RSSKirilov-Navarro Added to Ibragimov-Holyfield Card
With fall approaching, temperatures may be dropping, but the highly-anticipated October 13th card in Moscow featuring the WBO Heavyweight title fight between champion Sultan Ibragimov and challenger Evander Holyfield is heating up with the addition of a 115-pound world championship bout between two of the premier super flyweights in the world.
In this hard-hitting 12 round co-feature, Russias own Dimitri Kirilov will look to gain the IBF world title when he battles 2000 US Olympian Jose Navarro for the vacant crown.
This fight is as good as it gets for fans of the fast-paced super flyweight division, said Leon Margules, Executive Director of Seminole Warriors Boxing. Kirilov has a lot to prove in front of his home fans as he tries to regain the world title, and Navarro knows that this may be his last shot at the championship at 115 pounds. This bout should be explosive.
A native of St. Petersburg, Kirilov (28-3, 9 KOs) won 23 of his first 24 pro fights before falling short via decision in a 2004 challenge of WBC super flyweight champion Masamori Tokuyama. Undeterred by this setback, Kirilov won his next five fights and then challenged longtime IBF titlist Luis Perez in May of 2006. Kirilov would lose a highly controversial split decision, and when Perez relinquished the crown, Kirilov was instantly awarded the opportunity to fight for it due to his effort against the former champion. On October 13th, he can complete his quest to become a champion.
On a similar quest for championship gold is 2000 US Olympian Jose Navarro (26-2, 12 KOs). A southpaw from East Los Angeles, California, the 26-year old can box or bang with the best of them, as evidenced by a record that includes only two losses in 28 fights. And like Kirilov, Navarros challenge for a world title ended in controversy, as he lost a disputed split decision in a 2005 bout against WBC champion Katsushige Kawashima. Winner of three in a row, Navarro is coming off a sixth round knockout of Roberto Gomez in May.