16.08.05 – Undefeated and world-ranked Sultan Ibragimov of Russia, one of the most exciting and highly regarded heavyweight contenders in the world, and Ebo Elder of Atlanta, generally considered the most promising challenger in the lightweight division, headline a nationally televised card featuring two 12-round bouts promoted by Guilty Boxing in association with Sampson Lewkowicz and sponsored by Nafta Moskva Sept, 16 in Duluth, Ga..
Ibragimov defends his World Boxing Organization Asia Pacific heavyweight championship against Friday “The 13th” Ahunanya of Las Vegas in a 12-round title bout.
Elder, dubbed “The X-treme Machine,” is in a 12-round World Boxing Association lightweight title-elimination bout against Prawet Singwangcha of Thailand.
The Elder-Singwangcha winner meets current WBA 135-pound champion Juan Diaz in a mandatory title bout.
Tickets, priced at $20, $40, $60, $100 and $150, are available at The Arena at Gwinnett Center box office from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Eastern) Monday through Friday or by calling 770-813-7600 during those days and hours. Tickets also are available at Georgia TicketMaster locations (Publix and Tower Records), by calling TicketMaster at 404-249-6400 or 800-326-4000 and at ticketmaster.com
The card will be televised live by a major network.
The 30-year-old Ibragimov, a silver medalist for Russia at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, has a record of 17-0 with 15 knockouts and is ranked No. 8 by the WBO.
The 33-year-old Ahunanya, originally from Nigeria, has a record of 20-3-2 with 11 knockouts.
Ibragimov, a southpaw who now lives in Miami, Fla., is a devastating body puncher and fights in an aggressive style reminiscent of Joe Frazier.
Both Ibrgaimov and his cousin, Timur, a promising heavyweight in his own right, are managed by Boris Grimberg, trained by Carlos Humberto “Panama” Lewis and represented in the United States by Lewkowicz, who also is the matchmaker for the Sept. 16 card.
The 26-year-old Elder, who was born and raised in Atlanta and now lives in nearby Newnan, Ga., has a record of 22-1 with 14 knockouts.
Singwangcha has a record of 26-2-1 with 16 knockouts and has won 21 straight dating back to 2000.
Elder, also a southpaw, was the WBO North American Boxing Organization lightweight champion, a title he won last October, until he voluntarily relinquished it in order to fight Singwangcha. Elder was scheduled to fight current WBA lightweight champion Diaz during April on an ESPN PPV show. That fight was cancelled after Diaz suffered an injury during training.