Tactics favored him over the very durable and sturdy but plodding Chudinov, who has slowed down over the years. Chudinov, 34, applied stalking pressure from the opening bell but moving forward without even a shade of jab was a bad option for him. Abdugofurov was setting traps on Chudinov's way in, jabbed him and clinched or held whenever Fedor was too close.
Azizbek showed defensive prowess by neglecting or softening a majority of Chudinov's power punches. Fedor's hard shots mostly hit the air or gloves of Abdugofurov. Azizbek was also very potent by throwing multi-shot combos with his back across the ropes and landed many of them cleanly. Still, there was nothing that could prevent Chudinov from moving on.
Abdugofurov, 30, used dirty tactics at times by holding his opponent's hands and by inducing wrestling instead of boxing. Referee Sergey Litunov warned him several times for violations until a point was deducted from the Uzbek in the eighth round. It hadn't done much to deter the guest fighter, who continued to outbox Chudinov - mostly at the ropes. Chudinov tried to finish the bout strong, but the final surge wasn't overly effective.
