Emirhan Kalkan’s UBO title fight with Sergei Gorokhov took a sinister turn when fans burst into the ring, sparking a mass brawl in which chairs and unsanctioned punches were sent flying
08:46, 27 Apr 2026Updated 09:12, 27 Apr 2026
A brawl erupted during a boxing title fight(Image: X)
A professional world championship boxing bout took an unruly turn when a violent mass brawl erupted inside the ring. Turkey’s Emirkhan Kalkhan and Russia’s Sergei Gorokhov met at the Besirli Sports Hall in a showdown for the UBO world championship.
However, tensions boiled over after the second round, after Gorokhov secured a stoppage win over his opponent on the night. The boxer was elated as he celebrated with his cornermen before walking over to Kalkhan to seemingly check in on his opponent.
A member of Kalkhan’s team then pushed Gorokhov back, before one of his cornermen rushed over to give a push of his own. Matters got out of hand as the two respective team-mates began to brawl, before fans surrounding stormed into the squared-circle to trade punches and kicks of their own.
Plastic chairs were thrown into the ring, as Gorokhov’s trainer was beaten and kicked by a group of men. The boxer was also blindsided as he pleaded with them to stop, before he was pounced upon by another group.
As he hit the ground, Gorokhov was beaten with chairs and kicked at, as he disappeared under a wave of melee. A separate video, meanwhile, shows Gorokhov’s cornerman, Igor Sudalainen, lying on the floor holding his head as security and some members of Kalkhan’s team attempted to intervene.
Sergei Gorokhov and his team were attacked(Image: X)
In the aftermath, Gorokhov took to social media to share an update from a local hospital. Taking to the stories section of his Instagram account, he said: “Hello everyone. We’re currently in a hospital in Turkey.
“Ismail [trainer] has suffered a head injury and is having an MRI scan right now. I’ve come through it the least badly. The gloves helped protect me. Who saw the broadcast? There were probably about 80 people there attacking us.
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“They got in the ring and beat us up after our brilliant victory in the second round, where we knocked this fighter out twice. But the Turks behaved very badly.
“But thank God, everyone is alive. That’s the sort of brawl that happened, a tough one. I’ll tell you more later. We’ve got a police escort now; we’ll head straight from the hotel to our rooms.
“I don’t think we’ll be staying there tonight. If anyone tries to pull a stunt, we’ll fly straight to Georgia. Then we’ll drive through Georgia overnight to Mineralnye Vody, and from there to Kaliningrad.
“Thanks to everyone for your support. We’ll be in touch. I’ll tell you everything tomorrow. The world champion’s belt – we’ve got a world champion in Russia, in Kaliningrad, in boxing. It was a very good fight.”
Gorokhov later shared another video on Instagram, confirming that he and his team had safely arrived in Georgia. He said: “We are in Georgia. We have the belt, we are the champions. Thank you very much for your support friends.”
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