Murat Gassiev goes in to HUG a crying Yunier Dorticos… just minutes after boxer had brutally KOd him in their unification fight

THIS is the heartwarming moment a boxer comforted his beaten opponent who had burst into tears after his defeat.

Murat Gassiev secured a stunning 12th-round knockout win against Yunier Dorticos to retain his IBF cruiserweight belt and grab the WBA cruiserweight title in Russia’s resort city Sochi on Saturday.

In the post-fight press conference, Dorticos was emotional at the table, and was struggling to answer media questions through tears.

In an incredible show of humility Gassiev, who had just done 12 rounds of punching Dorticos, got up from his seat, and went over to his Cuban rival for a hug.

Those present, unsurprisingly applauded the actions of the Russian boxer.

Gassiev, 24, the youngest member of the cruiserweight field of the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) improved his record to 27-0 with 19 KO’s following the semi-final win.

The 31-year-old previously unbeaten Dorticos – nicknamed “The KO Doctor” – has now dropped to 22-1 with 21 knockouts.

Speaking after his stunning late finish, Gassiev said: “I’d like to thank everybody who supported me tonight. It’s a very important win for me in the very important unification bout.

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“Dorticos is a great fighter, great champion, true hard-hitter and the real warrior. He never gives up.

“It’s a cruiserweight division and I was under tough pressure throughout the bout. I was never sure I’m winning the bout before the very last moment.”

Dorticos started confidently trying to control the pace of the fight from the start. He performed some good jab work, while Gassiev also landed effective punches in the opening round.

The Cuban continued to push the pace with the hard punches in the second but Gassiev replied positively landing some more solid shots of his own into his opponent’s body.

Later on Dorticos continued peppering his rival with shots but his unvaried attacks made little headway as Gassiev defended stoutly responding with rare but hard and precise punches.

After the eighth round Dorticos’ work rate noticeably slowed down and Gassiev stepped up the pressure, beginning to take control and show off his superior hand speed and precision.

In the final round Gassiev looked in complete command sending Dorticos to the cavas twice before the referee stopped the bout with just 18 seconds remaining.

Next stop for Gassiev is the Muhammad Ali trophy in the cruiserweight division of the WBSS final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in May.

There he will face Ukraine’s Alexander Usyk, who beat Mairis Briedis of Latvia in the other WBSS semi-final.