Mourad Aliev becomes WBC International Silver heavyweight champ
Lofty six-feet-seven-inch tall southpaw Mourad "White Wolf" Aliev (7-0, 5KO) took a giant step in just the seventh fight of his pro career with a ninth round TKO of renown power puncher "Iron" Ali Kiydin (16-2, 15KO), to win the World Boxing Council International Silver Heavyweight title.
The fans at the Friedrich-Elbert Halle, Ludwigshafen, Rhineland, Palatinate, Germany were impressed by huge but lean 27-year-old Mourad's power and persistence, reinforced by a nonstop two-fisted attack.
The Russian-born Frenchman from Nice weighed in at 254lbs, while KO artist Ali, who is four years older and stands five-feet-eleven-inches tall, was 224lbs.
Mourad was born in Moscow, but, moved to France aged six and is now a French Citizen living in Nice. Ali is from Frankfurt.
Ali, who is more experienced, weathered several storms, then a huge straight left dropped him hard in the ninth. He bravely got up and fought on, but was caught by another big left, driving him back. Referee Jurgen Langos immediately stopped the fight at 1:55 of the penultimate round of a scheduled 10, a couple of seconds before the towel was additionally thrown in from Ali's corner.
Ahmet Oner of Arena Promotions, who promotes both fighters said: “Ali tried to catch Mourad but it didn't work. Mourad needs more experience, and he needs to use his range more. He must fight like a big man. His coordination is not yet perfect, in my opinion, but he is indeed getting better, and he is progressing well. He has a punch power, which was moving and shaking Ali. The Referee and Ali's corner stopped the fight, almost in the same moment.
“Mourad is learning, progressing and he`s coming! He`s going to be one of the major stars in the heavyweight division. It was his seventh fight, he was not fighting a taxi driver, he was fighting a quality opponent who is a proven puncher.”
Ahmet will be keeping Mourad busy. In his last fight, last November, he won his first title – WBC Mediterranean Heavyweight belt, which earned him a place in the WBC world rankings at 34th, just six spots down from Anthony Joshua's next opponent, Jermaine Franklin.
He's been invited for sparring sessions with also undefeated Agit Kabayel (22-0, 14 KO`s), who has won the European Heavyweight title, then more fights to apply those benefits, including a title defense. There's a big show coming up in Jun that Ahmet commented on: “Mourad has real potential and I believe he will be one of the major players!”
It was a proud moment for Mourad when he was presented with the Green and Gold Silver Belt by WBC International Championship Committee Chairman Mauro Betti.
