Batyrzhan Jukembayev is beginning to emerge as a legit contender at 140 pounds.

Jukembayev battered and eventually stopped Ivan Redkach in round five on Wednesday night at the Whitesands (also known as the ProBox TV) Events Center in Plant City, Florida.

It was all Jukembayev from the opening bell, as the southpaw overwhelmed a sluggish Redkach, overpowering him with combinations. Redkach was never in the fight, and with each passing round, would absorb vicious punches and combinations from Jukembayev.

With about a minute left in round three, a left hand to the body hurt Redkach. Jukembayev was on the attack, following up with a barrage of punches, but Redkach was able to make it out of the round. Prior to the start of round four, trainer Rogelio Romo told Redkach he would throw in the towel should he not be able to defend himself from the onslaught of punches thrown by Jukembayev.

Redkach was on the defensive during round four, not getting hit flush to the head as Jukembayev looked for openings. Jukembayev closed the distance, letting his hands go more during round five. After backing up Redkach against the ropes, Jukembayev unleashed a combination of punches that prompted referee Christopher Young to step in and stop the fight at 2:18.

The 33-year-old Jukembayev, who is originally from Shu, Kazakhstan and now resides in Montreal, Canada, previously fought on December 13, defeating Mohamed Mimoune by unanimous decision. Jukemayev has now won his last five bouts since a knockout loss to current IBF world titleholder Subriel Matias in May 2021.

Adam Lopez (left) and Jonhatan Cardoso (right) – Photo courtesy of ProBoxTV

The 38-year-old Redkach, also a southpaw who is originally from Shostka, Ukraine and now lives and trains in the Los Angeles area, falls to 24-7-1, 15 KOs, while Jukembayev improved to 23-1, 17 knockouts.

Redkach holds victories over former world titleholder Devon Alexander and Tony Luis, but has lost to the likes of Dejan Zlaticanin, Tevin Farmer, Argenis Mendez, John Molina, Jr. and Danny Garcia. He has lost three of his last four bouts after winning his previous three fights.

In a co-feature that turned into one of the better fights of 2024, junior lightweight Jonhatan Cardoso defeated Adam Lopez by split decision. One judge scored the bout 97-93 for Lopez, while the other two judges scored the bout 96-94 and an inexplicable 99-91 for Cardoso, who improved to 17-1, 15 KOs.

After a feeling-out opening round, both fighters let their hands go during round two. Lopez repeatedly threw and landed combinations, splitting the guard of Cardoso, who began bleeding from the nose. Lopez also focused his attack to the body.

Both threw and landed power punches during round three. Cardoso walked Lopez down, landing left hooks and right crosses to the head. Lopez found success landing lead and right crosses to the head towards the end of the round. Round four was also filled with ebb and flow action. Lopez continued to land right hands to the head, but Cardoso momentarily shook Lopez with a left hook to the head towards the end of the round.

About 30 seconds left in round five, Lopez landed a left-right combination to the head that momentarily stunned Cardoso, who was able to recover. Cardoso continued to walk Lopez down, but Lopez utilized lateral movement to avoid getting hit flush by Cardoso.

During the second half of the fight, Cardoso was able to find success in spots, throwing and landing punches to Lopez’s head. Lopez attempted to mix his offense, but it was Cardoso who was the more effective fighter during the last two rounds of the fight.

Both stood and traded in the center of the ring in round 10, bringing the crowd to their feet after the final bell sounded to end the fight.

The 25-year-old Cardoso had not fought since a knockout win over Oscar Alvarez on June 14. Cardoso, who resides in San Paulo, Brazil, has won his last three bouts since a knockout loss to Juan Huertas in June 2022.

Charles Harris – Photo courtesy of ProBoxTV

Lopez, who resides in Glendale, California, falls to 17-6, 6 KOs. The 28-year-old, a staple of Top Rank cards over the last five years, has now lost three of his last four bouts, including defeats to Oscar Valdez and Abraham Nova. Lopez also lost to Valdez in November 2019.

In the opening bout of the ProBox TV card, junior welterweight Charles Harris, Jr. of Rialto, California defeated Kyle Erwin by unanimous decision. Scores were 59-55, 59-55, and 58-46 for Harris.

Harris, also a stablemate of Terence Crawford, outboxed Erwin during the first four rounds of the fight, connecting with lead and counter right hands to the head. The 20-year-old also landed left and right uppercuts to Erwin’s head.

Erwin was more effective during the final two rounds of the fight, where he successfully closed the distance between the two and connected more to the head and body.

The 27-year-old Erwin, who resides in Oceanside, California, falls to 7-2, 3 KOs.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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