By Jake Donovan (photos by Mikey Williams).

The light heavyweight championship reign of Oleksandr Gvozdyk is officially underway.

The unbeaten boxer from Ukraine will make the first defense of his 175-pound crown as he faces France’s Doudou Ngumbu, which headlines Saturday’s edition of Top Rank Boxing on ESPN live from the sold-out 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Penn.

Gvozdyk (16-0, 13KOs) weighed 174.7 for his first bout since seizing the World light heavyweight championship in an 11th round knockout of Adonis Stevenson last December. The career-best victory came at a heavy price, as Stevenson was left fighting for his life from head injuries sustained in the contest, but whom has since recovered.

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Ngumbu (38-8, 14KOs) tipped the scales at 174.3 pounds for his first shot at a major title (for those who don’t hold the IBO in the same regard as WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO). A ring veteran of 12 years, the 37-year old Congolese boxer from France is best known for a hard fought 10-round loss to Andrzej Fonfara in a Nov. ’14 Showtime-televised headliner.

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The winner of Saturday’s main event will next be ordered to face mandatory challenger Marcus Browne later this year.

A pair of welterweight contests grace the undercard, with all four participants comfortably making weight.

Lithuania’s Egidijus Kavaliauskas (21-0, 17KOs) has seen his name surface as a potential future opponent for reigning welterweight titlist and pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford. Before he gets there, he will have to get past local welterweight Ray Robinson.

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Both boxers came in well under the 147-pound limit: Kavaliauskas checked in at 146.1 pounds, while Robinson (24-3, 12KOs) weighed a trim and ready 145.8 pounds.

Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (15-0, 9KOs), an Uzbekistani fighting out of Malaysia, puts his unbeaten record and high ranking on the line as he faces Japan’s Keita Obara in the evening’s 12-round co-feature. Abdukakhorov weighed 145.8 pounds, while Obara—a former 140-pound title challenger—hit the scales at 146.2 pounds.

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