Ossetian boxer Murat Gassiev defeats Cuban Yunier Dorticos in Sochi

Last night, Murat Gassiev fans celebrated his brilliant victory in the capital of South Ossetia. Riding around the streets of Tskhinval they honked their car horns and shouted the champion’s name.

The Ossetian boxer defeated Cuban heavyweight boxer Yunier Dorticos in the semifinal round which took place in the World Boxing Super Series in Sochi. Gassiev KO’d Dorticos in the final seconds of the round, and then literally threw him out of the ring. The victory brought Gassiev the IBF and WBA world champion titles including 1.6 million dollars.

Fans lead by Anatoli Bibilov, the President of the republic, congratulated Gassiev on his victory after the successful fight.

Gassiev thanked his rival and his (Dorticos’) team at a press conference after the match.

“I’d like to say thank you to Yunier’s team. They did a great job. I hope that he is in good shape and will come back even stronger. He is a serious, heavy-hitting boxer. In our weight-category, everything can end at a moment’s notice, for either one of us. Thank you to all who helped and supported me. I hope that this is only the beginning, and we will move only forward as we go on,” noted Gassiev.

Gassiev is preparing for the final of the WBSS championship in the first heavyweight class, during which he’ll go up against Ukrainian boxer Aleksandr Usik. The victor of the final will win 4 million dollars; the loser will win 2 million dollars. The final will take place in May in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.