Kurbanov vs Watanabe

Who won Kurbanov vs Watanabe?

Magomed Kurbanov beat Akinori Watanabe by technical knockout in the 8th round on Friday, December 15th, 2017, at DIVS, Ekaterinburg.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Super Welterweight division, which meant the weight limit was 154 pounds (11 stone or 69.8 kg).

Kurbanov vs Watanabe stats

Back in December 2017, Magomed Kurbanov stepped into the ring with an undefeated record of 12 wins, zero losses, and 0 draws.

Akinori Watanabe made his way to the ring with a record of 35 wins, 6 losses and 0 draws.

Magomed Kurbanov was the younger man by 10 years, at 22 years old.

Kurbanov had a height advantage of 1 inch over Watanabe. Despite this, Watanabe had a 2-inch reach advantage.

Magomed Kurbanov fought out of the orthodox stance, while Akinori Watanabe was a southpaw.

Kurbanov was arguably the less experienced fighter, having had 29 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2015, 11 years and 4 months later than Watanabe, whose first professional fight was in 2004. He had fought 26 more professional rounds, totaling 188 compared to Watanabe's 162.

Magomed Kurbanov went into the fight ranked number 6 by the WBA, 2 by the WBO, and 9 by the IBF at super welterweight.

Activity check

What time did Kurbanov vs Watanabe start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 9:00 PM UTC at DIVS, Ekaterinburg, Russia, which was 4:00 PM EST or 1:00 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 9:00 PM GMT in the UK.

What were the odds on Kurbanov vs Watanabe?

Magomed Kurbanov was a 3/50 (-1700) favorite going into the contest, while Akinori Watanabe made his way into the ring at 7/1 (+700) with oddsmakers.