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.

Cohen and Nieto Fight to Majority Draw

Dr. Stefanie Cohen and Marcela Nieto fought to a majority draw at Sport Society in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in their featherweight contest today. Cohen's technique vastly improved since her debut, but she had trouble mounting offense besides her jab.

A big moment came when Stefi entered the ring, her surname "Cohen" stitched in yellow across the beltline on the back of her black trunks. The United Arab Emirates recognized the state of Israel only last year, on August 13, becoming the third Arab nation to do so.

Cohen, 29, is a world-record breaking powerlifter, a legend in that sport. She came to boxing less than two years ago. She won her first fight by TKO, but her punches and footwork were crude. In the first round of this bout, Stefi exhibited much sharper technique. Her feet quickly darted in and out while she snapped her jab at Nieto. On the inside, she landed a short right to the body and effectively slipped Nieto's attempts at offense like a seasoned boxer.

On the outside, Nieto waved her wide punches. At one point, she ran to get close to Cohen firing arm punches along the way. But mostly, she posed, taunted, and waited. Cohen's movement and defense frustrated the 33 year old from El Bagre, Colombia until the end of the second round. Nieto landed a short right on the inside and Cohen's nose began to resemble a certain reindeer named Rudolph. It was the turning point in the fight.

The blood poured down Cohen's nose early in the third. She landed her jab, but Nieto found a home for her short rights in close at the end of the two-minute period. One after the other, Cohen absorbed those painful rights. Nieto's short right was tighter and more powerful than her wide punches from the outside.

After taking punishment at the end of the third, Cohen boxed behind the jab in the fourth. Nieto landed a clean short right to the body at one stage and a counter right over the top later in that last round. This final round posed the age old question for judges: How many jabs equal two hard power shots? Two of these three judges answered that whatever the number of jabs, Cohen hadn't connected with enough of them.

A ring announcer's job may look easy, but it's not as simple as you think. There is a certain order in which to read the scores to maximize the drama and clarity. Today's ring announcer flubbed his job. The scores should have been read, "Judge A scored the bout 39-37 for [insert boxer's name]. Overruled by judges B and C who scored it... 38-38, a majority draw." Instead, this announcer read the two even cards first, draining the act of any drama, and then revealed the 39-37 score without mentioning which fighter won on that card. As it turns out, the 39-37 score was somewhat surprisingly for Nieto 

Cohen, who is now 1-0-1 with one KO, looked much better from a technical standpoint but came away with a draw. While her footwork, technique, and jab were all better, she telegraphed her overhand right and didn't have another punch to throw off the jab. She quickly ran out of offensive ideas. As a result, her attack was limited, and once Nieto figured out how to get inside Stefi's jab, Marcela found more success. Nieto, 2-0-1 with one KO, was also a better opponent.

A light moment came during the post fight interview. Cohen, a native of Caracas, Venezuela and a resident of Miami, Florida, speaks Spanish and English. Nieto, the Colombian, only speaks Spanish, and the interviewer spoke English. So Cohen served as translator for her opponent. She didn't fake the translation and claim, "She said I won the fight" or anything, but it was perhaps a bit awkward when Cohen translated, "She has a lot of respect for me. She says I'm tough."

Weights For Cohen-Nieto

Dr. Stefanie Cohen (1-0, 1 KO) is scheduled to face Marcela Nieto (2-0, 1 KO) tomorrow in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Nieto weighed in at 121.5 pounds, the heaviest of her career. Cohen came in at 125.2 pounds, about a pound and a half more than she weighed in her debut.

When Stefi stepped onto the scale, Nieto peered at the number. Nieto shook her head, threw her hands up, and shook her head some more in resigned disgust. Her reaction was akin to when your mechanic quotes you a price on a replacement catalytic converter after yours was stolen out of your driveway. You figure the price is inflated, but you're powerless to do anything about it.

According to BoxRec and the promoter, Core Sports, the fight is set for the featherweight limit of 126 pounds, which Cohen made with room to spare. There has been no public mention of a catchweight for this fight, but perhaps Nieto was promised one. That seems the only logical explanation for her reaction.

Cohen, 29,  has had to transform her body in her shift from powerlifting, a sport in which she was a record-breaking legend, to boxing. Nieto, 33, has experience in another sport, too. She has at least six fights in MMA.

Stefi and her team have been in Dubai for the week. She toured the Burj Khalifa, by far the tallest building in the world. Completed in 2009 and standing 2,717 feet (828 meters), it is almost 700 feet (200 meters) taller than the second tallest building in the world. From the top, Cohen could surely see Sport Society, the arena where the fight is set to take place.

BoxRec lists Cohen-Nieto as having four three-minute rounds. Typically, women's matches have two-minute rounds. Core Sports announced that the fight will start at 9:15 PM local time, which is 8:15 in Israel, 6:15 in the UK, and 1:15 PM EDT.

Here is a link to video of the weigh-in.