Gradovich vs. Miskirtchian: Winner, Scorecard and Analysis

There was a tense moment, but Evgeny "The Mexican Russian" Gradovich (19-0, 9 KO) successfully defended his IBF featherweight title with a unanimous-decision win over Alexander Miskirtchian (24-3-1) on Saturday in Macao, China.

In the sixth round, Miskirtchian dropped the champion with a hard jab with about 40 seconds left in the frame. Gradovich didn't appear to be hurt, but he knew from the outset that Miskirtchian came to fight.

Per BoxRec.com, the final judges' scorecards favored Gradovich and are as follows:

• Lisa Giampa 118-110
• Levi Martinez 117-110
• Patrick Morley 117-110

For most of the 12 rounds, Gradovich proved to have the faster hands and feet. He beat Miskirtchian to the punch routinely and pulled out a workman-like victory.

Max Boxing's Steve Kim agreed:

Throughout the night, Miskirtchian proved he was a warrior by taking the best that Gradovich had to give and offering a little punishment in return.

The scores would suggest this was an easy night's work for Gradovich, but it was anything but. Miskirtchian stood in close, and he didn't give way under Gradovich's pressure. In fact, he backed the champion up on a few occasions.

Kin Cheung/Associated Press

By no means did the challenger deserve more rounds than he was awarded, but he made the champion work for every thing he got.

Predictably, Miskirtchian talked about enjoying the battle, per Top Rank Boxing:

With this win in the books, Gradovich has a ton of options. He could look to challenge Nonito Donaire, who was victorious over Simpiwe Vetyeka in a headbutt-shortened main event.

Nicholas Walters is also a possibility, as the interim WBA champion stopped the rugged Vic Darchinyan in another undercard bout from Macao.

Donaire would be the bigger money bout, but he may be locked into a rematch with Vetyeka after the fight ended after just four rounds because of an accidental headbutt.

In any case, Gradovich is well on his way to claiming a spot on the pound-for-pound list if he can successfully unify titles at 126 pounds.

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