A UBO world championship title bout between Emirkhan Kalkhan and Sergei Gorokhov descended into chaos after the second round
A professional world championship boxing match descended into chaos when a savage mass brawl broke out inside the ring.
Turkey’s Emirkhan Kalkhan and Russia’s Sergei Gorokhov clashed at the Besirli Sports Hall in a contest for the UBO world championship. Yet tensions exploded after the second round, following Gorokhov’s stoppage victory over his rival on the evening. The fighter was jubilant as he celebrated with his corner team before approaching Kalkhan to apparently check on his defeated opponent.
A member of Kalkhan’s crew then shoved Gorokhov backwards, before one of his cornermen charged over to deliver a push of his own. Things spiralled out of control as the two rival teams began fighting, before spectators nearby flooded into the squared-circle to exchange punches and kicks.
Plastic chairs were hurled into the ring, as Gorokhov’s trainer was attacked and kicked by a mob of men. The boxer was also caught off guard as he begged them to cease, before he was set upon by another group.
When he crashed to the canvas, Gorokhov was struck with chairs and kicked repeatedly, as he vanished beneath a surge of violence.
A separate video, meanwhile, shows Gorokhov’s cornerman, Igor Sudalainen, lying on the canvas clutching his head as security and some members of Kalkhan’s team tried to step in.
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Following the incident, Gorokhov took to social media to provide an update from a local hospital. Posting on his Instagram stories, he said: “Hello everyone. We’re currently in a hospital in Turkey.
“Ismail [trainer] has suffered a head injury and is having an MRI scan right now. I’ve come through it the least badly. The gloves helped protect me. Who saw the broadcast? There were probably about 80 people there attacking us.”
“They got in the ring and beat us up after our brilliant victory in the second round, where we knocked this fighter out twice. But the Turks behaved very badly.
“But thank God, everyone is alive. That’s the sort of brawl that happened, a tough one. I’ll tell you more later. We’ve got a police escort now; we’ll head straight from the hotel to our rooms.
“I don’t think we’ll be staying there tonight. If anyone tries to pull a stunt, we’ll fly straight to Georgia. Then we’ll drive through Georgia overnight to Mineralnye Vody, and from there to Kaliningrad.
“Thanks to everyone for your support. We’ll be in touch. I’ll tell you everything tomorrow. The world champion’s belt – we’ve got a world champion in Russia, in Kaliningrad, in boxing. It was a very good fight.”
Gorokhov subsequently posted another video on Instagram, confirming that he and his squad had reached Georgia without incident.
He declared: “We are in Georgia. We have the belt, we are the champions. Thank you very much for your support friends.”