Overview
- Cortes-Acosta stepped in for Serghei Spivac, whose withdrawal was not publicly explained, and faced Gaziev on roughly three days’ notice.
- The Dominican contender scored a first-round knockout at 1:22, dropping Gaziev with a right hand to secure his second win this month.
- He flew from Phoenix to Doha and weighed in almost immediately after landing, hitting the 265-pound limit for the heavyweight bout.
- Post-fight he donned an eyepatch in a nod to recent eye-poke controversies and called out heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
- The victory moved Cortes-Acosta to 4-1 in 2025, and he said he wants to compete again in December to extend his unusually active year.