After ten entertaining, but somewhat one-sided
rounds, the judges Yordan Ezekiev, Daniel Krumov
and Emil Todorov all scored the bout 100 – 90 in
favor of Ribchev, who improved his professional
record to 11-3-1 (3). Silva Diaz, who has been in
with some of the best in the world, is now 37-22-4
(20).
The 34-year-old Diaz was game throughout, but
seemed to be tiring already from the fourth round.
At that point Ribchev pretty much had things his
own way, while Diaz kept trying with little
success. The Bulgarian used his boxing skills
well, and at times found his mark at will with the
jab.
From the midway point of the fight it was clear
that Diaz would need a knockout to bring the UBO
title back to Uruguay, and he never really got
close to hurting Ribchev. In the later rounds it
was just a matter of how the local man would win,
and if he would be able to finish things inside
the distance.
A sold-out Dunav Hall created an electric
atmosphere as the spectators enjoyed their hero’s
impressive performance. Despite the superiority of
Ribchev, it was a good fight between two boxers
who wanted to entertain.
Diaz gave it one last go in the final minute, but
Ribchev boxed cleverly from a distance and cruised
through the final seconds, knowing he had the
fight won.
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