.
Russian lightweights Rustam Nugaev and Denis Shafikov will meet in a world title eliminator in the main event of the Aug. 15 edition of ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights.
The winner of the bout, which will take place at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California, will become the mandatory challenger for titleholder Miguel Vazquez (34-3, 13 KOs) of Mexico.
I have been trying to get Rustam in an important fight for one year now, promoter Gary Shaw told ESPN.com on Wednesday. The IBF had a hard time getting anyone to accept the fight for No. 1, as they know how tough Nugaev is. This is a very tough fight against a very tough fighter, and I expect a war. I was happy to be able to make this fight.
Nugaev (27-6-1, 17 KOs), 31, is riding a six-fight winning streak, including an impressive fourth-round knockout of former title challenger Marvin Quintero on March 7.
The 29-year-old Shafikov (33-1-1, 18 KOs), a southpaw, got a world title opportunity in his last fight but lost a unanimous decision to Vazquez on Feb. 22 in Macau.
Junior lightweight prospect Jose Pedraza (17-0, 11 KOs), 25, of Puerto Rico is ticketed for the co-feature against an opponent to be determined.
http://espn.go.com/
Related Fight Posts
- 2014/07/20 -- John Lineker: The Weight is Over
The fact that John Lineker was willing to sit for an interview on weigh-in day should tell you all you need to k... - 2014/07/19 -- Kevin Croom In Action Tonight, Poised To Push Winning Streak To Nine
It has been nearly three-months since Kevin Croom last fought and that will be the longest lay-off for the Albuq... - 2014/07/19 -- Curtis Woodhouse announces his retirement from boxing
boxing on Ringside.
The 34-year-old has called time on his career for the second time after losing his British... - 2014/07/18 -- Muhammad Ali gloves on block again
The boxing gloves Muhammad Ali wore in the first fight of his famed trilogy with Joe Frazier, 1971's Fight of th... - 2014/11/04 -- Standing Room Only at Freestyle Combat Challenge 9
Racine, WI. The new year in mixed martial arts was, for the second year, brought in with a standing room only cr... - 2014/07/20 -- UFC 170 And What It Meant For New Mexico Trained Fighters
This past Saturday, the highly discussed UFC 170 event was held inside the Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vega... - 2014/07/20 -- Cathal Pendred: A Long Time Coming
He’s a good fighter and a tough fighter, but he’s not as good as me and he’s not as tough as me. I know that I’... - 2014/07/19 -- Al Haymon at center of Barthelemy legal dispute
Now that super featherweight Rances Barthelemy (20-0, 12 KOs) has claimed the IBF championship belt from Argenis... - 2014/07/20 -- Will Mayweather fight Pacquiao in 2015?
Although Freddie Roach and his new trainee Miguel Cotto are interested for a rematch, they prefer that Mayweathe... - 2014/07/20 -- Stefan Struve Statement on UFC 175
Stefan Struve released the following statement regarding his UFC 175 bout with Matt Mitrione...
Tonight, during... - 2014/07/20 -- Tyson Fury hopes to fight Deontay Wilder for a world title in the near future
Tyson Fury has called for a future fight with Deontay Wilder if the heavy-hitting American lands a world title l...