best shots. Takam (39-7-1, 28 KOs) also visited the mat in the first round, getting up easily before the end of the count.
The two men then observed each other for a few rounds and Takam managed to land a few good shots, not without hooking his rival at times. The whole thing continued until the seventh round, when Takam found himself on the ground again.
The last round was also the affair of the Frenchman, who suffered only four knockouts. in 47 fights in his career.
10e round:
Takam advantage here. He is the aggressor and is more incisive.
9e round:
Very divided recovery. Good exchanges on both sides. Animated end of round.
8e round:
Slow down on both sides. Slight advantage for Makhmudov, who shows more initiative.
7e round:
Takam largely dominates this recovery. Makhmudov touches several good straight lines, even forcing him to lean against the cables. Mahmudov finished strong, however, throwing his opponent to the ground for a second time.
6e round:
Makhmudov hits Takam with two good combinations to the head. Takam finishes strong by throwing a solid right hand that hits Makhmudov in the head.
5e round:
Makhmudov launches the best attacks, but fails to connect as he would like. Takam is moving and protecting himself well.
4e round:
After a quiet first minute, the intensity goes up a notch at the end of the round. Takam once again lands Makhmudov with two powerful right hands to the head. The round belongs to him.
3e round:
Takam hits Makhmudov with two solid blows to the head. Mahkmudov tries to reply, without much success. He is forced to step back in the ring for one of the few times in his career.
2e round:
Makhmudov instigates most of the attacks, but Takam moves well in the ring and manages to dodge most of the adopted Quebecer’s attempts.
1er round:
Quickly, Makhmudov sends Takam to the floor. But the Franco-Cameroonian gets up and responds surprisingly well, throwing some good right hands.