Biyarslanov Dominant in His First Main Event : Recap of the Evening

By William Dumoulin

Photo Credit: Vincent Ethier / Eye of the Tiger

After securing two victories earlier this year, Arthur Biyarslanov finally had the chance to compete in his first main event this Thursday at an event presented by Eye of the Tiger at the Cabaret du Casino in Montreal. Initially set to defend his NABF super-lightweight title against the tough Mexican Marcos Villasana, Villasana had to withdraw at the last minute. Biyarslanov then faced Hungarian replacement Tamas Kiliti. Here is a recap of the evening.

In the main event, Arthur Biyarslanov (16-0, 14 KOs) defeated Tamas Kiliti (10-1, 6 KOs). From the first round, the skill gap between the two fighters was clear. Biyarslanov knocked his opponent down in the very first round. After several more knockdowns, the referee stopped the fight in the 3rd round.

In the co-main event, former Olympic bronze medalist Imam Khataev (8-0, 8 KOs) defended his NABF light-heavyweight title against Argentine Ezequiel Maderna (31-13, 21 KOs). Known to Quebec fans for his 2016 fight against Artur Beterbiev, Maderna did not make things easy for Khataev. After an aggressive start, Khataev had to adjust his strategy against a tenacious opponent. In the end, he finished the fight in the 7th round, extending his knockout streak and maintaining his 100% KO ratio.

Mary Spencer (9-2, 6 KOs), after two world championship losses against Belgium’s Femke Hermans, was looking to bounce back by fighting for the WBA interim super-welterweight title against Germany’s Naomi Mannes (7-3-1, 4 KOs) in a 10-round bout. Spencer started strong, dominating the first two rounds with an effective jab and good punch volume. However, Mannes gradually took control in the middle rounds, adopting a strategy similar to that of Femke Hermans, which made things difficult for Spencer. Late in the fight, Spencer knocked her opponent down, a decisive moment that allowed her to win the title by unanimous decision (96-93 X 3) in a closely contested bout that could have gone either way.

Christopher “Machine Gun” Guerrero (12-0, 7 KOs) faced American Courtney Pennington (17-9-3, 7 KOs) in an intriguing matchup. Pennington, coming off a controversial loss to Custio Clayton in Nova Scotia, could not keep up with the Quebec fighter. Guerrero ended the fight in the 4th round, securing the biggest win of his career. Following this triumph, Guerrero called for a fight with Custio Clayton, a bout that would certainly be intriguing.

Other results of the evening:

• Jhon Orobio (11-0, 10 KOs) knocked out Joel Ivan Manriquez (6-6, 0 KOs) in the 2nd round.
• Avery Martin Duval (12-0-1, 7 KOs) won by unanimous decision (79-73, 80-72, 80-71) against Jesus Adrian Daneff (13-12-4, 4 KOs).
• Wilkens Mathieu (11-0, 7 KOs) knocked out Rolando Wenceslao Mansilla (19-16-1, 9 KOs) in the 4th round.
• Moreno Fendero (7-0, 5 KOs) delivered a 3rd-round knockout to Carlos Miguel Ronner (7-5, 2 KOs).

Eye of the Tiger will hold its next event on October 17 at Casino du Lac-Leamy, with Alexandre Gaumont headlining the night. The Quebec promotion is also planning an event at the Casino de Montreal on November 7, featuring Osleys Iglesias against a world-ranked opponent.