Sergei Kharitonov walks out with a bear, stops former Mike Tyson nemesis in pro boxing debut

As a man with 50 combined MMA and kickboxing bouts to his name, Sergei Kharitonov is no stranger to the ring, and he successfully parlayed that combat sports experience into a winning performance on his professional boxing debut Friday night in Russia.

Forty-year-old Bellator heavyweight Kharitonov took on Danny Williams, who knocked out Mike Tyson in the fourth round back in 2004, in Khimki. On a remarkable night, the big Russian made a grand entrance, then scored a second-round TKO victory after a strange-looking stoppage in their heavyweight contest.

Kharitonov dropped 47-year-old Williams hard in the first round with a clubbing left hook, then finished the British heavyweight in the second round after some heavy shots from close quarters sent Williams staggering backward.

You knew it would be a strange ending. But, this strange? MMA and Kickboxing champion 40yr old Sergey Kharitonov (1-0) scores the TKO-2 victory over Danny Williams (54-29) in their heavyweight bout in Khimki, Russia after having Williams down hard in the first pic.twitter.com/5rh7bj2rVc

— Tim – Boxeo 拳闘 Boxen бокс มวย Boks 拳击 Box (@Hock1717) September 11, 2020

But even more notable than Kharitonov’s victory in the ring was his journey to get to the squared circle as he was accompanied down the ramp by a live bear, prompting the commentators to react in disbelief after initially assuming the trained animal was actually a man in a costume.

A bear, a band, a kick boxing champion fighting his first pro fight at 40 , dancing beefeaters and saucy russian soldiers oh ye….. And Danny Williams only in Russia!! pic.twitter.com/p7X9RInKMV

— Donald McCrorie (@grandetoro1949) September 11, 2020

It’s not clear whether the presence of a bear intimidated 82-fight veteran Williams, but Kharitonov’s punch power certainly did enough to stun the Brit as the big Russian claimed a big win on his boxing debut.

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