Dmitry Kudryashov overpowers Olanrewaju Durodola in rematch

Cruiserweight sluggers Dmitry Kudryashov and Olanrewaju Durodola put on a show earlier today in Rostov-on-Don, duking it out for five brutal rounds before Kudryashov’s power won the day.

Kudryashov (21-1, 21 KO) lost a stunner to Durodola (25-4, 23 KO) two Novembers ago when “God’s Power” exploited his leaky defense with a vicious flurry on the ropes. This time around, Kudryashov showed more head movement and a willingness to hold on the inside. Durodola still found his mark with heavy leather in the opening rounds, but Kudryashov had success of his own with body shots.

Late in the third, Kudryashov finally managed to dent his chin with a left hook that sent Durodola’s mouthpiece somewhere into the middle of the Baltic. Buoyed by the brief wobbling, he came out swinging in the fourth and sent Durodola to the canvas with a wild hook to the temple. He dropped Durodola once again in the fifth, then sent him stumbling with another left hook for the TKO stoppage.

You can watch the fight in surprisingly good quality here.

Kudryashov, now the number-one contender for Mairis Briedis’ WBC title, mentioned afterwards that he’d be down to join the Super Series tournament. Considering that Briedis is already part of it, that seems to make plenty of sense.

Kudryashov is still too slow and shaky on defense to take out the likes of Oleksandr Usyk or the other cruiserweight kingpins, but he is far and away the hardest hitter in the entire division. He’s got the sort of earth-shattering power that makes you want to pit him against everyone sequentially just to see what happens.