April 27, ESPN2- FNF Click-Boxingscene
Erwin Center-Austin, Texas
Ismayl Sillakh vs Denis Grachev | Main Event
AUSTIN, Texas – World-class professional boxing will return to the Frank Erwin Center Friday, April 27 when Roy Jones Jr.’s Square Ring Promotions brings two riveting 10-round feature bouts to be telecast live on ESPN Friday Night Fights.
NABF Light Heavyweight Champion Ismayl “The Black Russian” Sillakh will face unbeaten contender Denis “The Pirate” Grachev of Russia. Sillakh, 17-0 with 14 knockouts, is rated No. 2 in the world by the WBC, and is in line to meet the winner of the April 28 Bernard Hopkins-Chad Dawson WBC world title fight. He risks that title shot, his world rating and his NABF championship against danger man Grachev, 11-0-1 with 7 KO’s, a world champion kickboxer who trains in San Diego.
“These are two great matchups with some of the most exciting young talent in the sport today,” said Jones. “I can’t remember a time when the top two fights on ESPN featured four undefeated boxers putting it all on the line. They’re all stepping up because they want to be world champion.”
Sillakh, a Ukrainian living in Southern California, stormed to the top of the WBC ratings last year when he dominated fellow unbeaten contender Yordanis Despaigne on an ESPN main event. Grachev earned the reputation as a spoiler after his two most recent matches, scoring impressive wins in the backyard of previously unbeaten opponents.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
