EKATERINBURG– Shavkat Rakhimov continued his march towards a world title shot with a destructive second-round knockout over former title challenger Robinson Castellanos.
The southpaw Rakhimov pounced on a rusty Castellanos who hadn’t fought since July 2017. The Mexican contender displayed visible discomfort from Rakhimov’s body shots and was put down towards the end of the first with a left uppercut.
Castellanos tried to make Rakhimov fight off the backfoot in round two. But the power gap, in physical and fistic strength, had Castellanos quickly back on the defensive. A straight left sent him careening into the ropes for the second knockdown. The same shot ended matters moments later with Castellanos slumping to his knees.
Rakhimov improves to 13-0 with his third consecutive knockout. He’s currently ranked 9th by the IBF, whose title was won earlier this month by Tevin Farmer. Castellanos was ranked #6 by the WBC, meaning this dominant win could put Rakhimov in Top 10 contention for that title, currently held by Miguel Berchelt.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 