Newly promoted WBA heavyweight champion Murat Gassiev faces late replacement opponent Peter Kadiru this Saturday, July 11. Kadiru stepped in for Tony Yoka, who was forced to withdraw due to a back injury.
Gassiev (33-2, 26 KOs) initially won the secondary belt, scoring a sixth-round knockout of Kubrat Pulev last December. The 32-year-old was elevated to full champion after Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) vacated the title.
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Kadiru (23-1, 13 KOs) of Germany makes his first attempt to become a champion on a few days’ notice. The 29-year-old comes off a unanimous decision victory over Senad Gashi in May.
- The contest was confirmed on Monday, but no international broadcast details have been announced.
The co-feature on the card is a heavyweight bout between Britain’s Joe Joyce (16-4, 15 KOs) and Artem Suslenkov (14-0, 9 KOs).