Cruiserweight Cristian Norges Lopez nipped Keni Aliu in a split decision after six tough, back-and-forth rounds Saturday in Espoo, Finland.
In the main event of a 10-fight show billed as “Scandinavian Showdown,” Lopez (6-2, 1 KO) made a slow start but came on strong in the second round. Finland’s Aliu (6-1, 4 KOs) soaked up a beating, but he came back as his opponent seemed to tire. But Lopez, a Cuban fighting out of Poland, took his time and won the fight with a strong finish.
The judges’ scorecards had it 59-55 and 58-56 for Lopez and 58-56 for Aliu. BoxingScene scored it 57-57.
Swedish cruiserweight Samo Jangirov (9-6-3, 2 KOs) suffered an upset loss against unheralded Estonian Madis Hiiet (3-2, 1 KO). The judges had it 58-56 and 59-55 for Hiiet and an out-of-line 59-55 for Jangirov, who seemed to have an off night, missing a lot and waiting too often. Hiiet boxed well, used his superior reach, made his opponent miss and tied him up on the inside.
Finnish middleweight Ilari Kujala (9-0, 3 KOs) outscored Spain’s Ayoub Zakari (5-6-1) in an eight-rounder. The judges all had it 80-72 for Kujala. Zakari seemed content with yet another honorable loss, his sixth in a row.
Greek-Swedish heavyweight Marios Kollias (12-3-1, 10 KOs) knocked out Georgia’s Tamaz Izoria (5-15, 1 KO) in the first round with a punch to the body. Izoria was a relatively effective middleweight, but he is way out of his league at a heavier weight.
Norway heavyweight Brage Lange Hansen (4-0, 4 KOs) stopped grossly overweight Evzen Velky (1-8, 1 KO), of the Czech Republic, in the first round.
Junior welterweight Sayed Kazemi (3-0), of Norway, stopped Georgia’s Giorgi Kirimlishvili (0-2) in the first round. Kirimlishvili was floored twice and took a beating all the way.
Light heavyweight Adrian Hagen (3-0, 2 KOs) stopped veteran Daniel Bazo (3-38-4, 2 KOs), of the Czech Republic, in the third round.
Heavyweight Agit Bilge (3-0, 3 KOs), of Sweden, stopped Estonia’s Miat Metsis (1-10, 1 KO) in the second round.
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