Umar Dzambekov knocks out Ahmed Elbiali in Round 2

The first round set the pattern.

Dzambekov started with the jab and stayed light on his feet, and made Elbiali reach. The Austrian controlled range from the outside, stepping off to his right and lining up the straight left.

Elbiali, shorter and built to work inside, needed to cut the ring and rough him up in the pocket. He never set his feet long enough. Dzambekov kept touching the body with the left hand, digging under the elbow and forcing Elbiali to reset.

Midway through the round, Dzambekov ripped a tight right hook that snapped Elbiali’s head. He kept working behind the jab, doubling it at times, then sliding the left to the ribs. In the final forty seconds he drove a clean body shot that backed Elbiali straight up.

Clear first round for Dzambekov.

The second was short and violent.

Dzambekov stepped in behind a snapping right jab, set his feet, and fired the straight left upstairs. He doubled back to the body with a digging left under the elbow that folded Elbiali just enough to square him up. Seeing the guard split, Dzambekov ripped a compact right uppercut through the middle, clean on the chin, and that was the end of it.

Elbiali went down hard. No roll. No attempt to gather himself. He stayed flat on his back as the referee waved it off.

That is textbook southpaw work. Establish the jab. Invest in the body. Bring the power up the middle once the guard drops.