- Cris Cyborg dropped and outpointed Gabby Holloway in her pro boxing debut
- Undisputed champion Claressa Shields was impressed by the Bellator champ’s performance
Cris Cyborg will close out the year 2022 with a bang following her victorious pro boxing win over Gabby Holloway Saturday at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The Bellator women’s featherweight champion dominated Holloway and earned a unanimous decision victory after four rounds of boxing.
Too much for Gabby
Right from the jump, Cyborg let Holloway have it and started out as the aggressor, repeatedly landing devastating right hand shots. It was clear that Cyborg was just too much for Holloway, but the latter was advised by her corner to bounce back and find her rhythm in the second round.
Holloway had her moment in Round 2 by connecting with a solid left hand but it wasn’t enough to slow Cyborg down. The MMA star then found her way back and landed another flurry of combinations that evidently hurt her opponent.
Cyborg picked up where she left off in Round 3. Her corner has been sensing a knockout finish at this point. However, Cyborg failed to do so but she managed to floor Holloway after landing some powerful combinations.
In the fourth and final round, Cyborg opted to make the fight ugly by savagely throwing more lethal combinations. She eventually landed a crunchy right hand to the chin of Holloway but didn’t manage to knock her opponent out until the final bell rang.
In the end, judges scored the bout 40-35, 39-36 and 40-34, all in favor of Cyborg, who was declared the winner via unanimous decision.
A fellow champ was impressed
Cyborg’s performance on Holloway quickly made waves on women’s boxing world. Among the current champions who was impressed by her display was undisputed middleweight champ Claressa Shields.
“Great shots by @criscyborg!!!! The straight rights are powerful !!!.” Shields tweeted.
Great shots by @criscyborg !!!! The straight rights are powerful !!!
— Claressa Gwoat Shields (@Claressashields) December 11, 2022
It is yet to be known whether Cyborg would be eyeing for a showdown with Shields in the future, but it would surely be something to look forward to.
Cyborg won all her fights this year both in MMA and boxing. She began the year 2022 with a successful title defense against Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 279. The Brazilian then beat Simone Silva in a boxing match in September.
It will be interesting to see what Cyborg plans to do next as she could either continue making great strides in boxing or revisit a potential cross-promotional money fight with two-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison.
Check out the highlights below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7GRa1oZvZc&feature=emb_title&ab_channel=BoxingTakeOver101
