Overview
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta flew from Phoenix to Doha on short notice and made the 265-pound limit at weigh-ins shortly after landing.
- He stopped Shamil Gaziev with a right hand at 1:22 of Round 1 at ABHA Arena in Doha for an official first-round KO.
- The short-notice appearance marked his fifth fight of 2025, moving his yearly record to 4-1 with two knockouts this month.
- Cortes-Acosta entered the matchup ranked No. 6 at heavyweight against No. 11 Gaziev after Serghei Spivac withdrew for undisclosed reasons.
- After the win he donned an eyepatch and renewed his callout of champion Tom Aspinall, signaling interest in bigger fights as momentum builds.