Ievgen Khytrov wins big in front of hometown crowd
02
Nov
Middleweight Ievgen Khytrov has scored a few highlight-reel knockouts thus far as a pro. He can add one more to that list.
Fighting for the first time professionally in his hometown on Saturday night, Khytrov knocked out overmatched Josh Luteran in the second round at Circus in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine.
With the win, the hard-hitting Khytrov improved to 12-0, 11 knockouts. Luteran falls to 14-3, 9 KOs.
Khytrov has created a buzz thus far as a puncher who has mostly scored devastating knockouts or slowly punished his opposition into submission.
In his last bout on Aug. 7, Khytrov overcame a slow start and had to use his power to score a come-from-behind,eighth round technical knockout win over Nick Brinson. Entering the eighth round, Khytrov was behind on two judges’ scorecards.
Luteran returned from a three-year hiatus on Oct. 17, winning a six-round unanimous decision over Jeremy Parks, a fighter he had already beaten once before.
Luteran did well in the first half of the opening round, utilizing his jab from the outside. Khytrov closed the gap later in the round, scoring a knockdown with a series of right hands about 30 seconds remaining.
Khytrov stepped on the gas in the second round, putting Luteran on the defensive while landing a lead and counter rights to the head. Later in the round, Khytrov threw and landed a right cross that sent Luteran face first to the canvas. Luteran laid motionless, prompting referee Viktor Fesechko to stop the fight at 1:55.
Khytrov, who now resides in Brooklyn, N.Y., is promoted by Lou DiBella.
In other bouts:
– Former light heavyweight title challenger Ismayl Sillah (23-2, 18 KOs) stopped Giorgi Tevdorashvili in the first round of a scheduled eight. Sillah dropped Tevdorashvili (22-15-3, 14 KOs) to one knee with a left hand to the body. Referee Viktor Fesechko counted Tevdorashvili out at 2:14.
– Fringe heavyweight contender Andriy Rudenko (27-2, 18 KOs) stopped Konstantin Airich (22-14-2, 18 KOs) in the fifth round of a scheduled 10-rounder.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since Oct. of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing.