After a year and a half break, heavyweight Tom Schwarz returned to the ring in Magdeburg, Germany where he faced durable Ukrainian Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko.

Dovbyshchenko (10-13-1, 7 KOs) has shared the ring with numerous well-known heavyweights in his career and has never been knocked out. He's faced the likes of Zhan Kossobutskiy, Erik Pfeifer, Oleksandr Zakhozhyi, Jose Larduet, and many others. Tom Schwarz was welcomed by the cheers of around 2,000 spectators after his hiatus.

Schwarz, who had previously held the WBO and WBC Junior World titles, started the fight from the center of the ring. Schwarz displayed a new style, switching stances and utilizing his jab extensively. He moved well on his feet and showed a more defensive syle than one would expect from him. Dovbyshchenko attempted to land punches on the larger Schwarz as the first round progressed from the center of the ring but couldn't connect.

The instructions from Schwarz's corner was to "jab and move," and that's what the Magdeburg fighter did. In the scheduled ten-round bout, Schwarz remained cautious but had to take some clean shots in the third round. The heavyweight from Fides Sports Promotion remained agile and stayed active. In the fourth round, he managed to land some good combinations.

Tom Schwarz landed his best shots in the sixth round, much to the delight of his fans in attendance. He repeatedly landed hard headshots on Dovbyshchenko who displayed his usual . In the seventh round, Schwarz maintained a high pace compared to his normal pace. Since 2017 (against Ivica Bacurin), the German hadn't gone beyond the eighth round. This time, against Ukrainian Dovbyshchenko, it was different. The Ukrainian proved to be tough, looked for his own opportunities, and stepped up the pace in the final rounds. Schwarz's face showed that the Ukrainian was doing some damage.

In the ninth round, Dovbyshchenko caught Schwarz with a shot to the liver, which he clearly felt. Following that, the Ukrainian landed more punches, which Schwarz responded to with a smile. In turn, Schwarz landed at the end of the round and managed to rock the experienced veteran. In the final round, Dovbyshchenko took his chances and swung wildly at the German, who was avoiding the assault while moving backward. Both fighters gave their all in the last round, exchanging shots, sometimes with no defence.

In the end, it went to the judges, in an entertaining fight which seemed fine with Schwarz. For Schwarz, it was the second time in his career, the last being in 2016 against Dennis Lewandowski, that he had to go the full 10 rounds. The judges ultimately scored it with two scores of 97-93 and 97-94 in favor of Magdeburg's Tom Schwarz!

‍