Usmonov Won in Connecticut Three Months After Family Car Crash

Bare-knuckle fighter Bekhzod Usmonov was back in the ring barely three months after a high-speed car crash in December sent him, his wife Victoria and their son Maximus to the hospital. Bekhzod and Maximus were seriously injured. Victoria's injuries were described as grievous.

Usmonov, a native of Tajikistan, lived for years in Albuquerque and trained at Jackson-Wink. He now lives and trains in Cleveland, because Victoria has to be there for repeated surgeries. She has had six so far.

A win with one eye shut

His return came on a BKB Extreme card at Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut, inside the promotion's triangle-shaped ring. He was knocked down twice in the first round and his right eye closed. In round two he took the fight to Luis Guerrero of Mexico, who had done more facial damage than he had taken. Guerrero wanted no more, and Usmonov won by second-round TKO.

He left the ring with one eye closed and the other barely open. Right after the fight he said he hoped to fight again in April. That did not happen, and as of now he is not listed on an upcoming card. He is eager for another fight and the payday that comes with it.

Still a Jackson-Wink fighter

Jackson-Wink co-founder and coach Mike Winkeljohn said by text that he still considers Usmonov one of his fighters, and Usmonov remains a respected and popular figure among his old gym mates. Winkeljohn also set up a GoFundMe account for the Usmonov family, which is still active.

The same story follows boxing trainer Sergio Chavez, a former Golden Gloves state champion, who was diagnosed with stage-four pancreatic cancer in March 2025. He has since cornered fighters at the April 4 Legacy Promotions card and the April 18 Holmes Promotions card near Española, and is back at his job as a maintenance supervisor for Jamboree Management.

Chavez is still in treatment and travels periodically to Arizona. He spent several months at the Envita Medical Center in Scottsdale and was treated at a clinic in Hermosillo, Mexico, none of it covered by insurance. A GoFundMe account set up by his wife, Tammy Kirkpatrick, has been paused, and the couple pays for treatment themselves. He was told the tumor is dormant but is not in remission. "Whatever I've got to do," he said, "I'll do."

Source: Albuquerque Journal