Artur Subkhankulov picked up the WBA Continental lightweight title with a polished ten round unanimous decision victory over Tigran Uzlyan in an action-packed main event at MEЛБET IBA Pro 9 in Ufa, Bashkortostan.
Hometown hero Subkhankulov (10-4 KOs) boxed intelligently out of the southpaw stance, remaining one step ahead of the game Uzlyan (12-2, 6 KOs) throughout, cruising home to a well-deserved points victory in-front of a lively home crowd.
Despite suffering an injury to his right eye in the fourth round, Subkhankulov continued to pile up the points against the advancing Uzlyan, utilising his superior footwork and precision punching to slowly break his opponent down as the rounds progressed.
While a final round onslaught from Subkhankulov almost secured a dramatic late finish, the dogged Uzlyan managed to survive until the final bell.
With scores of 97-93 and 98-92 (x2) Subkhankulov booked arguably the standout win of his career so far. With the 33-year-old already ranked at #7 in the IBF lightweight rankings, a shot at one of the division’s big names is sure to follow in 2026.
In the chief support of the evening, welterweight queen Azalea Amineva delivered a career-best performance to outpoint Neslihan Mollaoglu over six rounds in their IBA Pro contest.
Oktyabrskiy’s Amineva (4-0, 1 KO IBA Pro) flew out of the blocks in the opening round, peppering Turkiye’s Mollaoglu (0-1 IBA Pro) to head and body with a series of spiteful southpaw combinations.
Despite dominating for large periods of the bout – including scoring a fourth round knockdown – there would be no stoppage victory for Amineva, with the 22-year-old instead settling for a lopsided decision win on the cards.
Super-middleweight contender Pavel Silyagin continued his march towards a world title shot with a comprehensive six round decision win over Venezuelan puncher Keiber Gonzalez.
After overcoming a nasty bout of illness during fight week, Silyagin (16-0-1, 7 KOs, 2-0 IBA Pro) showed no ill effects in producing a dominant display to shut Gonzalez (21-4, 18 KOs, 0-2 IBA Pro) out on the scorecards.
Currently ranked at #7 with the IBF and #8 with the WBA, the Novosibirsk stylist remains well-poised to challenge one of the marquee names in the red-hot 168lbs division.
In a clash of unbeaten welterweights, Ufa’s Denis Gabdrafikov showcased his sizzling hand speed as he overwhelmed Kazakh visitor Temirzhan Baimolda to win via impressive second-round TKO.
Gabdrafikov (5-0, 2 KOs, 2-0 IBA Pro) proved to be a level above from the opening bell, with the local favourite throwing an astonishing 31 unanswered punches before the referee stepped in with Baimolda (10-1, 6 KOs) taking a barrage of punishment on the ropes.
Beloretsk’s Bekkhan Israilov (2-0, IBA Pro) outpointed Iran’s Iman Ramezanpour (0-1, IBA Pro) over six rounds in a largely-competitive IBA Pro bout in the heavyweight division.
18-year-old Uzbek talent Khalimjon Mamasoliev (1-0, 1 KO IBA Pro) scored an emphatic second round TKO of Yaroslav Shkutyak (0-1 IBA Pro) in their IBA Pro heavyweight contest.
IBA Pro CEO Al Siesta said: “What a terrific night of action here in Ufa. Artur Subkhankulov proved that he is ready for the next step in the lightweight division with the most important performance of his career. We also had Pavel Silyagin – who was very sick this week – and he performed very well against a dangerous opponent in Keiber Gonzalez. Overall I am thrilled with the night and, most importantly, the fans in Ufa go home happy!”
