Murat Gassiev (34-2, 27 KOs) made the first defense of his WBA heavyweight title on Saturday night, stopping Peter Kadiru (23-2, 13 KOs) at 1:00 of the sixth round at VTB Arena in Moscow. Kadiru’s corner threw in the towel after a sustained attack from the champion, capping the main event of the IBA Pro 19 card, which was broadcast on DAZN.

Kadiru accepted the fight on roughly a week’s notice after original opponent Tony Yoka withdrew with a back injury. Gassiev, who had won the WBA’s secondary title with a knockout of Kubrat Pulev in December 2025, was elevated to full champion last month when Oleksandr Usyk vacated his belts.

The champion controlled the bout from the opening round, walking Kadiru down behind a high guard and working left hooks to the body. Kadiru, a 29-year-old from Hamburg who won Youth Olympic gold as an amateur, covered up and fought in spurts but could not sustain any offense against the former unified cruiserweight champion.

Gassiev opened the sixth with a combination that drove Kadiru back into his own corner. A right uppercut snapped the challenger’s head back before Kadiru’s corner intervened to end the fight.

“I am delighted to get the victory, and defend my title,” Gassiev said afterward. “I can now look forward to resting and enjoying time with my family. When I return, I plan on becoming unified champion.”

“It was a phenomenal display of power-punching from Murat,” said Al Siesta, promoter of IBA Pro. “Kadiru is an experienced fighter, with many bouts at the top of the amateurs, and he took this opportunity in the belief he would become heavyweight champion. However, Murat was on a totally different level. His precision, his poise and, of course, his power were the key differences tonight. Kadiru fought bravely, but he was simply out of his depth against a truly world-class heavyweight.”

Siesta named the other beltholders as targets for the 32-year-old champion. “Murat Gassiev is ready. He is injury free, he has settled into the division and he wants the biggest fights out there,” he said. “We believe he is the best heavyweight in the world. Now, we want the fights where he can prove it to the rest of the world. Whether it is Dubois [WBO champion], Kabayel [WBC champion] or maybe the Golden Boy himself, Moses Itauma, who I think lost his pen when he was ordered to face Murat, we are ready.”

IBA President Umar Kremlev added: “Tonight Murat Gassiev defended his world title in spectacular fashion. I am extremely proud of him and I hope to see him face one of the other heavyweight champions for his next fight. At IBA, we aim to organise more high-stakes title fights and bring such contests to all corners of the world.”

Suslenkov Stops Joyce in the Eleventh

In the co-feature, unbeaten Russian heavyweight Artem Suslenkov (15-0, 10 KOs) stopped Joe Joyce (16-5, 15 KOs) in the eleventh round to claim the WBA Continental heavyweight title.

Suslenkov, 30, beat the bigger man to the punch for long stretches, landing right hands and hooks through Joyce’s guard and hurting him with a right hand in the fourth. Joyce found success behind his jab in the middle rounds, but a series of head shots early in the eleventh left the 40-year-old Londoner reeling. Joyce waved his right hand to signal he had taken enough, and referee Gustavo Padilla stopped the fight at 2:00 of the round as Suslenkov followed up with punches.

The defeat was the third in a row for Joyce, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist, and his fifth in his last six fights. Sky Sports reported that Joyce, who owns a stoppage win over current WBO champion Daniel Dubois, will face renewed calls to retire.

Undercard Results

Pavel Sosulin, ranked No. 1 at super welterweight by the WBA, won a hard-fought unanimous decision over Venezuela’s Eddy Colmenares in a ten-round bout. The Saint Petersburg-based Sosulin pulled ahead on the cards with pressure and combination punching after competitive early rounds.

Light heavyweight Sharabutdin Ataev (10-0, 5 KOs) outpointed former titleholder Jose Uzcategui over ten rounds, landing the cleaner work throughout. According to the promotion, the result positions Ataev as mandatory challenger for the WBA light heavyweight title held by Dmitry Bivol.

Muslim Gadzhimagomedov (7-0, 4 KOs) dropped Mexico’s Kevin Martinez in the opening round and stopped him in the eighth. Heavyweight Arslan Yallyev (18-1, 12 KOs) scored a knockdown late in the second round against Murad Khalidov and finished the fight in the third, handing the Dagestani his first professional defeat.

Elsewhere, cruiserweight David Dzukaev outworked veteran Aleksei Egorov over ten rounds, welterweight Vadim Musaev (15-0, 9 KOs) outpointed Farahat Manilola over ten, and bantamweight Vyacheslav Rogozin won his professional debut on points over six rounds against Uganda’s RV Deniega.