Zak, a 26 year old who just won the Israeli amateur title last week, started the first round cautiously. He threw range-finding jabs and feinted to keep the bigger Congolese fighter off of him. The 37 year old Maroy is a stance-switcher, but he primarily fought as a southpaw, which somewhat neutralized the effectiveness of Zak’s superior jab. Zak controlled center ring and got inside Maroy’s wide punches when the bigger man initiated his wild assaults.
Zak did more damage in the second round, crashing chopping rights to the side of Sadiki’s skull. Maroy went for broke in the round and was clearly winded by the end of the three minutes. Meanwhile, Yan landed straight rights, particularly after showing the jab.
Maroy, nicknamed the “Buffalo,” seemed to run out of gas by the third. He started the round passively, staying on the perimeter as his mouth remained agape. Conversely, the “Terminator,” landed a right-left-right combination and some more chopping rights off his jab.
When the bell rang, Maroy limped to his corner. Even before he began limping, it seemed as if he wouldn’t come out for the fourth. Maroy laid on his back as his cornerman rubbed his right calf. Maroy pounded the canvas with his gloves in apparent agony. This went on past the minute-rest period, and the fight was stopped.
Because Maroy was a southpaw heavyweight who threw awkward wide shots, Zak didn’t look quite as fluid as usual. Sometimes, he pulled straight back to avoid the shots, instead of shifting on an angle so he could counter. It was still an impressive victory, beating a man 13 pounds heavier who now has a solid record of 17-3-1. Zak is 6-0 with 4 KOs.