Fedor Chudinov and Ryno Liebenberg lived up to expectations and had a great war in the main fight of the event that took place this Friday at the Sibur Arena, St. Petersburg. The former defended his World Boxing Association (WBA) Gold Super Middleweight title after battling 12 rounds and winning by unanimous decision.

The judges’ scorecards were 116-111, 118-109, and 119-108 for the Russian champion, who made the second defense of his belt against the experienced Romanian challenger.

Both went toe-to-toe from the first round and the fight turned into a very exciting battle of exchanges in which both had their moments. However, Chudinov’s physique was the key to win as the rounds went by and proved the reason why he is the Gold champion of the pioneer organization.

The Russian knocked Liebenberg down in the ninth round with a left hook that was followed by a combination of punches. That was the icing on the cake to take a big lead on the scorecards and defeat a tough opponent who was determined to take the belt away from him. From that moment on, the Romanian was able to survive but he looked quite damaged and finished the fight thanks to his courage.

Chudinov improved his record to 24 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw, and 16 KOs, while Liebenberg’s record stands at 21 wins, 8 losses, 1 draw, and 14 wins before the limit.