After several week of relative hibernation, the Russian fight scene continues its activities in late April and early May with several local shows in Moscow and other regions of the state.

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On Monday, April 25, former IBF/WBO-ranked light welterweight Georgiy Chelokhsaev (20-2-1, 13 KOs) comes back for his second fight in three months. Chelokhsaev, 28, faces undefeated Armenian Karen Margaryan (4-0-2, 1 KO) over eight rounds at Glavclub in Moscow, Russia.

“I saw Margaryan fights. He is a really good boxer. I can’t say he is not at the level”, said Chelokhsaev to Allboxing.ru. “He is determined, and he loves to rumble. I heard him saying in his recent interviews that he was ready to bring it on and to deliver a blood-and-guts type of the fight”.

“But I think he doesn’t have enough experience for that; there aren’t enough fights in the resume for him to consider himself a bright prospect. It’s too early to say that he has no blemishes in his record as he has never faced a fighter of my level and stature”, added Georgiy.

Chelokhsaev is one fight removed from his own setback – a split decision loss to 3-0 Belarussian Evgueny Dolgolevets in October 2020. Chelokhsaev vs. Margaryan is arguably the poster fight of the event, co-promoted by Al Siesta of Siesta Boxing and former heavyweight title challenger Alexander Zolkin of the Art City.

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Former WBA-ranked super middleweight contender Andrey Sirotkin (19-2-1, 7 KOs) is back as well. On April 29, he takes on Belarussian fighter Victor Murashkin (4-2, 3 KOs) over eight rounds at the Mir Concert Hall in Moscow, Russia.

Sirotkin, 37, is best known for his win over ancient former unified welterweight champion Ricardo Mayorga in 2017. He was on a roll then but hit the wall in John Ryder, who stopped the Russian in seven rounds in October 2018. 

Andrey had built up a nice comeback story as a middleweight by winning four time in 2019 and 2020, including victories over 18-3-3 Apti Ustarkhanov and 15-2 Grant Dennis, before losing some steam in a road draw versus world-rated Danny Dignum. The real setback was after that. Sirotkin retired after five rounds in a one-sided loss to Kazakh prospect/contender Meiirim Nursultanov in February 2022.

Now Sirotkin is planning a return against a fighter with mediocre record but solid amateur credentials. Murashkin, 28, worked as a journeyman since his professional start in 2018 and scored his biggest win in December 2021, knocking out strong Ukrainian power puncher Stanislav Skorokhod (20-2 at the time) in the fourth round. As an amateur, he was once the bronze medalist of the European junior championship.

Murashkin is actually a replacement for the Mexican fighter Juan Ruiz (27-6, 19 KOs), who was previously scheduled to fight Sirotkin but withdrew due to travelling issues. Sirotkin vs. Murashkin headlines a small event, labeled as “KO Kings #8” and promoted by Zyaki Yunisov of the YUKA Promotions.  

In a featured bout of the night, light welterweight Andrey Maik (7-1, 1 KO) takes on Belarussian traveler Nadir Bakshiev (7-15-3) also over eight. In a battle of Armenian veterans, Artur Ter Israelyan (1-0, 1 KO), aged 42, battles 38-year-old journeyman Karen Avetisyan (9-38-4, 4 KOs), who was once Russian super middleweight champion. Also on the card is middleweight Evgueny Terentiev (17-5, 8 KOs), whose next opponent is still to be defined.  

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Russia’s only 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Albert Batyrgaziev (6-0, 5 KOs) plans his next fight for late June in Russia, says his head coach and guider Eduard Kravtsov.

Batyrgaziev, who had been previously competing at the featherweight limit, jumped two weight classes above to the thickest of it – the stellar lightweight division – in a search for more interesting opportunities. In his first fight at 135lb, Batyrgaziev overcame tough resistance of 2012 Azerbaijani Gaybatulla Gadzhialiev (8-3-1, 3 KOs) and cruised to a wide unanimous decision.

“We shall start our camp for the next fight in early May”, commented Kravtsov to RIA Novosti. “One possible place for this fight is Khanty-Mansiysk. The other option is Moscow. It’s too early to declare the status or the possible opponent for the upcoming fight”.

“I can’t say that in present conditions we have no choices whatsoever. We aren’t fully isolated: there are solid fighter in Asia, Latin America and in Africa. We have some options to choose from. There’s high possibility that Albert’s next opponent will be from the Latin America. We need sturdy, strong opposition”, added Kravtsov.

In a different interview, Kravtsov also indicated that there’s still a possibility to take Batyrgaziev abroad, to the States, if the working visa would be issued for that purpose.