PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight kickboxing rules bout between Alexander Karelin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Zbigniew Ciosek (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Karelin
vs
Ciosek

191 cm
26
286 lbs
5 - 0 - 0

220 cm
30
277 lbs
4 - 6 - 1

Brawler
Very strong

Excellent MT
Solid chin

Blood Bank ($10)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, for the super heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Alexander Karelin!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 6 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Zbigniew Ciosek!
The judges for this bout are Steve Erwin, Winston Howard and Damien Edna.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Karelin misses with a hook.
Karelin cracks Ciosek with a good jab.

It looks like Zbigniew Ciosek has been cut.
A looping hook to the body misses from Ciosek. Karelin does a little dance to reset his feet.
Karelin throws a right hand that misses
and Ciosek counters with a stiff right hand.
Karelin misses with a double jab.
Karelin misses with a wild body shot.
Karelin staying out of range there.
Karelin swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A swing and a miss from Karelin.
Karelin misses with a combination
and Ciosek counters with a three punch combo that has Karelin backing up. Karelin nods at Ciosek to acknowledge the strikes.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sloppy strikes from Karelin. Those never looked like landing.
Karelin throws a right and a left that both miss.
Karelin swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Ciosek counters with a body kick.
Ciosek with a hook.
A slow jab from Ciosek misses its intended target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karelin throws a lazy right hand but Ciosek sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Karelin misses with a hook
and Ciosek counters with a thumping low kick.
Alexander Karelin seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Karelin throws a leg kick that is checked
and Ciosek counters with a nice body kick.
Karelin falls off balance throwing a combination
and Ciosek connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Karelin pivots, looking for a leg kick but Ciosek is out of range and Karelin settles back down.
Karelin misses with a two punch combination.
Karelin throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Ciosek looks to score with a jab to the body but Karelin is just out of range.
Ciosek moves out of range of the strikes.
Karelin missing with a left hand there. Ciosek was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Karelin looks to land a combination but Ciosek avoids it well.
Karelin misses with a jab, cross combination.
Karelin throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karelin misses with a hook
and Ciosek makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Karelin misses the shot to the body.
Karelin throws a series of punches but Ciosek moves out of range.
Ciosek tries to clinch up but Karelin circles away and keeps his distance.
Karelin throws a right hand that Ciosek ducks under and follows up with a left that Ciosek also avoids with ease.
Karelin throws a sloppy body shot
and Ciosek counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Karelin throws a hook to the side of Ciosek's head but Ciosek sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Karelin misses with a hook
and Ciosek counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Karelin thinking.
Ciosek is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Ciosek keeps Karelin at a distance using the push kick.
Karelin is breathing heavily.
Karelin misses with a double jab.
Karelin misses with a leg kick
and Ciosek counters with a slapping leg kick.
Karelin misses with a leg kick
and Ciosek counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Karelin swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Karelin on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Ciosek. Ciosek obviously looking to wear him down.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice uppercut there from Ciosek.
Karelin tries to bum rush Ciosek with a series of wild strikes but Ciosek uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Karelin misses with a body shot.
Karelin showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Ciosek.
Karelin throws a combination that misses
and Ciosek counters with a solid body kick.
Ciosek stalks Karelin and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Karelin's face. Karelin staggers backwards, shaken.
Karelin fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Ciosek manages to avoid it.
A looping hook to the body misses from Karelin. Ciosek does a little dance to reset his feet.
Karelin fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Ciosek manages to avoid it.
Karelin throws a series of punches but Ciosek avoids them all with ease.

Ciosek forces Karelin back against the ropes and clinches.
Karelin is trying to break the clinch but Ciosek has him pressed against the ropes.
Ciosek is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Karelin is defending well for now.
Karelin wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Ciosek utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Karelin blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ciosek lands a knee to the head.
Ciosek landing knees to the body.
Karelin blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Ciosek has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Ciosek throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Karelin blocks it with crossed arms.
Knees to the body from Ciosek.
Ciosek tries to land knees in the clinch but Karelin avoids the damage to the body.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Ciosek obliges.
Ciosek trying to land knees to the body.
Karelin avoiding damage as Ciosek throws knees to the body.

Karelin breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Ciosek throws a shot to the body.
Ciosek lands with an uppercut that bounces Karelin off the ropes and back into range.
Ciosek lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Karelin misses with a straight left.
Karelin is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Ciosek's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
Karelin scores with a hook.
Karelin throws a right and a left that Ciosek avoids nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zbigniew Ciosek dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Zbigniew Ciosek's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Karelin misses with a combination
and Ciosek counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Karelin fails to land with a series of punches.
A combination from Karelin does no damage.
Ciosek fails with an attempt to clinch.
Karelin misses with a body punch
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Karelin throws a series of punches but Ciosek moves out of range.
Karelin misses with a leg kick
and Ciosek makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Karelin really felt that one!
A solid body kick from Ciosek.
Ciosek keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Ciosek throws a nice head kick!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Jab from Ciosek.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Ciosek keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Karelin swinging wildly here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ciosek swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Alexander Karelin is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Ciosek moves into range and lands a nice body kick.

Ciosek closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the ropes.
Karelin avoiding damage as Ciosek throws knees to the body.
Karelin is trying to break the clinch but Ciosek is controlling him.
Karelin managing to block the knees to the body from Ciosek.
Ciosek is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Karelin is defending well for now.
Karelin managing to block the knees to the body from Ciosek.

Karelin breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Ciosek misses with a straight left.
The crowd cheers as Ciosek lands an impressive looking overhand right. Karelin doesn't seem phased though.
Karelin lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Ciosek circles away quickly and effectively.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Ciosek.
Karelin throws a poor cross that misses
letting Ciosek counter with a right hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ciosek connects with the punch.
Karelin throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Sloppy strikes from Karelin. Those never looked like landing.
Ciosek throws a right and a left that both miss.
Karelin throws a leg kick
and Ciosek makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Karelin really felt that one!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Karelin misses with a body shot.
Karelin staying out of range there.
Karelin rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Ciosek moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Karelin with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Ciosek to score with a decent uppercut.
Ciosek uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Zbigniew Ciosek seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Karelin misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Karelin will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Karelin throws a right hand that misses
and Ciosek counters with a nice body kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karelin misses with a wild combination.
Karelin closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Ciosek looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Karelin throws a right hand that misses
and Ciosek counters with a two punch combo.
Ciosek avoids a punch combination nicely.
Karelin misses with a leg kick
and Ciosek counters with a nice low kick that buckles Karelin's knee momentarily.
Ciosek pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Karelin back to the ropes. Ciosek follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Ciosek throws a big shot that misses.
Ciosek misses with a jab, cross combination.
Ciosek moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Ciosek with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Ciosek dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Karelin. That did some damage!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ciosek tries to clinch up.
Karelin throws a leg kick
and Ciosek counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Karelin throws a leg kick
and Ciosek counters with a one-two to the body.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Ciosek is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Karelin.
Ciosek lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Karelin misses with a double jab
and Ciosek counters with a nice body kick.
Karelin misses with a body shot.
Ciosek slips under a jab from Karelin.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Karelin throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Ciosek counters with a nice uppercut.
Karelin misses with a lunging right hand
enabling Ciosek to counter with a crisp jab.
Karelin throws a right and a left that Ciosek avoids nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zbigniew Ciosek showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Zbigniew Ciosek's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Ciosek lands with an uppercut that bounces Karelin off the ropes and back into range.
Karelin misses with a double jab
and Ciosek counters with a left to the body.
Karelin walks into a left hand.
Karelin throws a leg kick but Ciosek sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Ciosek lands a glancing blow to the side of Karelin's head.
Karelin misses with a hook
and Ciosek counters with a stiff right hand.
Karelin looks to score with a jab to the body but Ciosek is just out of range.
Ciosek explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Karelin throws a sloppy body shot
and Ciosek counters with a slapping leg kick.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
A low kick from Karelin is predictable there
and Ciosek counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Karelin misses with a lunging right hand
and Ciosek counters with a low kick, right behind Karelin 's knee.
Karelin misses with an uppercut
and Ciosek counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ciosek misses with a looping right.
Ciosek with a nice cross.
A jab from Ciosek does it's job there.
Karelin throws a right and a left that both miss.
Karelin thows a leg kick but Ciosek checks it
and Ciosek counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Ciosek scores with a sloppy right hand. Karelin should have avoided that one.
Ciosek connects with the punch.
A chopping leg kick lands by Karelin.
A looping hook to the body misses from Karelin. Ciosek does a little dance to reset his feet.
Karelin is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Ciosek needs to keep his hands up - Karelin had a free shot at his head there.
A telegraphed right hand from Ciosek misses the target.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Karelin thows a leg kick but Ciosek checks it
and Ciosek counters with a nice body kick.
Karelin will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
Ciosek scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ciosek scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Karelin doesn't seem bothered though.
Karelin fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Karelin ducks right into an uppercut from Ciosek.
Karelin throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Ciosek.
Ciosek throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Karelin.
Karelin throws a left and a right that both miss
and Ciosek counters with a straight right hand.
Karelin walks into a jab.
Karelin misses with a jab, cross combination.
Ciosek misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Karelin.
Ciosek throws a body punch but Karelin moves out of range.
Karelin goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Ciosek misses with a double jab.
Alexander Karelin has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karelin throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Ciosek counters with a series of strikes. Karelin will be more careful next time no doubt.
Ciosek scores with a hook to the body. Karelin takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Karelin looks to score with a jab to the body but Ciosek is just out of range.
Ciosek throws a one two combo.
Karelin misses the shot to the body.
Karelin throws a right hand that misses
and Ciosek counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Zbigniew Ciosek is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Karelin has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Ciosek.
Karelin lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Ciosek circles away quickly and effectively.
Karelin falls off balance throwing a combination
and Ciosek counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Ciosek is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Ciosek moves into range and connects with a jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karelin thuds his right hand into Ciosek's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.

That has opened up Zbigniew Ciosek's cut even more.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ciosek fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Karelin throws a right hand that misses
and Ciosek counters with a nice uppercut.
A low kick from Karelin misses
and Ciosek counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Karelin lands a nice shot to the body.
A low kick from Karelin misses
and Ciosek counters with a head kick. That will keep Karelin thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Karelin throws an off balance right hand
enabling Ciosek to counter with a crisp jab.
Ciosek thows a body shot but no joy.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Ciosek throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Karelin misses with a jab, cross combination.
Karelin looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
A low kick from Karelin is predictable there
and Karelin takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Zbigniew Ciosek.
Well Ciosek has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Steve Erwin scores the fight 27:30
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 27:30
Judge Damien Edna scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Zbigniew Ciosek!
Zbigniew Ciosek is the new super heavyweight champion!
Zbigniew Ciosek seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.