THE PAST WEEK IN ACTION 16 FEBRUARY 2026: Ajagba, Dzambekov, Ruiz Register Stoppage Wins in Zuffa Event
By Eric Armit
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 17 Feb 2026
HIGHLIGHTS:
-Efe Ajagba, Umar Dzambekov and Leonardo Ruiz win inside the distance on Zuffa show
-Caroline Veyre wins the vacant WBC super featherweight title with a points victory over Delfine Persoon
-Elnur Samedov and Vartan Arutyunyan win vacant WBA interim titles in Russia
-Labinot Xhoxhaj kayos Pezhman Selfkhani in a European heavyweight title defence
- Former WBC cruiserweight champion Marco Huck returns with a win.
-Masood Abdulah beats Thomas Essomba on a retirement to win the vacant IBO International featherweight title.
-Terrell Bostic and Joksan Blanco score wins in Fall River
MAJOR SHOWS:
FEBRUARY 15
LAS VEGAS, NV, USA: HEAVY: EFE AJAGBA (21-1-1) W TKO 4 CHARLES MARTIN (30-6-1). LIGHT HEAVY: UMAR DZAMBEKOV (14-0) W KO 2 AHMED ELBIALI (24-2). SUPER WELTER: LEONARDO RUIZ (17-1) W TKO 4 CASEY STREETER (15-3-2).
Ajagba vs. Martin
AJAGBA scores two knockdowns and stops MARTIN in the fourth round. Martin was carefully circling Ajagba prodding with jabs and firing an occasional left. Ajagba was prowling forward but not throwing punches and when he did wake up at the end of the round he was off target. Both were livelier in the second with Martin’s quicker hands allowing him to get though with a couple of lefts. Ajagba was following Martin but not cutting off the ring and Martin was darting in to land a punch. Martin scored a series of shots before the bell as Ajagba again was not throwing much. Martin had won the first two rounds and looked to be on his way to taking the third but Ajagba caught up with him and connected with a right that sent Martin crashing down on his back. Martin got up but was staggered badly and got a small break whilst his mouthguard was replaced and he survived. Ajagba connected with three rights early in the fourth and Marttin went down. He was up at six but when the action resumed was being driven along the ropes by punches and the referee stopped the fight. Ajagba had outpointed Guido Vianello in April 2024 and drawn with Marttin Bakole in May 2025 now he needs to be more active. Martin was having his first fight since November 2024 and is very much a faded force.
Dzambekov vs Elbiali
DZAMBEKOV flattens ELBIALI with an uppercut in the second round. A lively start saw both boxers trying to establish their jab and Dzambekov began to connect with some southpaw lefts at the end of the round. Elbiali was coming forward at the start of the second and Dzambekov nailed him with a perfect right uppercut that sent Elbiali down on his back with the referee immediately waiving the fight over with Elbiali taking quite a while to recover. Dzambekov, a Russian-born Austrian, has 10 wins by KO/TKO and you will never see a more perfect uppercut. Egyptian Elbiali had an 8-bout winning streak snapped.
Ruiz vs. Streeter
RUIZ stops STREETER in the fourth. Streeter jabbed well at the start but Ruiz took over in the second. He was finding gaps with some potent jabs and digging in body punches with both hands. Streeter tried to stand his ground but was constantly forced back. Ruiz bombarded Streeter with clubbing head shots in the third. Streeter opened the fourth with a couple of blistering attacks but once Ruiz started to land rights the referee came in to save a too brave Streeter. Mexican born Ruiz gets his ninth win by KO/TKO. Streeter is now 5-1-1 in his last 7 fights.
FEBRUARY 10
GRAND RAPIDS, MI, USA: SUPER FEATHER: CAROLINE VEYRE (11-1) W PTS 10 DELFINE PERSOON (50-4,2ND). LIGHT: JOSHUA PAGAN (15-0) W PTS 10 BRYAN JIMENEZ (18-2).
Veyre vs. Persoon
French-born Canadian VEYRE, 37, boxes her way to victory over experienced Belgin PERSOON, 41. Veyre’s speed and skill were the differenced. Persoon piled forward but Veyre boxed cleverly picking off Persoon with jabs at distance and stepping in to score with straight rights. She bobbed and weaved and changed direction and Persoon was just too slow to really put Veyre under any effective pressure. Persoon lost points in the fourth and seventh for punches to the back of the head which looked harsh. Veyre also lost points in the fifth and ninth for holding as she tired. An angry and tearful Persoon anticipated the result and hurled abuse at Veyre as they waited for the scores to be announced but Veyre was a clear winner. Scores 98-88, 95-91 and 94-92 for Veyre who wins the vacant WBC title. Persoon made nine defence of the WBC lightweight title before losing on a majority decision against Katie Taylor in a title unifying fight.
Pagan vs. Jimenez
Hometown fighter PAGAN outclasses Nicaraguan southpaw JIMENEZ. Pagan was able to use his longer reach to spear Jimenez with snappy jabs and step out of range before Jimenez could counter. Jimenez was marching forward applying plenty of pressure but none of it was effective. As the rounds progressed Pagan spent more time in the pocket trading shots with Jimenez who was reduced to slow lunging attacks leaving himself open and Pagan made him pay. He found the target easily but lacked the power to end the fight early so had to settle for a points win on scores of 99-91 twice and 100-90 as he retains the WBO NABO tile. Excellent show of skills from Pagan but that lack of power-5 wins inside the distance-could be a drawback. Jimenez won 17 of his first 18 fights but is now 1-2 in his last 3.
FEBRUARY 13
MOSCOW, RUSSIA: LIGHT: ARTUR SUBKHANKULOV (11-0) W TKO 10 VIRGEL VITOR (24-4). FEATHER: AZNAUR KALSYNOV (7-1-3) W TKO 6 GABRIEL TAPALES (9-2).
Subkhankulov vs. Vitor
Southpaw SUBKHANKULOV wins the vacant IBF Asia title with a late stoppage of Filipino VITOR. After a good competitive fight over the first eight rounds Subkhankulov’s superior power told as he dominated the ninth before stopping Vitor in the tenth. Subkhankulov drove Vitor to the ropes and battered him from corner to corner until the referee came in to rescue the defenceless Filipino. Subkhankulov, 34 and a veteran of over 100 amateur fights, gets his fifth inside the distance victory. Vitor put up some rugged resistance but was overpowered in the end.
Kalsynov vs. Tapales
KALSYNOV made it a double for Russia over the Philippines as he stops TAPALES and wins the vacant IBF Asia title. A sustained body attack wore down Tapales and the referee stepped in to end the fight in the sixth. First win by KO/TKO for Kalsynov. Tapales is the younger brother of two-division champion Marlon.
MARBELLA, SPAIN: FEATHER: MASOOD ABDULAH (13-1) W RTD 9 THOMAS ESSOMBA (14-11-1). MIDDLE: STEVE O’MEARA (19-3) W PTS 6 MICHAEL MALICKI (2-9).
ABDULAH beatsa gutsy ESSOMBA. Abdulah just proved too big and too strong for Essomba. Abdulah attacked hard from the start banging shots to body and head from both hands. Essomba stood and fired back but was always getting the worst of the exchanges. Abdulah’s savage body shots constantly forced Essomba onto the back foot and eventually forced Essomba to take a count. He made it to his feet but as the tenth round ended it was obvious Essomba had suffered a back injury and he did not come out for the eleventh. Abdulah, a former Commonwealth featherweight champion, was 89-81 in front on all three cards. He wins the vacant IBO International title. Essomba, 38, has regularly given away height/reach and weight to get fights but it may be time to retire
O’Meara vs. Malicki
O’MEARA continues his comeback a he outpoints MALICKI. O’Meara won on scores of 60-54 twice and 59-55. Now 42, O’Meara had put together a 17-3 record with a loss to Liam Smith for the Commonwealth title but in 2013 was handed an eleven year sentence for drug offences. He was released in 2019 to serve the rest if his sentence on licence. He served that out and has worked with young boxers and is rebuilding his career fighting in Spain.
FALL RIVER, MA, USA: SUPER WELTER: JOCKSAN BLANCO (10-0) W PTS 10 DAIJOHN GONZALEZ (14-9). SUPER LIGHT: TERELL BOSTIC (18-3) W TKO 2 JUAN CARLOS PENA (32-17-1).
Blanco vs. Gonzalez
Venezuelan BLANCO outpoints GONZALEZ. Blanco bossed the first half of the fight with Gonzalez forced on to the back foot. Southpaw Gonzalez improved over the second half and in the end the difference was two knockdowns scored by Gonzalez which helped offset a count given to Blanco when he was knocked off balance and his gloves touched the canvas. Blanco won on scores of 97-92 twice and 96-93. Blanco wins the vacant WBA Continental Americas title and is No 11 with that body.
Bostic vs. Pena
BOSTIC stops veteran PENA in the second round of a wild slugfest. Both fighters seemed to think defence was something Frenchmen put around their garden. Both were just slinging punches leaving themselves wide open. Pena was down in the first and twice in the second and Bostic had to come off the floor twice in the second with the second knockdown by Bostic ending the fight. Bostic has won 10 of his last 11 fights. Dominican Pena, 38, was 30-1 at the start of his career but is 0-1-12 in his last 13 fights.
FEBRUARY 14
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA: SUPER LIGHT: ALAN CRENZ (17-2) W TKO 2 VICTOR QUEZADA (8-5-3).
CRENZ crushes QUEZADA in two rounds. With Crenz already landing with some hard rights in the first it was obvious this fight was not going to last long. Early in the second one of those hard rights dropped Quezada. He made it to his feet but was still unsteady and the referee stopped the fight. Crenz makes it twelve wins in a row by KO/TKO and picks up the vacant IBF Latino title. Quezada is now 1-4-1 in his last 6 fight’s.
LAHR, GERMANY: HEAVY: LABINOT XHOXHAJ (22-0-1) W KO 4 PEZHMAN SELFKHANI (17-2).
XHOXHAJ retains the European title with a fourth round kayo of Swede SELFKHANI. Xhoxhaj was marching forward from the start taking the fight to the taller challenger. He outworked and outscored Selfkhani over the first three rounds with Selfkhani just doing enough to make them close. Xhoxhaj ended it in the fourth. With Selfkhani against the ropes Xhoxhaj walked in behind a high guard and connected with a right to the head that dropped Selfkhani heavily. Selfkhani got up but after the eight count was over Xhoxhaj pinned Selfkhani against the ropes and bombarded him with punches until another right sent Selfkhani down on his back and he was unable to beat the count. The Kosovan was making the second defence of the title and now has 17 wins by KO/TKO. He has useful wins over previously undefeated Olek Zakhozhyi and Mourad Aliev but he is not in the top 15 with any of the sanctioning bodies and Selfkhani was very much a substandard European title challenger
HALLE, GERMANY: HEAVY: MARCO HUCK (44-5-1,1ND) W PTS 10 VACLAV PEJSAR (26-23). MIDDLE: BUJAR TAHIRI (22-0) W RTD 3 CARLOS RIVERO (32-9-1).
Huck vs. Pejsar
In his first fight for 20 months HUCK labours to a win over 41 year-old Czech PEJSAR. Naturally Huck was slow and fleshy but he had his jab working well and was landing clubbing shots to head and body. Pejsar was rocked a few times but also had his successes doing enough to win a few rounds. There were no real highlights and at times Huck looked crude and only fought in spurts. Scores 99-91, 97-93 and 97-94. There was no way to judge what Huck has left. It was only his second fight in almost six year and against a fighter listed as No 391 in the world by BoxRec so it is case of wait and see how Huck performs again better opposition.
Tahiri vs. Rivero
TAHIR is fed an easy job as Venezuelan RIVERO retires after the second round in a pitiful performance. Tahir had a few words of criticism for the matchmaker. Third inside the distance loss in a row for Rivero all ending inside three rounds.
CHELYABINSK, RUSSIA: SUPER FEATHER ELNUR SAMEDOV(22-1) W KO 11 JOHN GUTIERREZ (11-1). HEAVY: VARTAN ARUTYUNYAN (12-0) W KO 6 GEORGIY YUNOVIDOV (11-1).SUPER LIGHT: IVAN KOZLOVSKY (13-0) W RTD 9 RAY SEITZHANOV (12-1).
Samedov v s. Gutierrez
SAMEDOV wins the vacant interim WBA title with a late stoppage of Colombian GUTIERREZ. Southpaw Samedov was in charge at the start the start. Gutierrez had height and reach on his side but Samedov was able to work his way inside and bang away at Gutierrez with hooks, uppercuts and clubbing head shots. In the seventh a right to the head sent Gutierrez falling sideways and down. He was up at eight and despite having to ship some heavy blows fought back to survive. Gutierrez then began to force Samedov back and by the tenth round it looked as if he was the most likely winner. He was marching forward comfortably in the eleventh when a left dropped him. He made it to his feet but was floored again and the referee stopped the fight. Samedov is now the WBA interim champion and as the No 1 slot in the WBA ranking is vacant Samedov becomes the mandatory challenger to James Dickens. Gutierrez showed toughness and some ability but his fighting for the interim title is just another bit of WBA chicanery.
Arutyunyan vs. Yunovidov
ARUTYUNYAN wins the interim WBA bridgerweight title with a sixth round stoppage of title holder YUNOVIDOV. There was a slow start to this fight as southpaw Arutyunyan padded forward behind a high guard with the taller Yunovidov looking to fight outside and box. Yunovidov was throwing plenty of jabs but there was no snap in them. Two left hooks to the head in the third sent Yunovidov down on his back. He was up at five and saw out the round. Yunovidov took over the fight in the fourth and fifth upping his punch output and forcing Arutyunyan onto the back foot with jabs. Yunovidov was having too much success and as he followed Arutyunyan to the ropes Arutyunyan connected with a couple of body punches and a right hook that sent Yunovidov staggering back across the ring and a couple of lefts to the head sent Yunovidov to the floor. He got up but another series of head punches saw him staggering badly and the referee stopped the fight making Arutyunyan the WBA interim champion.
Kozlovsky vs. Seitzhanov
Russian southpaw KOZLOVSKY retains the ridiculously named Eurasian Parliament title with a tenth round stoppage of Kazak SEITZHANOV. Kozlovsky was quicker and more accurate with his punching. He was comfortable on the back foot letting Seitzhanov come forward and was piercing Seitzhanov guard with jabs and adding straight rights. Seitzhanov kept marching forward but could not pin Kozlovsky down and was being walked onto right counters. Seitzhanov slowed and by the eighth Kozlovsky was taking the fight to Seitzhanov landing to head and body with both hands. Kozlovsky handed out solid punishment in the ninth and Seitzhanov did not come out for the tenth. Only the fifth inside the distance win for Kozlovsky but he is slick and quick. Second loss by KO/TKO in this last three fights for Seitzhanov.
FIGHT OF THE WEEK: Efe Ajagba vs. Martin as Ajagba puts his name back in the heavyweight mix
FIGHTER OF THE WEEK: In a low key week Ajagba for his destruction of Martin
PUNCH OF THE WEEK: The right upercut from Dzambekov that finished Elbiali
UPSET OF THE WEEK: None
ONE TO WATCH: No one stood out this week
Rosette(s): Zuffa for the only major show this week.
Red Card(s):
-Sanctioning bodies as they approve more and more interim champions. In almost every case the real champion is active so the work “interim” is being used and abused. Why not purchase a dictionary from the next sanctioning fee charged for an interim title fight?
-Delfine Persoon knowing she had lost for abusing Caroline as they waited for the result of their fight. Lose with dignity Delfine.
OBSERVATIONS
-If you see someone beating the bushes looking for fighters it could be Zuffa. Their show at the weekend included:
Efe Ajagba 1 fight 2024, 1 Fight 2025
Charles Martin 1 fight 2023, 1 fight 2024, 1 fight 2025
Ahmed Elbiali inactive 15 months
-On the subject of Zuffa they are going to go back to the old eight weight divisions. That won’t work. As an example the jewel in their crown is IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia. He weighs inside 200 lbs so he would have to chop off a leg to get down to 175 lbs or eat like a pig for a year so he won’t be giving away too much weight to the 250 lb+ heavyweights. Will they recognise the cruiserweights so that they can promoter title fights for Opetaia alone? I also feel sorry for the 105 lbs fighters who will have no choice but to fight 112 lb fighters who will probably weigh 115 lbs with rehydration.
-Back on interim title fights. We are supposed to accept that these are world title fights. At the weekend John Lenon Gutierrez fought for the WBA interim super featherweight title. BoxRec had him rated No 194. Before fighting for the title had had just 11 fights 10 of those were over 4, 6 and 8 rounds and his lone 10 round fight was against George Camillo Rodriguez who had a 10-2 record and even then Gutierrez only won a split decision and there was no minor WBA regional title as an excuse. Rodriguez is now rated No 683. There is no honest explanation why Gutierrez should have been rated in the WBA top 15 or approved to fight for any title. If you don’t respect your title or your ratings don’t expect others to do so!”
About the Author
Born in Scotland, Eric Armit started working with Boxing News magazine in the UK in the late 1960’s initially doing records for their Boxing News Annual and compiling World, European and Commonwealth ratings for the magazine. He wrote his first feature article for Boxing News in 1973 and wrote a “World Scene” weekly column for the magazine from the late 1970’s until 2004. Armit wrote a monthly column for Boxing Digest in the USA and contributed pieces to magazines in Mexico, Italy, Australia, Spain, Argentina and other countries. Armit now writes a Weekly Report covering every major fight around the world and a bi-weekly Snips & Snipes column plus occasional general interest articles with these being taken up by boxing sites around the world. He was a member of the inaugural WBC Ratings Committee and a technical advisor to the EBU Ratings Committee and was consulted by John McCain’s research team when they were drafting the Ali Act. He is a Director and former Chairman of the Commonwealth Boxing Council. Armit has been nominated to the International Boxing Hall of Fame the past two years (2019 and 2020) to which he said, “Being on the list is an unbelievably huge honour.”
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eric Armit.
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