Besputin Wins Title, Braekhus Retains

Alexander Besputin has claimed the WBA (Regular) welterweight championship with a decision win over Radzhab Butaev.

The fight headlined a Matchroom Boxing card at the Casino de Monte Carlo in Monaco.

The fight started off even, with Butaev catching Besputin with good shots whenever he could get him trapped or in the pocket. In the fifth, Besputin then used his agility and workrate to his advantage, attempting to pressure Butaev. Butaev, however, did catch him with a countershot that briefly stunned him.

Besptuin managed to fully secure control, however, catching Butaev with a couple of hard shots upstairs in the sixth round, though Butaev ate them well. After giving away the middle rounds, Butaev did his best from the ninth to the end to land a momentum-shifting shot, but that never came.

All three judges scored the bout 116-112.

BESPUTIN A WORTHY WINNER👑

The Sky panel felt Alexander Besputin's footwork and variety deservedly won him the WBA world title in Monte Carlo 👏 pic.twitter.com/5aPL5RpEMl

— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) December 1, 2019

In the co-feature bout of the evening, Cecilia Braekhus retained the undisputed female welterweight championship with a decision win over Victoria Bustos. The win marked Braekhus’ 25th consecutive time retaining the WBA and WBC titles she won in March 2009.

That's a lot of belts. 🏆#WatchOnDAZN pic.twitter.com/EaD0MKW0q0

— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) November 30, 2019

Braekhus controlled the action and seemed to have an easy time, picking her shots strategically and dodging much of Bustos’ attack over the fight’s 20 minutes. All three judges scored the contest for Braekhus 98-92.

With the win, promoter Eddie Hearn confirms there is a plan for Braekhus and Katie Taylor to meet around Summer 2020, with each woman taking one more fight in the interim.

🗣GOOD FIGHT FOR TAYLOR@SkyJohnnyNelson and @davidcoldwell agreed that @1LadyCecilia will provide a test for @KatieTaylor and the weight could be a vital factor ⚖ pic.twitter.com/3oo9pdBQJl

— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) November 30, 2019