Israil Madrimov stops Alejandro Barrera in Round 5
NEW YORK – Highly regarded junior middleweight prospect Israil Madrimov is making a strong early impression.
Madrimov (4-0, 4 knockouts) battered Alejandro Barrera (29-6, 18 KOs) with a flurry of clean shots in the fifth round, prompting referee Benji Esteves Jr. to stop the bout at 2:36 Saturday on the Gennadiy Golovkin-Sergiy Derevyanchenko card at Madison Square Garden.
It appeared it would be a shorter night, as Madrimov dropped Barrera midway through the first round with a check left hook. However, Barrera, who has been stopped only by Errol Spence, is no pushover. He fought bravely and landed some eye-catching shots. However, Madrimov was too dynamic and two powerful down the stretch, landing numerous potshots from the southpaw stance in the fifth and final round.
Madrimov, from Uzbekistan, is a former amateur star.
In other preliminary bouts, junior welterweight contender Ivan Baranchyk (20-1, 13 KOs) bombarded Gabriel Bracero (25-4-1, 6 KOs) with hard, winging shots en route to a fourth round stoppage of the Puerto Rican veteran.
Bracero had his moments, countering off the ropes, but he was outgunned from the start. In the fourth, Baranchyk hurt Bracero to the body with a left and followed up with an overhand right that sent Bracero toppling over, grabbing ahold of Branchyk’s legs as he crashed to the canvas. Bracero got up only to see his corner plead with referee Arthur Mercante Jr. to stop the fight. The official time was 1:30.
Kazakhstani super middleweight prospect Ali Akhmedov (16-0, 12 KOs) made it a quick one, scoring a first-round technical knockout of Andrew Hernandez (20-8-2, 9 KOs) with a straight right that landed on Hernandez’s left temple. Hernandez barely beat the count but staggered to his right, forcing referee Eddie Claudio to wave off the scheduled 12-round fight at 44 seconds.
Local favorite Brian Ceballo (11-0, 6 KOs) remained undefeated, cruising to a third-round stoppage of Ramal Amanov (16-1, 5 KOs) in a scheduled 8-round welterweight bout. The Brooklyn-based Ceballo hammered Amanov early with hard rights. In Round 3, Ceballo unleashed a slew of unanswered combinations that prompted Amanov to paw at his face as if something was wrong. Moments later, Mercante pulled Amanov away to be examined by the ringside doctor, who then recommended the fight be stopped. It’s not clear whether he was cut. The official time of stoppage was 1:20.
It was a cruel and disappointing start for the professional career of southpaw light heavyweight Joe Ward (0-1). The decorated Irish amateur dislocated his left knee as he took a step back a minute into the second round against Marco Delgado (6-1, 5 KOs). The freak accident put a damper on what was supposed to be a celebratory occasion.