By Alexey Sukachev

KAZAN--Ability to change when much needed is a crucial skill for a fighter. Eduard Troyanovskiy, thought by many to be a one-trick pony, showed that skill in his unification fight against Cesar Rene Cuenca of Argentina, who was presumed to be a direct opposite to the Russian. Troyanovskiy clearly outboxed the Argentinean to get the sixth-round TKO, which won't be marred by a bizarre ending. 

The 35-year old Russian is now the IBF/IBO unified light welterweight champion of the world.

IBO 140lb champion Troyanovskiy (also rated #11 by the IBF) was riding an impressive twelve-fight stoppage streak, coming into his clash against the Argentinean. Eduard, known both as "Troya" and "the Eagle", showed flawed defense but compensated it with a freaky punching power and aggressiveness. Oppositely, smaller but also stockier Cuenca (TBRB #10) had just two knockouts in fourty eight fights, which meant he needed superior boxing skills to get wins. He showed them against Ik Yang in July, when he captured a vacant IBF 140lb belt, but also (surprisingly!) dropped his opponent in that fight en route to a wide margin on the scorecards.

The Russian, however, had an advantage, which would later prove to be crucial - a solid height and reach advantage (despite moving up in weight just a year ago). There were obvious doubts whether he would be skillful enough to utilize them properly. The opening round showed that he had enough abilities to execute this fight plan. Standing tall, constantly jabbing and carefully pressurizing Cuenca, Troyanovskiy started very confidently. He wasn't overly aggressive but he was always in the face of Cuenca, forcing him to move backwards - a serious issue for any southpaw fighter (the Argentinean is a southpaw). Late in the first Troyanovskiy landed a powerful right hand to shake up his foe. Cuenca tried to counter but missed.

The Russian, one year older than his opponent, continued to box brilliantly in the second round. Cuenca, meanwhile, struggled to find his distance, being unable to get past Troyanovskiy's jab. He then switched to sudden jumps into the close quarters but Troyanovskiy was covered every time Cuenca tried to do that. In the third, the Argentinean continued to fight in spurts while Troyanovskiy was jabbing and adding stinging right hands much more consistently. Cuenca of Buenos Aires found some spots at the end of the round but his success was very limited. 

In the fourth round, Troyanovskiy has not only dominated Cuenca but also slightly cut him over the right eye. The Argentinean for the first time looked like a beaten fighter, and that look stood still till the end of the fight. In the fifth Eduard was landing considerably more than his foe. Cuenca's level of activity dropped, and he seemed to be lost in the ring - almost literally. BoxingScene had it 50-45 - for Troyanovskiy after the fifth.

The sixth round was almost the same, and nothing indicated there would be something strange at the end. But the ending proved to be really bizarre. During one of the exchanges at the end of the round, Troyanovskiy went in, and much shorter Cuenca tried to drop him from beneath, while the Russian pressed him downwards. Cuenca went down under the weight of Troyanovskiy. He got up really hard, with both eyes now dripping blood. Cuenca and his corner vehemently protested the fall (even though no call was issued by referee Dave Fields). After several questions by Fields (obviously asking Cuenca if he is ready to continue) the Argentinean indicated he could continue no more, and Fields waved it off. The Argentinean corner furiously protested the stoppage and went as far as to push Fields, which can provoke a future DQ or other sanctions for the Argentinean and his Team.

At the end, Troyanovskiy is now 23-0, with 20 KOs, and two titles in his backpack. Cuenca suffers the first loss of his thirteen-year long career and drops back to 47-1-0-2NC (2KOs). His alleged pre-fight ring record of 48-0 was aided by an exhibition early in his career falsely recognized by online database BoxRec.com as an official win. Fight Fax - the official records keeper - listed Cuenca at 47-0 prior to Wednesday. 

It's all moot, as Cuenca's pursuit of history ends in a whimper. while Troyanovksy ushers in a new era.