A ten-round showdown between Cuba’s Arlen Lopez and Russian Sharabutdin Ataev will headline IBA Champions’ Night Dubai, set for December 6th at the Agenda Arena. Eight matches are currently on the card for the event, set to take place as part of an IBA convention in the United Arab Emirates. Lopez and Ataev will face off for the IBA pro title at 80kg (approximately light heavyweight). The Cuban “Maravilla” had a great IBA professional debut in Havana where he won by TKO in the third round against Luis Antonio Tejada of the Dominican Republic. Ataev has prior wins victories over Loren Alfonso representing Azerbaijan and Azizbek Abdugofurov from Uzbekistan.

 

The co-feature is another 10-round IBA pro title fight, this time at 54kg (approximately bantamweight) between two of the best boxers in the world – Shakhobidin Zoirov from Uzbekistan and Yoel Finol from Venezuela. In October, Zoirov won by split decision in Vienna over another accomplished boxer Samuel Carmona from Spain and fought to a draw against Dmitry Dvali of Russia in the summer. Finol holds a victory over Alexis Alvarado in his home country in August was then followed by a unanimous defeat of Samat Zhetibayev in Vienna.

 

Ryan Martin (26-2) from the United States and Isaac Lucero (16-0) from Mexico are to go eight rounds at 67kg (approximately welterweight). Both are to feature at IBA Champions’ Night for the first time. Martin has a career going back a decade and has faced impressive boxers in the past including Scotland’s Josh Taylor, a former undisputed world champion. Lucero remains undefeated and will step out of North America for the first time in his professional career.

 

Australia’s Joel Camilleri and Weljon Mindoro from the Philippines will fight at super middleweight on the undercard. Camilleri is on a seven-match winning streak heading into the bout, while Mindoro (13-0-1) has yet to lose – recently leaving his home nation for the United States where he has won both of his bouts across the Pacific by knockout.