Hasanboy Dusmatov moved up two divisions to earn his most significant pro win to date.

The 2016 Olympic Gold medalist turned away a stiff challenge from Spain’s Samuel Carmona to claim a ten-round, unanimous decision. Dusmatov prevailed by scores of 97-93, 99-91 and 100-90 in their IBA-sanctioned flyweight bout Sunday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The action was far more competitive than was suggested in the final scores in the pairing of 2016 Olympians.

Carmona frequently switched between southpaw and orthodox. The 2016 Rio Olympic quarterfinalist found success out of both stances in the opening round. Left hands to the body repeatedly found the mark for the 27-year-old Spaniard, who often beat the locally-favored Dusmatov to the punch.

An inadvertent low blow changed the course of the fight in round two. Dusmatov paused after getting caught with a left below the beltline but came on strong out of the break. A pair of left hands landed flush on the chin of Carmona, who immediately initiated a clinch.

Carmona returned to his body attack in the third, as he continued to come forward. Dusmatov used movement to draw in his foe and connect with counter shots. A left hand upstairs briefly stunned Carmona with roughly one minute left in the round. Carmona later connected with a right uppercut to the chin and left hook downstairs.

The pair of masterclass technicians targeted each other’s body in the middle rounds. Dusmatov landed the crisper combinations when he took his attack upstairs. Carmona tightened up his defense but often found himself within the Uzbek’s desired punching range.

Carmona made the ring a smaller place in round seven. Dusmatov often found room to escape and minimize the impact of Carmona’s power shots.

A clash of heads caused Carmona to wince in pain early in round eight. The action went uninterrupted as Dusmatov looked to line up a straight left hand. Carmona landed a digging hook to the body midway through the frame. Dusmatov shook it off and landed two lefts down the middle. Carmona initiated a clinch Dusmatov to drive him into the ropes but was caught with a combination.

Carmona came on strong in round nine. His determined body attack paid dividends as Dusmatov’s output slowed for the first time in the fight.

Momentum shifted once again in the tenth and final round. Dusmatov closed strong to seal his victory, though Carmona’s fate was long ago determined on the far too wide scorecards. Dusmatov landed the cleaner combinations on his naturally bigger foe.

It is not immediately known if records keepers will honor Sunday’s results. The IBA-sponsored show was not conducted under the auspices of a sanctioned commission.

Regardless, Dusmatov (6-0, 5 knockouts) sent a message to the lower weights of what to expect.

Carmona’s mark stands at 10-1 (4 KOs) until it is determined that Sunday’s result will count against his pro record. His lone sanctioned defeat came to WBC flyweight titlist Julio Cesar Martinez. Carmona took the December 2022 fight on short notice in place of an injured McWilliams Arroyo. However, he offered a negative performance as Martinez prevailed via majority decision in Glendale, Arizona.

Two wins have followed versus modest opposition, both in his native Spain.

As for Dusmatov, a title shot is undoubtedly in his future. It’s just a matter of whether it will come before or after the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Dusmatov, The Ring’s No. 9-rated strawweight, remains the mandatory challenger to WBA strawweight titlist Thammanoon Niyomtrong. The WBA ordered the fight earlier this year. Both parties agreed to pause the affair in lieu of a purse bid hearing.

Thailand’s Niyomtrong (24-0, 9 KOs), No. 4 at 105, petitioned for a voluntary defense. It came with the blessing of Team Dusmatov, who agreed to the fight versus Carmona at the higher weight.

It could be his last pro bout before he once again represents his country on the highest amateur stage.

Dusmatov claimed a Gold medal during the 2016 Rio Olympics. He joins Bakhodir Jalolov as two-time Olympic Gold medal hopefuls for Uzbekistan.

In the co-feature, Michael Hunter II suffered a major setback in a ten-round, unanimous decision defeat to Russia’s Artem Suslenkov.

No scores were announced but Suslenkov was a step ahead throughout much of their sloppy and slow-moving affair.

The loss was the latest letdown by Hunter, a second-generation heavyweight whose career has floundered since the pandemic.

His lone sanctioned defeat came in a twelve-round decision to Oleksandr Usyk in their April 2017 WBO cruiserweight title fight. Hunter moved back up to heavyweight, where he was 16-0-2 prior to Sunday.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Follow @JakeNDaBox

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