(April 17, 2022) – Germany´s Shefat Isufi is the new World Boxing Federation (WBF) World Light Heavyweight Champion, after winning the vacant title on Saturday, April 16, at the Infinity Hotel in his hometown Munich.
Originally set to face former IBF World Champion Alejandro Berrio, Isufi instead took on tough and on-form replacement Grigor Saruhanian from Bulgaria, who entered the fight undefeated in his last fifteen outings.
Isufi broke that streak by attempting to take control from the start, but Saruhanian was game and never stopped fighting his chance.
But, after twelve rounds of boxing it was clear that the local favorite had done enough to win, getting the unanimous verdict from judges Goran Filipovic (117-111), Rustam Rahimov (117-111) and Adrian Laschescu (117-112).
The new champion, who lost his first shot at world honors in 2019 when he was out-pointed by Englishman Billy Joe Saunders for the WBO Super Middleweight crown, improved his professional record to 34-4-2 (24).
Armenian-born Saruhanian drops to 16-6-1 (8), losing for the first time since October of 2018.
The fight headlined a show promoted by former Heavyweight contender Alexander Petkovic.