On Sunday, August 23, in the Great Ballroom at Rixos Mriya Resort Hotel in Yalta, Crimea, Felix Valera (13-0, 12 KOs), from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, defeated Stanislav Kashtanov (33-2, 19 KOs), from Serpukhov, Russia, via Donetsk, Ukraine, by split decision to win the interim WBA light heavyweight title.

The final scores were 117-111 for Kashtanov, and 115-113 and 116-112 for Valera after 12 rounds of fighting.

Twenty-seven-year-old Valera, a southpaw fighting out of the blue corner in green and blue trunks, took control of the fight at the opening bell. Moving laterally with his hands held low and firing off punches at odd angles, he was an elusive, unpredictable target in the first third of the fight.

But 31-year-old Kashtanov, fighting out of the red corner in white trunks, came into his own in the fifth round, with his right hand finding the mark on several occasions. A more classical boxer than the improvisational Valera, Kashtanov ran out of gas in the later rounds, enabling the younger, more athletic Valera to win the decision.

In the co-main event, former interim WBA middleweight champion Dmitry “Night Wolf” Chudinov (15-1-2, 9 KOs), from Serpukhov, Russia, won a unanimous decision over Geard Ajetovic (26-13-1, 12 KOs), from Belgrade, Serbia.

It was Chudinov’s first fight since losing his WBA belt to Chris Eubank Jr. last February.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8Yreky6Qfo

This article was penned by the author who is not related to the WBA and the statements, expressions or opinions referenced herein are that of the author alone and not the WBA.