Weights from Moscow:
Edward Trojanowski 139.75 vs. Julius Indogo 138.25
Dmitry Kudryashov 199 vs. Santander Silgado 200
Rakhim Chakhkiev 196.25 vs. Maxim Vlasov 197
Fans of the cruiserweights could be in for a great night of action, most likely brutal action, on December 3rd, as Denis Lebedev will defend his two world titles against unbeaten banger Murat Gassiev in Moscow. Lebedev, 29-2(22) and the defending WBA and IBF champ, is no stranger to brutal fights, win or lose (see his horror show of a slugfest with Guillermo Jones in 2013), while Gassiev, 23-0(17) has scored at least a couple of highlight reel KO’s.
Together, on what could be a stacked card (we’ve seen some great shows in Russia recently, with the value for money being, well, great for fight fans) Lebedev and Gassiev could produce some real fireworks. A lot may depend on how much Lebedev, now aged 37, has left. The southpaw looked good in his last fight, when he stopped Victor Emilio Ramirez in May, but you would think the wars would catch up with Lebedev one day.
Gassiev, the younger man by a whopping 15 years, has not yet faced anyone of Lebedev’s quality, but his sheer punching power, along with his youth and physical strength, might make his relative lack of experience a non-factor. One thing seems certain: this fight has the proverbial snowball’s chance of going the distance. There could be knock downs, there could be blood (and facial injuries) and there will very probably be plenty of two-way action.
These two Russian warriors, one coming towards the end of a hard career, the other having his first assault on the world titles, could even give us a Fight of The Year candidate. The cruiserweight division is buzzing right now, and together, these two sluggers will add more drama to a weight class that was once one most fans chose to largely ignore.