Before this contest, Roman Karmazin admitted that if he didn't win this bout, he was going to retire. He had no desire to compete at anything less than 'world class' level, and a loss would put him very far down the ladder.
In front him was banger Dionisio Miranda. This was easily the biggest fight of his career, although some tipped him to use his powerful right hand to stop his foe. In actuality, he nearly did.
Karmazin vs. Miranda Round-by-Round
Roman Karmazin (158 3/4lbs) outworked his opponent in round one, and was using hooks to the body well. Miranda (155 3/4lbs) was still looking dangerous with his right hand though.
In the second, Miranda took the centre of the ring and pressed the action. Towards the end of the round, he landed the left hook more and more, whih was a bad sign for the Russian in front of him.
The third was excellent for the Colombian. A huge overhand right stunned Karmazin, and his legs betrayed him. He used all his experience to hang on and last out the session though.
Karmazin went back to his boxing in the next round, and used combinations well. He proved he had more skill, and Miranda wasn't able to connect with his huge right straight. A clash of heads at the end marred the action though, as it caused a huge cut near the left eye of Miranda.
By the end of the fifth, Karmazin's composure had been restored entirely. He was showing every trick in the book, and making Miranda look very basic.
In both rounds six and seven, Karmazin started slowly, but put on a big burst at the end of the session. He utilised good hooks, and despite a few decent jabs courtesy of Miranda, he took both rounds.
Patience was a virtue in round eight for Karmazin, as Miranda was pressing the action, but he was simply walking onto counters. The older man's guile was key here, and the quality work was coming from the Russian.
He had a torrid round nine though. A massive straight put Karmazin down, although despite his best efforts, Miranda couldn't finish him off.
In a miraculous turnaround, after looking in dire straits, Karmazin knocked Miranda down twice in the tenth; post the second of these, Miranda wasn't to get up. Both knockdowns were as a result of big right hands, and this handed Karmazin a fantastic win.
This takes Karamazin's record to 40-3-1 (26 KOs), and hands him an IBF Title shot. In contrast, Miranda falls to 20-5-2 (18 KOs).
TV Undercard On 8th January 2010
On the undercard, Andrey Fedosov (223lbs) stopped Lionel Butler (276lbs) in the second, knocking him down twice in the process. The first was fought entirely in close, and was fairly even. However, in round two, the gulf in class was evident, and the power in the right hand of the younger man won him the contest. He improves to 21-1 (17KOs) whereas Butler drops to 32-16-1 (25KOs).
Anatoliy Dudchenko (175 3/4lbs) beat Isaac Atencio (174 1/2lbs) black and blue in their encounter, although he couldn't finish him over six rounds. The Ukranian scored three knockdowns in the contest, and the judges all scored it 60-51 in his favour. Despite his rudimentary technique, Dudchenko moves to 8-2 (6KOs), while the overmatched Atencio decreases to 2-2-1 (2KOs).
