Wins for Sultan Zaurbek and Jair Valtierra in Ireland

WATERFORD – Kazakh Sultan Zaurbek dropped Damien Wrzesinki in the 10th and final round on his way to a decision victory on ProBox TV in Ireland.

Zaurbek won by margins of 98-91 and two cards of 97-92 to move to 19-0 (13 KOs).

The game Wrzesinki is now 28-4-2 (7).  

The southpaw Zaurbek looked for openings up and down early on, while Wrzesinki hunted for counters with his left hand. There was a moment when Zaurbek lined his opponent up with a hard-looking left hand that appeared threatening but didn’t land flush.

The Pole’s face reddened in the second but it looked like a short left hook cut Zaurbek by his right eye in round three. Consequently, Zaurbek opened up with some menacing shots but Wrzesinki fired home some of his own and moved away to safety.

Zaurbek pawed at the wound in the third and both were warned for coming in with the head but Zaurbek struggled to contain the Pole’s movement in the fourth.

The Kazakh stormed out of his corner in the fifth but he was continuously frustrated in his efforts to land his heavy artillery on the Pole, who was using every inch of the ring.

Zaurbek would occasionally catch Wrzesinki with his southpaw left but the Pole was always immediately back on the move and Zaurbek, looking a little one dimensional, was unable to follow it up.

The action opened up in the eighth round, primarily because Zaurbek caught a back-pedalling Wrzesinki with a long left that caused the Pole to stumble and he then tried to land his own big shot to redress the balance.

In the ninth, the still fresh Zaurbek followed a left hand with a right hook and Wrzesinki had become more defensive-minded and in the 10th and final round Zaurbek dropped Wrzesinki with a left hand for a count.

Wrzesinki, cut and marked up, was losing his earlier mobility and his shape while Zaurbek applied pressure and then played to the crowd to see the fight out.

California’s Jonathan Navarro lost for the first time as a professional, suffering a narrow defeat by the Mexican Jair Valtierra.

The bout was scored 97-93 and it was a good, close, tough fight without ever fully igniting. Valtierra saluted the crowd afterwards and there was clearly respect between both fighters by the end.

Valtierra improves to 18-3 (9 KOs), while Navarro is now 18-1 (9 KOs).

There was little between them. Navarro landed an early left hook but Valtierra reminded Navarro he was still there moments later with a right hand.

They were at risk of cancelling one another out, although it wasn’t for lack of industry or effort. Both searched for openings and were not giving one another much to go on.

However, in the third Valtierra landed a right that drew gasps from the audience and while Navarro battled back, there was something of a stalemate.

There was a good exchange in the fourth, but neither came out on top. The next was also close. Valtierra seemed to have the greater power, but Navarro did not allow a gap to open between them

In the seventh, Valtierra caught Navarro coming out of an exchange with a right hand and Valtierra tried to put his foot to the floor, becoming more aggressive, looking to outmuscle and outwork the Californian, but Navarro clinched and the moment passed. Valtierra enjoyed another successful spell in the eighth, though, and was looking strong in the most physical round of the fight.

The action was paused momentarily in the ninth when Valtierra had to have tape around his glove fastened by his corner, and near the end of the round he cracked Navarro with a big left hook, but Navarro gulped it down and fired back.

The 10th flowed freely, but Valtierra had done enough to earn a decision.