175-pound TITLEHOLDER DMITRY BIVOL WILL DEFEND HIS BELT AGAINST UMAR SALAMOV ON SATURDAY in russia.
Dmitry Bivol (18-0, 11 KOs) vs. Umar Salamov (26-1, 19 KOs)
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 11
- Time: 11:45 a.m. ET / 8:45 a.m. PT
- Where: Ekaterinburg, Russia
- TV/Stream: DAZN
- Division: Light heavyweight
- At stake: Bivol’s WBA title
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: Bivol 13½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Magomed Kurbanov vs. Patrick Teixeira, junior middleweights; Eduard Skavynskyi vs. TBA, welterweights; Ruslan Kamilov vs. Dmitrii Khasiev, junior lightweights; Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov vs. Rilwan Oladosu, junior lightweights; Artysh Lopsan vs. Ramil Gadzhyiev, super middleweights
- Prediction: Bivol KO 10
- Background: Bivol, arguably the best 175-pounder in the world, will be making the second defense of the WBA title (eighth if you count the WBA’s “regular” title) against Umar Salamov. The champ, a boxer-puncher from Russia, bowled over in succession Sullivan Barrera, Isaac Chilemba, Jean Pascal and Joe Smith Jr. to establish himself as a force in the division. He’s coming off a closer-than-expected decision victory over Craig Richards in May. Bivol had been out of the ring for 19 months. Salamov, a Las Vegas-based Russian, has won seven consecutive fights since he lost a close decision to Damien Hooper in 2017 in Hooper’s native Australia. He last fought in April, when he defeated Sergei Ekimov by a split decision in Russia.
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