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Levan Shonia took
the vacant UBO International middleweight title with a
knockout victory in round eight over countryman Vepkhia Tchilaia at
the Cinema Hall Of Rustaveli in
Tbilisi, Georgia on the afternoon of January 25. The fight
was the only bout featured during a publicity event to
hype the January 26 premiere of motion picture Rocky
Balboa starring Sylvester Stallone.
Shonia improved his record to 10-2 (6), and
Tchilaia fell to 8-4 (5). The fight was full of action,
and delighted the crowd at the Cinema Hall. This was the
first International title fight in Georgian boxing
history, and local newspapers and TV channels were well
represented.
Both boxers came out with full of ambitions
and desire to win the fight, with several good exchanges
and back-and-forth action bringing the crowd to its
feet’s. It was a difficult fight to score for the
ringside judges, and it looked like the victory could go
either way. In round seven, Tchilaia started to tire, and
Shonia recognized this immediately and put even more
efforts into his attacks. He never let Tchilaia get an
opportunity to rest, and had him in serious trouble before
the bell acted as saviour.
From that point on, it was clear that
Shonia was close to victory. He started fast and furious
in round eight, pressuring Tchilaia until the end came
towards the end of the round. Shonia could celebrate being
the first Georgian boxer to win an international title in
his home country, and he enjoyed the admiration of the
many fans in attendance to the fullest.
“The fight was a big success, and we are
very happy everything went well,” says promoter Mamuka
Bukaria. “People were so fascinated by the great fight
that we had to remind everybody that there is more boxing
tomorrow (today, January 26) when the Rocky movie
premieres. We are here to make publicity for “Rocky
Balboa”, but of course also to celebrate the first
Georgian UBO champion”.
Unlike Rocky Balboa, Shonia and Tchilaia
are very real, and the UBO congratulates them both on a
fantastic fight, and welcome Shonia as International
middleweight champion.
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