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Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Miroslav Kapuler to Fight on Thursday

Junior middleweight Miroslav Kapuler is scheduled to fight on Thursday in Ukraine against Yevheniy Kondratenko. This would be Kapuler's third pro fight, all in Ukraine.

Kapuler, who sometimes goes by his birth surname of Ishchenko, is 2-0 with one KO. The 24 year old southpaw dominated the competition in last month's Israeli amateur championships. He won the gold in the 71 kilogram division as the lines between prizefighting and amateur boxing become increasingly blurred.

Kondratenko is the right kind of opponent for Kapuler at this stage of his career. Kondratenko, from Myrhorod, Ukraine, is 5-15 with 3 KOs and has experience in MMA. He has never beaten an opponent with a winning record, but has never lost to an opponent with a losing record. Kondratenko lost his first seven fights, won his next four, and has lost his last seven dating back to 2016. He has fought in his native Ukraine, as well as Russia, Latvia, Germany, and Finland.

Kapuler should handle the naturally smaller Kondratenko, but Yevheniy is no pushover. He's the type of guy who is an opponent for good young prospects early in their careers, not someone to boost an inflated record. One of his losses was to a guy who is now 21-1 and whose only career defeat came at the hands of former world champ Rob Brant. Another loss came to another guy who is also 21-1 and has only lost to hot prospect Rene Tellez Giron.

Kondratenko will take what's given to him. If an opponent takes control early as Denys Lazarev did in their 2015 bout, Kondratenko will fight off the backfoot and throw punches with little conviction. But if Kondratenko feels he has a chance, he'll push forward firing combinations. Though he has been stopped six times, he can take a good punch; he just can't withstand two or three in quick succession.

Kapuler has a three inch height advantage and he has been more active. He last fought professionally in April while Kondratenko's last pro boxing match was a bit before the pandemic began in December of 2019. This bout is scheduled for four rounds.

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