Gassiev vs. Lebedev

It was announced in August 2016, that a fight between Gassiev and unified cruiserweight world champion Denis Lebedev (29-2, 22 KOs) was in the works and a date was set for 3 December 2016 at the Megasport Arena in Moscow.^[15][16] At the official weigh in on 2 December, Lebedev weighed in at 199.7 lbs as Gassiev weighed 198.3 lbs. Lebedev successfully applied for only the IBF title to be at stake as a result, retaining his WBA (Super) title in the process.^[17] Lebedev kept the attack up through the 12 rounds as he went on to lose a split decision, losing the IBF title in the process. Two judges scored it 116-112 and 116-111 for Gassiev as the third scored it 114-113 for Lebedev. Lebedev was knocked down in round 5, following a left shot to the body, but managed to beat the count and immediately changed style to avoid further punishment to the body. In the post fight interviews, Lebedev thought he had done enough to win the fight or at least earn a draw and wanted a rematch.^[18][19]

Gassiev vs. Włodarczyk

At the Draft Gala, which took place on 8 July 2017, although Gassiev was second-seeded, meaning he could pick whom he wanted to fight, his choice was pre-determined to be former IBF and WBC cruiserweight champion Krzysztof Włodarczyk (53-3-1, 37 KOs) by the IBF, in a mandatory fight.^[21][22] It was announced on 8 September by Ringstar Sports that the fight would take place in Newark, New Jersey, at the Prudential Center on 21 October 2017. One of the main factors for the fight taking place in New Jersey was the Polish population in that state.^[23][24] Gassiev delivered a dominant third-round KO, retaining his IBF title and securing his place in the semi-finals. Gassiev was in control the opening two rounds working away on Włodarczyk. Midway through round 3, having Włodarczyk against the ropes, Gassiev connected with a left uppercut to the head, which was immediately followed by a left to the body, dropping Włodarczyk on all fours, flat on the canvas. Włodarczyk, clearly in pain, failed to beat the 10 count. The official time of stoppage was 1:57 of the round. Gassiev, who was pleased with his performance, said, "I had a great opponent tonight. I prepared myself for a tough fight, but it is boxing, and anything can happen. We do a lot of work in the gym, and I just listened to my coach round after round, and he told me what I needed to do. That's all I needed." Włodarczyk accepted defeat admitting the better man won.^[25][26]

Gassiev vs. Dorticos

Immediately after Gassiev's win over Włodarczyk, WBA 'Regular' champion Yuniel Dorticos (22-0, 21 KOs), who defeated Dmitry Kudryashov in September to advance to the semi-finals, entered the ring. Gassiev and Dorticos posed in a face off to start the buildup to their fight. Dorticos told Gassiev, "Take a good vacation. I wanna prepare the right dosage for you of ibuprofen and anesthesia for the next fight, so it’s less painful."^[27] On 29 October 2017, Gassiev's trainer Abel Sanchez stated the fight could take place on 20 January 2018.^[28] The fight was confirmed to take place at the Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi, Russia on 3 February 2018.^[29] On 1 February 2018, the WBA demoted Lebedev to 'champion in recess' and promoted Dorticos from 'regular' to 'full' champion in order for the fight with Gassiev to be a true unification. The WBA stated the winner of the tournament would be mandated to fight Lebedev.^[30]

Gassiev dropped Dorticos three times in round 12 to score a dramatic win and advance to the final of the tournament. The last knockdown drove Dorticos through the ropes, forcing referee Eddie Claudio to end the bout at 2 minutes and 52 seconds.^[31] At the time of stoppage Gassiev was ahead 105-104, 106-103, 106-103 on all three scorecards.^[32] The first knockdown came after a left hook to the jaw. Dorticos got back to his feet on unsteady legs. Gassiev knocked him down for a second time with a left hook to the head. Dorticos was always coming forward, but looked fatigued in the second half of the fight. CompuBox Stats showed that Gassiev landed 190 of 608 punches thrown (31%), this included 139 of 278 power punches and Dorticos landed 132 of his 602 thrown (22%).^[33][34] Dorticos was upset after the fight and remained on his stool for an extended period of time. He cried at the post fight press conference. Gassiev walked over to him and consoled him.^[35]

Gassiev vs. Usyk

After Gassiev defeated Dorticos, unified WBO and WBC cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (14-0, 11 KOs) entered the ring and congratulated him, setting up the final of the tournament, to take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 11 May 2018.^[36] A day after Gassiev's win, the Russian Boxing Federation's Secretary General, Umar Kremlev stated that he would push forward in order to outbid Saudi Arabia and have the final of the tournament take place in Russia on the Day of Russian Boxing on 22 July. In a statement, he said, "We will put maximum pressure on the organizers of the WBSS to make the final of the tournament in Russia. We have already started to act and have indicated our intention to break the price being paid for the show by Saudi Arabia."^[37] On 5 February, The Ring Magazine announced the winner would receive their vacant cruiserweight title as Usyk and Gassiev are ranked #1 and #2 respectively in their weight.^[38] After returning to North Ossetia, where he was met with 3,000 people, Gassiev stated he would be moving up to heavyweight after fighting Usyk.^[39] On 16 April, it was reported that Usyk had suffered an elbow injury during training, pushing the final to possibly June or July 2018.^[40][41] With the Russian Boxing Federation still pushing to host the final on 22 July in Moscow, Usyk replied that he would not be fighting Gassiev in Russia. He went on to say the fight could still place in Moscow, but he would not be involved.^[42][43] Kremlev replied that it was not up to himself or Usyk as to where the final would be held.^[44] On 18 June, at a press conference, Kremlev announced the final would take place on 21 July at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia.^[45] On 29 June, the final was officially confirmed.^[46] On the release date, 7,000 tickets were sold.^[47] Both boxers came in at 198.45 pounds at the weigh-in.^[48]

Usyk quickly took control of the fight, moving rapidly and using his "beautiful, commandeering jab". Despite facing a hostile hometown crowd, Usyk controlled the fight, not allowing Gassiev to use his power. Gassiev did not land a solid punch until the end of round 2. According to many reports, Usyk outclassed, outboxed, and dominated Gassiev. The result was never in question as Usyk was declared winner by unanimous decision with the scores of 120-108, 119-109, 119-109.^[49] Muhammad Ali's widow, Lonnie Ali presented the trophy to Usyk. After the fight, both combatants were exemplars of good sportsmanship, embracing, with Gassiev saying "I had the best opponent of my professional career ... today is Oleksandr's day". Usyk humbly adding "My team made me look like I looked in the ring. This is our victory". The win made Usyk the first ever four-belt undisputed cruiserweight champion.^[50][51] Usyk dominated throughout, landing 252 of 939 thrown punches (27%), compared to Gassiev's 91 landed of 313 thrown (29%). Usyk used his superior conditioning to finish the fight, also increasing his output by landing 47 of 117 punches thrown in round 12. Usyk managed to withstand the 32 power body shots he received and continued to move around the ring.^[52]

On 17 August 2018, it was reported that Gassiev would take time out to deal with an ongoing shoulder injury, potentially leading to surgery. His co-promoter, Leon Margules stated, "Gassiev may need surgery, he has a left shoulder injury. We have not talked about his future. As soon as Murat recovers from injuries, we will discuss the situation." At this point, there was no indication on whether Gassiev would remain at cruiserweight or move up to heavyweight.^[53]