PhotoJunior welterweight prospect Shakhram Giyasov won a hard-fought 10 round unanimous decision over Emanuel Taylor.
Giyasov, who earlier in the week signed a co-promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing, was hurt by a left hook by Taylor in the first round. However, he was able to hold on and make it through the round.
Shakhram, representative of Uzbekistan who lives and trains in Indio, California, let his hands go, connecting with several right hands to the head.
Taylor was savvy enough to counter with left hooks or right hands over Giyasov’s punches. As the bout progressed, Taylor’s punch output dropped significantly.
Taylor looked spent during the final two rounds of the fight, allowing Giyasov to press forward and connect with several right hands to the head.
Scores were 99-91, 99-91, and 97-93 for Giyasov, which do not reflect the competitiveness and how close the fight was. Giyasov improves to 8-0, 6 KOs.
Taylor, who had not fought since getting knocked out by Lucas Matthysse in May of 2017, falls to 20-6, 14 KOs.