Bogdan Shumarov opened the show inside Lumpinee Stadium with a massive bang, coming back from the dead to knock out Constantin Rusu in their thrilling three-round kickboxing bout at ONE Fight Night 12: Superlek vs Khalilov on Prime Video.
Shumarov came out hot with his trademark forward aggression, but Rusu used his length to keep him at bay with push kicks from the outside.
‘Lioncrusher’ got the ball rolling with a beautiful one-two followed by a high kick to get the judges’ attention.
Shumarov, though, just bit his mouthpiece and took it like a champ, cornering the Moldovan near the ring ropes and tagging him with a crushing overhand right.
Trending
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
Rusu got out of the pinch and responded with flashy spinning kicks, earning some oohs and aahs from the Lumpinee Stadium crowd.
Using the iconic peak-a-boo style to march forward, Shumarov opened round 2 with an onslaught of punch combinations.
Rusu’s movement once again allowed him to escape the bind, but his strikes were noticeably slower from round 1.
The 29-year-old kept attacking Shumarov’s lower half with kicks but had trouble breaking the Bulgarian’s tight guard.
Shumarov caught him slipping and grazed him with a Superman punch to end the round.
The SB Gym standout went for broke in the final canto, wildly charging in with a slapping leg kick followed by a looping hook.
With Rusu visibly slowing down, the 26-year-old capitalized on the opportunity at hand and erased the deficit with a single blow.
Rusu recklessly came forward with his hands down, and Shumarov timed it perfectly and uncorked a right high kick to flatten his foe.
‘Lioncrusher’ could not answer the standing count and the referee saved him from further beating.
Final result: Bogdan Shumarov defeats Constantin Rusu via TKO (referee stoppage) at 1:33 of round three (kickboxing - lightweight)
Shumarov extended his winning streak to seven and improved to 17-2 overall in his promising career. The Stoic Moldovan even cracked a smile on his face, once Mitch Chilson awarded him the first $50,000 performance bonus of the evening.
