Chilemba Stopped in Second

Isaac Chilemba suffered his tenth career defeat when Aleksei Papin knocked him out in the second round of their cruiserweight fight at Ledovaya (Ice) Arena in Balashikha, Russia. Chilemba initially fought well, but Papin's weight and power advantages proved too much to overcome.

At yesterday's weigh-in, Chilemba tipped the scales at 184.3 pounds, the second heaviest of his career. Papin stood 199.5 pounds, around his normal weight.

Chilemba began the fight cautiously and ceded control of the center to Papin. The Malawian used stab jabs to the head and body while adroitly ducking Papin's counter attempts. The Russian struggled to figure out Chilemba's shoulder roll defense while Isaac added straight rights to the head and body by the end of the round.

Isaac won the first, but ominous clouds swirled over the round. Papin only landed a couple of jabs, but they physically pushed Chilemba a couple of steps backwards. It was clear Chilemba needed to be perfect for eight rounds just for the Russian judges to rip him off while Papin only needed to land the right shot to close the show.

Chilemba threw clever combinations to start the second round, but he didn't possess the power to dissuade Papin's punches. Isaac blocked a right, but the force of the blow knocked him backwards. Chilemba soon fell to the ropes, an ugly bit of foreshadowing for the veteran. He managed to get out of dodge that time, but his good fortune wouldn't last long.

In center ring, Papin launched a right uppercut-left hook combination that wobbled Chilemba. Isaac stammered back as Papin shot a hard right behind the ear. Isaac collapsed into the ropes while Papin followed. He repeatedly looped rights that were mostly blocked by Chilemba's left arm, so Papin adjusted. He went back to the right uppercut-left hook combination that started the trouble for Chilemba. That proved to be right move.

Chilemba had only been stopped once before in his career and that was due to an injury against Olexandr Gvozdyk. The combination cut Chilemba down to the canvas and the fight was quickly stopped. Regardless, Isaac couldn't have beaten the count.

Chilemba is now 27-10-3 with 11 KOs. Papin is now 17-1 (1 no contest) with 16 KOs.

Two Jewish Pros to Compete in Final Olympic Qualifier

David Alaverdian and Miroslav Kapuler are scheduled to represent Israel in the final Olympic qualifier beginning tomorrow. The event, to be held in Thailand, is the last shot for boxers to make the 2024 Paris Olympics. The last Jewish boxer to fight in the Olympics was Miroslav's brother, Pavlo Ishchenko, who competed for Ukraine in 2012.

Alaverdian is 8-0-1 with 6 KOs as a pro. Professional boxers have been allowed to compete in amateur tournaments since 2016. David will fight in the flyweight (51 KG) class. He is one of 51 boxers competing for four qualifying spots. His first bout is scheduled for Saturday against Chon Ryong So of North Korea. So won bronze at last year's Asian Games.

Kapuler is a 3-0 pro. The southpaw fights in the junior middleweight division (71 KG), which has 70 boxers vying for five Olympic spots. Miroslav faces Carl Hield of the Bahamas on Sunday in the round of 64. Hield is a battletested 37 year old who is 6-0 as a pro, all in Colombia.

Yan Zak and Daniel Ilyushonok are two Israeli amateurs who will take part in the qualifying tournament. Zak is a heavyweight (92 KG). One of 42 boxers battling for three spots, Zak fights Malcolm Preston Matthes of New Zealand on Monday. Ilyonshonok fights as a light heavyweight (80 KG). Fifty four light heavies are aiming for one of four spots. Ilyushonok takes on Paul Andrei Aradoaie of Romania on Saturday.

Follow the tournament here.

Odelia Ben Ephraim to Fight Narymane Benloucif

Odelia Ben Ephraim is scheduled to defend her French featherweight title against Narymane Benloucif on June 7 at Patinoire Municipale Jacques Raynaud in Blagnac, France. This bout is scheduled for eight rounds.

Ben Ephraim is a 24 year old from Blagnac. A talented artist, she won the vacant French title in November against Lydie Bialic to improve her record to 5-2. Nicknamed "Thunder," Ben Ephraim has a crowd-pleasing style in the ring. She's an accurate volume puncher who throws many well-placed combinations. Her punch output can leave her open for left hooks though.

Benloucif is a 31 year old from Toulouse. She holds a 2-1 record. After winning her debut in May of 2022, she dropped a close fight three weeks later to Melina Ainaoui by split decision. Narymane fought well, and the fight really could have gone either way. She used her height advantage to maintain distance and primarily threw long jabs and straight rights. She came forward at times, but was careful not to come too close. After nearly two years away from the ring, she won again on May 11.

Benloucif, who has yet to face an opponent with a professional win, drops her right when she jabs and doesn't bring her hands back high after unleashing them. While Ainaoui occasionally took advantage of these defensive lapses, she was usually not close enough. Ben Ephraim may try a leaping left hook if she can time it right, but she'll mostly look to fight either inside or in the pocket.

Coincidently, Benloucif helped Lydie Bialic prepare for her fight against Ben Ephraim last year. Ben Ephraim had also previously sparred Bialic. When the former sparring partners of Bialic collide on June 7, it should make for a fascinating clash of styles with the French title at stake

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Isaac Chilemba to Fight Aleksei Papin on Friday

Isaac Chilemba is scheduled to fight Aleksei Papin on May 24 at the Balashikha Ice Arena in Balashikha, Russia in an eight round cruiserweight bout. Papin represents an especially difficult challenge for the veteran Malawian.

Chilemba is a 37 year old based in South Africa who sports a record of 27-9-3 with 11 KOs. He last fought in October 2022 against an overmatched opponent. A slick defensive fighter, Chilemba has lost some speed as shown in relatively recent losses to Pavel Silyagin and Osleys Iglesias. His last quality performance came against Fedor Chudinov 39 months ago, a draw in which Chilemba deserved to win.

Isaac has primarily fought at super middleweight and light heavyweight. He has only fought above 180 pounds once and that was back in 2019. His average weight for his last four fights is just 170 pounds.

Meanwhile Papin is a true cruiserweight. The 36 year old former kickboxer from Reutov, Russia has fought as a heavyweight in three of his last five fights. His average weight for those fights was 202 pounds.

The weight difference is not Chilemba's only problem. Papin is 16-1 with 15 KOs, and many of those knockouts were one-punch senses-scramblers. His bulging legs were crafted from granite. Against one-time prospect Ismayl Sillakh, Papin landed a right and two left hooks that frighteningly knocked the man known as the Black Russian unconscious. Against Dilan Prasoci, left hooks to the body sapped the punch resistance of the heavyweight from Montenegro. He went down three times before the final KO blow in the second.

Papin throws a power jab, a hard left hook, and a concussive right hand. But he does have some limitations. Papin has only been past the sixth round three times, and the eighth round twice. He lost both of those longer fights though one was later changed to a no contest. Against Ilunga Makabu, Papin faded badly in a twelve rounder and dropped a majority decision, his only official loss. Last October, Soslan Asbarov landed a counter left hook to score a knockdown in the second. He used lateral movement to change angles and neutralize Papin's jab. It didn't hurt that Asbarov was also aided by performance enhancing drugs; his unanimous decision victory was later overturned.

Both fighters have a common opponent, Wilbeforce Shihepo. Early in his career, Chilemba split a pair of six-round decisions with Shihepo in 2007. Papin stopped him in the eighth round at the Floyd Mayweather Boxing Academy in Zhukovka, Russia in 2018.

Papin's combination of weight and power advantages coupled with Chilemba's age and mileage make this a dangerous fight for the Golden Boy. Chilemba will need to wear down Papin by changing angles and letting his hands go. If the fight goes to the cards, Chilemba has had no luck in Russia getting a fair shake. Yet, Chilemba is not a knockout puncher. A fight against a hard-punching cruiserweight on the road is no easy task, but Chilemba has made a career out of accepting such challenges.