Following the first three AIBA Pro Boxing Inaugural Title Events on 23 and 24 January, the next five title matches will take place on 30 and 31 January 2015 in Caserta, Novosibirsk, Sofia and Almaty, according to the match schedule below.
HEAVY 91 KG – FRIDAY, 30 JANUARY (21:00 GMT+1)
Location: Catania – Venue: PalaCatania
Italian icon Clemente Russo will fight against Russia’s undefeated Aleksei Egorov for the APB Inaugural Title. Two-time AIBA World Championships gold medallist, and two-time Olympic Games silver medallist Russo has been one of the greatest fighters on the planet over the past ten years, but the number one seeded Heavyweight comes into this title match with a previous loss against the man he is facing.
After winning his opening week match by knocking out Ukraine’s Roman Golovashchenko, Russo lost his week two bout against Egorov, with two judges scoring the fight for the Russian, with the third seeing it as a draw. Russo bounced back in week three, and successfully qualified for the title match as he won a clear points victory over Anton Pinchuk, taking the undefeated record of his opponent in the process.
2013 European Champion Aleksei Egorov still maintains a 3-0 record in APB, having won his first fight against Chouaib Bouloudintas. After defeating Russo in Italy, Egorov made sure of his role in the title match when he beat Germany’s Emir Ahmatovic on points.
Match schedule:
21:00: Charles JAVONTA (USA) vs Yamil PERALTA (ARG) W.O. (Exhibition Match: Marco CALIC (CRO) vs Yamil PERALTA (ARG))
21:30: Emir AHMATOVIC (GER) vs Anton PINCHUK (KAZ)
22:00: Chouaib BOULOUDINATS (MAR) vs Roman GOLOVASHCHENKO (UKR)
22:30: Clemente RUSSO (ITA) vs Aleksey EGOROV (RUS) (APB Inaugural Title Match)
FLY 52 KG – FRIDAY, 30 JANUARY (19:00 GMT+6)
Location: Novosibirsk – Venue: SKK Server
Home favourite Mikhail Aloian and Mexico’s Elias Emigdio will clash for the APB Flyweight Inaugural Title match.
Aloian was the number one seed coming into the competition, and has lived up to expectations in APB, having won all of his matches. An opening win over Vincenzo Picardi expressed his dominance, and that was followed up with victory against Aleksandar Aleksandrov in week two. In the third round Aloian won via walkover against Mohamed Flissi.
His opponent in the title match has also had injury problems in APB so far, but has managed to stay undefeated. Perhaps the best Mexican fighter in the history of the World Series of Boxing (WSB), Emigdio defeated Argentina’s Fernando Martínez in week one in a very entertaining contest.
The Mexican missed week two due to an injury, but superbly qualified for the title bout in the Matches for Champions, enjoying an amazing win in a close match against the formerly undefeated Kazakh Ilyas Suleimenov who was ranked second.
Match schedule:
19:00: Redouane ASLOUM (FRA) W.O. vs Vincezo PICARDI (ITA)
19:30: Mohammed FLISSI (ALG) vs Ilyas SULEIMENOV (KAZ)
20:00: Fernando MARTÍNEZ (ARG) vs Jabursek LATIPOV (UZB)
20:30: Misha ALOIAN (RUS) vs Elias EMIGDIO (MEX) (APB Inaugural Title Match)
LIGHT 60 KG – FRIDAY, 30 JANUARY (19:30 GMT+6)
Location: Almaty – Venue: Daulet Sports Complex
Two undefeated Lightweights (60 kg) compete in the AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) Inaugural Title Match, home favourite, and number one seed Berik Abdrakhmanov against Uzbekistan’s Hurshid Tojibaev.
The 3-0 Abdrakhmanov won his opening APB contest when he defeated Ireland’s David Oliver Joyce in a very close fight, and followed that up by taking the undefeated record of Charly Suarez in week two. In the Matches for Champions series he won a tight match over Robson Conceicao.
Tojibaev began his APB career with a comfortable win against Russia’s Dmitry Polyanskiy, and in week two he lost the first two rounds on all the scorecards against Brazil’s Robson Conceição, but his experience in the longer rounds saw him turn the fight around and defeat the AIBA World Championships silver medalist by split decision and maintain his undefeated record. He then went 3-0 in the Matches for Champions with a close victory against Charly Suarez.
Match schedule:
19:30: Artur BRIL (GER) vs Domenico VALENTINO (ITA)
20:00: Robson CONCEICAO (BRA) vs Charly SUAREZ (PHI)
20:30: David JOYCE (IRL) vs Dmitry POLYANSKIY (RUS)
21:00: Berik ABDRAKHMANOV vs Hurshid TOJIBAEV (UZB) (APB Inaugural Title Match)
LIGHT HEAVY 81 KG – FRIDAY, 30 JANUARY (20:00 GMT+2)
Location: Sofia – Venue: Universiada Hall
Sofia hosts the APB Inaugural Title Match between 2-1 London 2012 Olympian Ehsan Rouzbahani against number one seed and Commonwealth Games silver medalist Kennedy St Pierre.
Iran’s Rouzbahani defeated Uzbekistan’s Oybek Mamazulunov in a very exciting match during the first week of APB action, but lost his second contest against Russia’s Nikita Ivanov. With everything on the line in the Matches for Champions series, Rouzbahani produced perhaps the best win of his career as he defeated French undefeated professional boxer Mathieu Bauderlique, and claimed his place in the title match.
St Pierre was upset by Germany’s Serge Michel in the first week of action, and was then defeated in week two by Mathieu Bauderlique to leave his qualification chances slim. However, the Mauritian displayed the mark of a potential champion in week three, as he sensationally knocked out the previously undefeated Russian Russia’s Nikita Ivanov in the fifth round of their bout.
Match schedule:
20:00: Oybek MAMAZULUNOV (UZB) vs Serge MICHEL (GER)
20:30: Mathieu BAUDERLIQUE (FRA) vs Nikita IVANOV (RUS)
21:00: Spas GENOV (BUL) vs Joseph WARD (IRL)
21:30: Ehsan ROUZBAHANI (IRI) vs Kennedy St PIERRE (MRI) (APB Inaugural Title Match)
LIGHT WELTER 64 KG – SATURDAY, 31 JANUARY (17:00 GMT+6)
Location: Novosibirsk – Venue: SKK Server
Home favourite and 2013 European Champion Artem Zakaryan faces the rising German star Artem Harutyunyan for the second time in APB.
Zakaryan destroyed Ukraine’s Vyacheslav Kyslytsyn in week one, with the result of 60-54 on two scorecards, while the English judge had it 60-53 for the ruthless Russian. He made it 2-0 in week two when he defeated Artem Harutyunyan, again dropping zero rounds en route to a crushing victory. In week three, Zakaryan won by walkover against Juan Pablo Romero, which established his place in the title match.
Artem Harutyunyan claimed a bronze medal at the 2013 European Championships, and the German opened his APB account with a win over Olympic bronze medalist Boris Georgiev. His week two match was the resounding defeat to Zakaryan, but he rallied well in the Matches for Champions series when he beat Abdelkader Chadi on points.
Zakaryan has yet to drop a round in APB, and having already beaten Harutyunyan, he will be the overwhelming favourite, but on his day the German can beat anyone, and their title match will be full of intrigue regardless of past results.
Match schedule:
17:00: Boris GEROGIEV (BUL) vs Vyacheslav KYSLYTSYN (UKR)
17:30: Juan Pablo ROMERO (MEX)vs Abdelkader CHADI (ALG)
18:00: Evaldas PETRAUSKAS (LTU) vs Carlos AQUINO (ARG)
18:30: Armen ZAKARYAN (RUS) vs Artem HARUTYUNYAN (GER) (APB Inaugural Title Match)
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