In the first ever title fight in Ukrainian boxing history local hero Yuri Nuzhnenko (27-0-1, 13 KOs) failed to live up to expectations barely retaining his WBA interim welterweight belt via a technical draw with Puerto Rican import Irving Garcia (16-3-2, 8 KOs). The Nuzhnenko-Garcia showdown was a main event of another telling tournament arranged by K2 East Promotions at the Sports Palace in Kiev, Ukraine.

WBA #15 Garcia, a late sub for Mexican Cosme Rivera, who was tested positive on unknown illegal substance after his latest outing, applied a wise tactical approach by fighting Nuzhnenko behind the jab and scoring well in defensive mode. His neglecting skills were however equalized by Yuri’s constant pressure and effective aggressiveness.

The Ukrainian boxer suffered a nasty cut over his left eye in round two after an accidental headbutt. In round three Yuri was cut more by what many thought was a legal blow by the Puerto Rican guest. By heavily pressuring Garcia, Nuzhnenko, clearly more active fighter of the two, piled up several points on judges’ scorecards but the price for that success was well seen on his badly swollen face. Following several medical examinations of a local boxer, the fistic action was finally stopped after the tenth round when Nuzhnenko was no longer able to continue the bout due to a bloody mess on his face.

Two judges and Fightnews' representative had the fight dead even at 95-95 while the third one scored it in favor of the home pugilist 96-95. The way this fight had been stopped was also a point of controversy as many fans around and a good deal of boxing community thought the damage to Nuzhnenko had been made by Garcia’s punches, not headbutts.

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6’8” ft. Belarussian giant Alexander Ustinov (9-0, 8 KOs) scored a workmanlike but unanimous decision over American journeyman Sedreck Fields (22-37-2, 16 KOs). Ustinov, a well-known MMA practitioner, was clearly disturbed and angered with Fields’ continuous clowning and showboating. Fields forced Ustinov to look like a rookie while capturing fans’ applause during the process but was lightly knocked down in round two. That was the first time Ustinov went a full distance in the pro ranks. Fields, on the other hand, lost his eighth fight in a row and had a single win over Daroll Wilson in his last 17 bouts.

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Ukrainian middleweight prospect Maxim Bursak (14-0, 4 KOs) acquired his first career belt with a seventh-round technical knockout of Georgian youngster Mikhail Khucishvili (10-3-2, 3 KOs). Bursak looked a fighter of a different class by constantly beating 19-year old Georgian to the punch. The contest was stopped by the doctor after a terrible cut, suffered by Khucishvili in the third round, became too hard to be dealt with. Bursak is now an IBF Youth middleweight titlist.

Other results:
Alaudin Murtazaliev (5-1, 3 KOs) UD 6 Semens Moroshek (1-2-1)
Dmitry Nikulin (11-0, 4 KOs) UD 6 Mikhail Vinnichenko (4-8, 2 KOs)
Vladimir Chanturia (10-0, 6 KOs) TKO 4 Mikhail Rutskoy (0-2)
Valentin Golovko (1-0) PTS 4 Alexander Bodnia (0-2)