Light heavyweight contender Ali Izmailov passed a stiff test against Charles Foster on Friday in Verona, New York. Barely.
Izmailov and Foster fought on even terms, so even that they landed exactly the same number of punches (113), according to CompuBox. However, Izmailov landed at a higher rate, connected on more power shots and put Foster down in Round 5.
That was the difference in the 10-round fight. The official scores were 96-93 (six rounds to four), 96-93 and 95-94.
Izmailov (11-0, 8 KOs) thought he won convincingly but acknowledged that Foster’s tactics frustrated him at times..
“I didn’t even listen to the scores,” he said. “I knew it wasn’t close. I knew I won. I wasn’t even thinking it was even close.”
He went on: “[I was] very frustrated by [Foster’s] holding. He didn’t want to fight. That’s why he held so much. He knew what would happen if he fought me.”
Foster didn’t see it that way.
“I know I’m a big strong light heavyweight,” he said. “After the knockdown, I made an adjustment and took the fight to him, and he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t handle it.
“They build these guys up to be big monsters, but he doesn’t hit as hard as they say. He hits hard, but nothing special. Once I went to his body, everything changed.”
was ranked No. 11 by the WBO entering the fight. The victory over Foster, the IBF’s No. 15 175-pounder, should push him up the list and could catch the attention of the other sanctioning bodies.
Izmailov is a Detroit-based Russian.
