Donetsk-based WBA #3 Vyacheslav Senchenko (29-0, 20 KOs) outpointed WBA welterweight champion Yuri Nuzhnenko (28-1-1, 13 KOs) over twelve hard-fought crowd-pleasing rounds by scores of 118-110, 116-112 and 116-112 in an all-Ukrainian superfight at the Sportpalace Drusba in Donetsk, Ukraine. After the even first round, Senchenko found his rhythm in the second round. He kept Kievan Nuzhnenko on the distance with his hard right jab and added a huge left hook to shake Yuri at the end of the round. The pattern of the game was the same for the next two rounds with Senchenko being effective on the outside and Nuzhnenko trying to enforce a brawl in close quarters. He was a bit more successful in the fifth stanza with his pressure tactics but Senchenko came back strong in the next two rounds.

Nuzhnenko was cut over his left eye in the midst of the contest and had his usual facial swellings from the outset of the game. Nevertheless, the reigning champion increased the tempo and started to connect more in closing rounds while Senchenko did his best to find safety in clinches.

However, Yuri’s final effort was too late and maybe too little to turn back the tide. Shane Mosley remains the WBA super champion in this weight class.