Daniyar Yeleussinov took another step toward a world title shot on the Danny Jacobs-Gabriel Rosado card Friday in Hollywood, Calif.
The 2016 Olympic gold medalist from Kazakhstan put fellow southpaw Julius Indongo down once in the opening round and then finished him off in the second of a scheduled 10-round 147-pound fight, recording a knockout at 1:24.
Indongo (23-3, 12 KOs) is a former unified 140-pound titleholder and was deemed a test for Yeleussinov (10-0, 6 KOs). Turns out he was easy prey.
Yeleussinov, who is based in Miami, put the wild-swinging Namibian down with a short left hand about a minute and a half into the fight. Indongo got up and survived the round but he seemed vulnerable.
In the second round Yeleussinov landed a chopping left above Indongo’s ear and put him down again. This time, hurt by the shot, he didn’t want to continue and the fight was stopped.
Indongo had said before the fight that Yeleussinov would be easy work for him.
“I told him I’m a tough guy, one of the best welterweights in the division,” Yeleussinov said. “That’s why I said to him, ‘No, you’re easy work for me.'”
Yeleussinov will likely enter the 147-pound rankings of one or more of the four major sanctioning bodies. When that happens, he’ll be in line to take another step up in opposition.
His promoter, Eddie Hearn, believes he’s ready for any welterweight.
“I hope, I hope,” he said, “In the future, step by step, I’m going up.”
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