Guido Vianello defeats Arslanbek Makhmudov, earning an eighth round victory

Quebec City – Guido Vianello upset Arslanbek Makhmudov in the heavyweight title fight against Christian Mbilli-Sergiy Derevyanchenko at the Center Videotron in Quebec City, Canada on Saturday.

Vianello (13-2-1, 11 knockouts) mostly held his own until the doctor stopped the fight due to severe swelling in Makhmudov’s left eye early in the 8th round. The official time was two seconds in the eighth lap.

“I’m a competitor now. I’m ready for world class, and I proved that tonight,” said Vianello.

“I had to hold myself tight. There was a layup that wasn’t called, but I knew if I stuck to my strategy I would get a layup.”

The Italian started on the front foot and stayed there throughout the fight using his superior hand and foot speed to strike and hurt Makhmudov (19-2, 18 knockouts). Vianello caught and injured Makhmudov late in the first round and the Russian-born fighter stumbled back to his corner on weak legs.

Things did not improve in the second round Makhmudov. His head was thrown and he continued to look unstable as he was made to look heavy and beaten until he lost his strength.

Makhmudov’s first moment of success came in the third round when he landed a good right hand. However, while previous opponents may have fallen, Vianello, a 2016 Olympian, persevered and curled up for a moment to clear his head. He didn’t allow Makhmudov to gain any momentum from that and shot back Makhmudov in the corner.

The fight heats up as both throw fences and land good punches late in the third round. In the closing stages of the round Makhmudov’s eye had started to swell and looked very bad.

Vianello was good in the passages and not playing in the wild, at times eating Makhmudov’s lungs as the Russian-born fighters eye looked almost closed at the end of the 5th Round. Vianello also had a square wound over his right eye.

Vianello knew he was ahead and dominated his action keeping a jab in Makhmudov’s face, which seemed to frustrate Makhmudov who was penalized a point for hitting a rabbit in the sixth.

The end was near, Vianello had a big fight in the seventh round and injured Makhmudov, who tripped and touched the ground but the knockdown was missed by referee Albert Padulo Jr. .

At the end of the round, the doctor called Makhmudov and told the referee to stop the fight.

It was a great win for Vianello, who will be able to parlay this into something meaningful but it will be very difficult for Makhmudov to recover from.

“I thought I beat Efe Ajagba, and I came into this fight with a lot of confidence. I’ve been in the best shape of my career, and that showed tonight. I controlled him and then took him out.”

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