Russian heavyweight champion Murat Gassiev is set to defend his WBA world heavyweight boxing title against Germany’s Peter Kadiru in Moscow on July 11, according to event organizers who announced the matchup on Monday.
The fight came together after French heavyweight Tony Yoka was forced to withdraw from the scheduled bout at the VTB Arena, citing a back injury that left him unable to compete.
Gassiev captured the secondary WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight title this past December by defeating Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev. He now sits atop the WBA’s heavyweight rankings after ‘super champion’ Oleksandr Usyk gave up his belts, leaving the division without a clear top titleholder.
The 32-year-old Russian enters the fight with an impressive professional record of 33 victories and just two defeats, including a loss to Usyk in the cruiserweight division back in 2018, along with one no contest.
His opponent, Kadiru, was born in Hamburg and is 29 years old. The German fighter has competed 24 times as a professional, with only a single defeat on his record.
