Nine matches have been announced for the upcoming IBA Champions’ Night in Almaty, Kazakhstan on April 27th. In the featured bout, home favorite Talgat Shayken faces Saidjamshid Jafarov of Uzbekistan over eight rounds at 156 pounds. Competing at 71kg, the pair headline a mammoth card, with Shayken having a record of 9-0 and and Jafarov coming off a silver medal at the world amateur championships in 2023 and back-to-back Asian titles too. The chief support sees 2019 amateur world champion from the home nation, Bekzad Nurdauletov, take on Luis Antonio Tejeda (9-0-1) from Dominican Republic at light heavyweight. Home boxer Ali Akhmedov, who has won 19 of his 20 professional fights, goes ten rounds with Carlos Rivero (26-3-1) from Venezuela at super middleweight in the first of three matches on the main card.

 

In the only match of the night not featuring Kazakh boxers, Ecuador’s Abel Mina (17-3-1) and Magomed Madiev (16-1-3) from Russia are to touch gloves at 165 pounds, following on from Kazakhstan’s Farukh Tokhtassunov’s (13-10) middleweight bout against Russian Yuri Osipov (4-0)  Asian Games champion Davlat Boltaev from Tajikistan will go six rounds with Kazakhstan’s Sagyndyk Togambay (39-10) in the cruiserweight division.

 

Kazakh boxer Bekman Soilybayev will box against Davit Azizyan from Armenia at lighweight, while the lightest fight of the night sees Kazakhstan’s 2021 world amatuer championt Temirtas Zhussupov face Anvarzhan Khodzhiev from Kyrgyzstan as both are to make their professional debuts.

 

An eight-round fight will end the undefeated professional record of either Adlan Selmurzayev of Kazakhstan or Artush Hovhannisyan from Armenia in a light heavyweight contest that opens the evening. Selmurzayev has won all six of his professional bouts in Almaty, while Hovhannisyan has five wins to his name, including four knockouts.All funds raised from the tickets sales will be donated to the victims of floods in Kazakhstan.