Power met precision — and power prevailed. Armenia’s Vartan Arutyunyan delivered a statement performance Saturday night at the Traktor Ice Arena in Chelyabinsk, Russia, stopping hometown titleholder Georgiy Yunovidov in the sixth round to capture the WBA Interim Bridgerweight World Championship.
Yunovidov opened the bout boxing behind technique and range, looking to control distance and tempo. But Arutyunyan disrupted that rhythm early, pressing forward with intent and forcing exchanges that favored his heavier artillery.
The turning point came in the fifth round. A sharp combination from Arutyunyan dropped the defending champion, shifting momentum dramatically. Although Yunovidov rose to finish the frame, the fight had clearly swung in the challenger’s direction.
At the start of the sixth, Arutyunyan came out with urgency. He backed Yunovidov to the ropes and unleashed a barrage of punishing hooks. With the Russian offering little in return and absorbing clean, unanswered shots, the referee stepped in to wave it off.
With the victory, Arutyunyan captures the first world title of his professional career and establishes himself as a rising force in the 224-pound division. Yunovidov, meanwhile, suffers the second defeat of his career in what was his first defense of the interim belt he won last July.
The win positions Arutyunyan on a direct collision course with the division’s regular champion, Muslim Gadzhimagomedov, in what could shape up as a high-stakes unification showdown.