Ostroumov Suffers Major Knee Injury

Southpaw super middleweight Mikhael Ostroumov recently disclosed that he suffered a severe knee injury in a post on Instagram. The injury will keep him out of action for a significant but undisclosed amount of time.

Ostroumov is 3-0-1 with one KO as a pro. He made his debut on June 27, 2020 and earned a TKO victory over a 40-fight veteran. His lone draw came in his second fight against a 5-0 opponent, Ravshan Ergashev. The Jewish Boxing Blog scored the bout in favor of Ostroumov.

His next fight ended in a convincing victory over Vasily Shytck, a  tough opponent despite his mediocre record. Ostroumov last fought on December 10 against a weaker foe.

As the lines between amateur and professional boxing become increasingly blurred, Mikhael participated in the Israeli national amateur championships this past August. He dominated his semifinal match but dropped the final by decision to Yan Zak. Ostroumov's heaviest weight as a pro has been 168.75 pounds. In August, he fought in the 86 KG division in the amateur tournament, which is over twenty pounds heavier.

When Ostroumov recovers, and after a couple tune-up fights, a matchup against undefeated prospect Stephane Fondjo would be a good one. Fondjo (6-0, 5 KOs) is from Cameroon and based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Despite his impressive record, Fondjo's people probably won't want any part of a healthy Ostroumov. Fondjo has been in with soft touches thus far. One opponent was so green he spent much of the brief fight crouching with his hands over his head, not a defensive technique typically used in the sweet science. Predictably, Fondjo won that "fight" by KO. But if Fondjo's management has the courage, a bout against Ostroumov would be a good test for their man.

While Ostroumov recovers, catch up on his career by viewing video and reading The Jewish Boxing Blog's coverage of his fights...

Mikhael Ostroumov's pro fight videos and coverage:
Fight 1- June 27, 2020 vs. Karen Avetisyan [JBB article]
Fight 2- September 4, 2020 vs. Ravshan Ergashev [JBB article]
Fight 3- October 30, 2020 vs. Vasily Shtyk [JBB article]
Fight 4- December 10, 2020 vs Evgenii Tershukov [JBB article]

Review: The Great Benny Leonard

The Great Benny Leonard: Mama's Boy to World Champ
By John Jarrett
Pitch Publishing, 2021

Even now, over seventy years after his death, Benny Leonard is a revered figure among Jewish boxing fans. In a tradition popularized by Budd Schulberg, we typically include "The Great" before uttering his name, an honorific akin to referring to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi as "Mahatma." John Jarrett has created a book worthy of our idol.

Racing through his childhood and skimming his post-career life, Jarrett's work primarily focuses on Benny the boxer. Rather than providing strict chronologic coverage of each fight, Jarrett presents the hot debates that marked Benny's career:

-Who really taught Benny to throw that concussive right hand?
-How much did Benny love his mother? (Spoiler: A lot!)
-Was Benny a better lightweight than Joe Gans?
-How did he out-think Ritchie Mitchell in the first round on that fateful night in 1921 and trick the Milwaukee bruiser out of the world championship?
-And how did he do a similar thing to Lew Tendler in the eighth round of their fight the following year?
-Why did Benny hit Jack Britton when he was down and all but out, thereby losing his claim to the welterweight crown?

As a writer, Jarrett is humble. He leaves the storytelling to Damon Runyon, Heywood Broun, Nat Fleischer and the like, quoting firsthand newspaper accounts and later biographies at length. The introduction is almost exclusively an extended quote from Allen Bodner's When Boxing was a Jewish Sport. The fear in heavily quoting various sources is a disjointed work, but Jarrett blends these diverse voices like a maestro brings together different sections of an orchestra. Sometimes the writers seamlessly piggyback off one another and at others they engage in riveting debates about Benny's career. The few times Jarrett describes the fights with his own fingers, his words fit in well with the old masters.

Benny's life and career aren't treated as a philosophical muse here. Nor are they really put in a wider context either. His role as a symbol of his people is kept to a minimum. This book is more like a straight shot of Benny told directly by those who covered him. One of the most striking aspects of that coverage was the quickness in which questions surfaced about whether Leonard's talents had deteriorated. The questions arose almost immediately after he lifted the lightweight title from Freddie Welsh in 1917. And those criticisms never relented. As is often the case, the myth only grew in time.

The Great Benny Leonard is for all Jewish boxing fans. Those who don't know much about the legend will learn of all the key moments in his career, and those who are intimately familiar with perhaps the greatest Jewish boxer, and certainly the most popular, ever to lace up the gloves will still glean much from this book.

Kapuler Dominates on Route to Decision Victory

Miroslav Kapuler outboxed 20-fight veteran Yevheniy Kondratenko in Zvenyhorodka, Ukraine this afternoon. The southpaw junior middleweight looked quite impressive throughout the bout.

Kapuler wore light blue trunks with white trim. A gold Star of David adorned the left side of his trunks, and the beltline displayed his initials "MI" (for Miroslav Ishchenko, his birthname) in gold. He wore knee-high white socks and used black gloves to land a left to the body and then a left to the head stunning Kondratenko mere seconds into the fight.

Kondratenko attempted to fight back early, but Kapuler dissuaded him of any notion of returning fire with a series of lead lefts from the outside sprinkled throughout the opening round and a sustained combination with 45 seconds left in the first that spun Yevheniy around. For the rest of the fight Kondratenko remained in survival mode.

Kapuler spent much of the rest of the affair dancing and landing lead lefts from the outside. He showed off his fancy footwork and his educated jab. Miroslav has several jabs. He has a range-finding jab, which is essential for a taller fighter. The six-footer also has a power jab. He has a show-jab that distracts the opponent from his best punch, the straight left. He can also double up the jab and land that straight left behind it.

Late in the third round Kapuler unleashed an overhand left from distance. Upon absorbing the blow, Kondratenko froze. Miroslav waited, perhaps a beat too long, to jump on his wounded foe. Kondratenko managed to withstand Kapuler's barrage as the bell saved the journeyman.

At this point in his career, Kapuler is a bit too cautious when his man is hurt. Against Alexander Benidze in April, Miroslav also failed to capitalize when his opponent was all but finished. In today's bout, Kapuler didn't press the fight in the fourth even after Kondratenko was shaken up at the end of the third. Instead, he relied on his classy boxing to carry him to victory. But in fairness to Kapuler, both Benidze and Kondratenko are far more experienced than the usual pushovers many prospects are fed early in their careers. Miroslav swept the cards with one judge scoring the bout 40-35 and the other two seeing it 40-36.

Kapuler is a 24 year old with a lot of skills and ability. He can go far in the sport if he's so inclined. His jab and left hand are excellent. After landing some of his shots, he shifts to a different angle and lands some more. His right hook isn't bad by any means, but he throws it a bit wide. A tall southpaw in possession of a short counter right hook to the temple is a very dangerous fighter. Nevertheless, Kapuler is a speedy and flashy boxer who is now 3-0 with one KO. Kondratenko falls to 5-16 with 3 KOs.