Umar Dzambekov Knocks Out Zach Parker in The Fourth Round

Umar Dzambekov knocked out Zach Parker in the fourth round at the Copper Box Arena on Saturday night, ending a fight that Parker was leading on all three cards. The Austrian southpaw drove a left uppercut into the solar plexus. Parker doubled over and went down. Referee Kieran McCann counted him out. The time was 1:47. Parker had been having a decent evening until then. The scorecards, which were of no further use to him, made that plain enough.

It was the last preliminary bout on the Zuffa Boxing bill in Hackney Wick, before Cheavon Clarke met Chris Billam Smith at the top of the show. The light heavyweights were scheduled for ten rounds, with no title at stake. Parker weighed 174.9 pounds and Dzambekov 174.8. The seats were still filling when they boxed. Parker, the 32-year-old from Derbyshire, was making his first appearance for Zuffa. He brought 26 wins, 18 inside the distance, and two defeats. He had won at the Copper Box in 2021, stopping Vaughn Alexander in two rounds while still boxing at super middleweight. Dzambekov, 28, had won all 14 of his professional fights, ten by knockout.

Parker had been out for just over a year since losing a disputed majority decision to Joshua Buatsi in Manchester. Two judges had given that fight to Buatsi and the third had it level. Parker had spent part of his time out of the ring working on building sites with his brother after his promotional contract expired. A win here would have strengthened his case for another meeting. Buatsi had said before Saturday that he was open to it if Parker won. By the time Buatsi lost to Willy Hutchinson for the vacant WBC title in Manchester later in the evening, that possibility had already receded.

Dzambekov had last boxed in February, when he knocked out Ahmed Elbiali in the second round at the Apex in Las Vegas on his Zuffa debut. He had hurt Elbiali to the body before finishing him with a right uppercut to the head. In London, the order was reversed. The WBA had him 11th going into Saturday, and the WBC 14th. Parker was 10th with both the WBC and WBO. The Austrian was stepping up against a man who had already gone ten rounds with one of Britain’s leading light heavyweights and had made a strong case for getting the decision.

Dzambekov gave Parker an early look at the left hand. About a minute into the first round, he landed it hard to the head and briefly checked Parker’s advance. Parker steadied himself and found his own target downstairs. He drove the right into Dzambekov’s body, sometimes going straight down the middle and sometimes hooking it in from the side. Dzambekov kept bringing the left around the guard to the chin. Parker was finding enough room for the right of his own to stay in the exchanges.

Parker’s body work was particularly useful in the second and third, when all three judges gave him the rounds. Two had also given him the opener and had him 30-27 ahead after three. The other scored the first for Dzambekov and had Parker up 29-28. The cards recorded no deductions in those rounds. Dzambekov’s left was still getting through upstairs, but Parker had done enough in the stretches between those blows to take the lead.

Parker went down early in the fourth after their feet tangled. McCann treated it as a slip, and they carried on. The next time Parker touched the canvas, there was no question about what had put him there. Dzambekov brought the left up into the centre of the body, beneath the guard he had been testing at head height. Parker folded at once. He got as far as his knees, but could go no farther before the count was over. After taking time to recover, he was able to stand for the announcement.

“Zach Parker was another step up,” Dzambekov said afterwards. He was pleased with his preparation and said he would take a short rest before coming back. “I want any of the names, whoever it is,” he said. The win takes him to 15 victories, 11 inside the distance. Parker falls to 26 wins and 3 defeats, with his last two contests both ending in defeat.

I picked Dzambekov to win by stoppage, and he showed why. Parker was doing good work with the right hand to the body after taking a stiff left upstairs. He was making a fight of it. But Dzambekov kept bringing that left round the guard, giving Parker plenty to think about up top.

The finish was the shot I liked most. Dzambekov brought the left up the middle into the solar plexus, underneath the guard he’d been testing all night. Parker folded and couldn’t beat the count. Against Elbiali, Dzambekov went from body to head. Here he did it the other way round. That’s intelligent punch selection when it matters.