Richmonder clinches middleweight boxing title
1/27/2017, 10:23 p.m.
Richmonder Immanuwel Aleem is the new World Boxing Council’s Silver Middleweight champion.
The 23-year-old Thomas Jefferson High School alumnus scored a sixth round technical knockout over Ukrainian Ievgen Khytrov on Saturday, Jan. 14, on the undercard at the bout at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Aleem, now 17-0-1, knocked Khytrov down in the third round and again in the sixth round before the match was stopped by the referee.
It was Khytrov’s first loss after 14 straight victories.
The WBC’s Silver Division, which had been vacant prior to the Aleem-Khytrov bout, is one peg below the top world class.
The Mexico City-based organization’s overall No. 1 world-ranked middleweight (under 160 pounds) is Gennady “GGG” Golovkin of Kazakhstan.
Aleem trains out of Ninth Dimension Sports Circle Boxing Gym on Richmond’s South Side. The gym is operated by Aleem’s father, Omar Aleem.
The lone blemish on Aleem’s pro record is a draw April 19, 2016, against Jonathan Cepeda in Bethlehem, Pa.
Of Aleem’s 17 pro fights, 10 victories have been through knockout.
