Khariton Agrba scores unanimous decision win over Jose Rosa in Russia

Unbeaten junior welterweight contender Khariton Agrba took another step towards a title shot when he defeated Argentina’s Jose “Sanson” Rosa in Samara, Russia, on Monday.

In a clash of unbeaten young guns with a mandatory shot at the WBA belt on the line, it was the Georgia-born Agrba the one who stayed on top of the action since the first bell.

In his first trip abroad, the 24-year-old Rosa, although far more experienced as a pro, was outboxed by the 29-year-old Agrba, who owns a vast resume as an amateur. A cut in Rosa’s nose was a deciding factor in the visitor’s performance, and Agrba capitalized on that to keep Rosa on the defense. Rosa found his rhythm in rounds 3 and 4, but as soon as Agrba stepped up his attack the Argentine fighter had no response for his volume and accuracy.

The scorecards were 99-91 (twice) and 98-92 for Agrba.

With the loss, Rosa (son of a Dominican boxer who resettled in the Argentine province of La Rioja) dropped to 27-1 (20 knockouts) while Agrba improved to 18-0 (9 KO).

Earlier in the night, England’s Michael King defeated Vahkid Abbasov (Rusia) on points in an eight-rounder in the welterweight division, and local credit Jambulat Bizhamov defeated Venezuela’s Keiber González (Venezuela), in another eight-rounder in the middleweight division.

Khariton Agrba (left) trades punches with Jose Sanson Rosa (right) in Russia – Photo courtesy of IBA

Diego M. Morilla has been writing for The Ring since 2013. He has also written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and many other magazines, websites, newspapers and outlets since 1993. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and an elector for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has won two first-place awards in the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he is the moderator of The Ring’s Women’s Ratings Panel. He served as copy editor for the second era of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is currently a writer and editor for RingTV.com.

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