Jose Mourinho arrives halfway through world title fight on Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou undercard and witnesses brutal stoppage

08/03/2024 22:23

Israil Madrimov stopped Magomed Kurbanov in brutal fashion before the eyes of iconic football manager Jose Mourinho.

Madrimov faced Kurbanov in an evenly poised encounter on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s showdown with Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia.

And the 29-year-old Madrimov picked up the vacant WBA world super-welterweight title, closing the show with a lethal barrage in the seventh stanza.

Ex-Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham head coach Mourinho stole the show, with fans inside the arena bursting into raucous cheers as he arrived ringside.

He received an equally good reception when brought up on the big screen, weeks after being dismissed as the boss of Italian outfit AS Roma.

It appeared the fans were distracted at the time with the fight going through the early stages at a much slower pace before the devastating stoppage.

Mourinho witnessed the end from ringside, with Cristiano Ronaldo missing the showpiece from Madrimov.

Early exchanges saw a tentative pace with Madrimov taking the position in the ascendency early on.

Madrimov continued to outwork Kurbanov who was reluctant to open up in the opening three rounds, with swelling appearing on the face of the underdog.

The Uzbek fighter burst into life in the fifth period, landing a neat flurry of punches which saw Kurbanov on the back foot and certainly buzzed.

Madrimov continued his barrage with Kurbanov trapped on the ropes, before the referee stopped in and halted the contest with his rival helplessly not throwing back.

The undefeated fighter was crowned champion and extended his professional record to ten wins with one draw.

Madrimov will now likely be hot property in the sport after a dominant performance and will be looking to face the big guns later in 2024.

One fight that was touted was a potential clash with pound-for-pound superstar Terence Crawford who recently beat Errol Spence.

But it appears that Crawford could be set to take on British fighter Chris Eubank Jr, with the pair reportedly close to agreeing a deal for a showdown.