Yoann Kongolo (61-6-0) is a professional boxer as well as kickboxer and has spent extended periods of time training with the Mayweather team in Las Vegas and that boxing background was much in evidence across the course of his fight with the teak-tough Karapet Karapetyan (43-12-2) in the second fight of the GLORY 26 AMSTERDAM Superfight Series card.
Karapet has been absent from the GLORY ring ever since losing a close decision in a welterweight title fight with Marc De Bonte at GLORY 16 DENVER early in 2014. His only fight since then was on a local card in the Netherlands earlier this year. A lawyer outside the ring, Karapetyan's personal and professional life kept him away from competition â until now.
Kongolo on the other hand has been keeping busy. He debuted with a win at GLORY 22 FRANCE in June, then took part in November's GLORY 25 MILAN event, having a close fight with Karim Ghajii in the Welterweight Contender Tournament semi-final but losing a close decision. GLORY 26 AMSTERDAM represented his third fight in six months, so he was deep in his competition groove.
In addition to the ring rust, Karapetyan had to contend with Kongolo being a southpaw. While he has some southpaw training partners at his gym, the rare breed are far from an ideal comeback opponent after a long layoff. Karapetyan is a very technical fighter but Kongolo's reverse stance added an extra layer of complexity to proceedings for him, with power shots coming from the opposite side most fighters throw them from.
The most notable elements of the fight were Kongolo's long hand combinations and extensive work to the body. His boxing background also gives him much more head movement and use of angles than the average orthodox kickboxer, compounding Karapetyan's problems. Several times he threw a hook only to see Kongolo roll underneath it and come up with return fire.
Karapet's success came mostly with the body kick. Again and again he found a home for it on Kongolo's torso, which was soon an angry red on the left side. Kongolo's gas tank was under constant attack as Karapetyan's right shin battered his body over and over.
In the end it was not Kongolo's hands which won him the fight but his knees. A jumping bicycle-knee (switch knee) strike rocked Karapetyan in the middle of the third round. Kongolo worked out how to open Karapetyan up for it and hit him with it twice more. Each time, it brought Karapetyan's hands down and he received some hard punches from Kongolo immediately.
He fired back but it was too late; Kongolo was on top and the seconds ticked away towards a judges' decision. All three had the fight for Kongolo, scoring him a unanimous decision and putting him 2-1 in the organization.
Yoann Kongolo def. Karapet Karapetyan, Unanimous Decision, R3 (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
