A 10-round showdown between Cuba’s Arlen Lopez and Russian Sharabutdin Ataev will headline IBA Champions’ Night Dubai, set to be an amazing night of boxing on 6 December 2024 at the Agenda arena.

Eight matches are currently on the card for the event, set to take place before the 2024 IBA Ordinary Congress on 7 December in the United Arab Emirates.

Lopez and Ataev will face off for the IBA Pro World Champion title at 80kg, having both impressed at previous sanctioned events.

The Cuban “Maravilla” (4-0) had a great IBA professional debut in Havana where he won by TKO in the third round against Luis Antonio Tejada of the Dominican Republic. Ataev (8-0) will be hoping for that ‘third time the charm’, with previous Champions’ Night victories over Loren Alfonso representing Azerbaijan and Azizbek Abdugofurov from Uzbekistan.

The co-main event features another 10-round IBA Pro World Champion title fight, this time at 54kg between two of the best boxers in the world – Shakhobidin Zoirov from Uzbekistan and Yoel Finol from Venezuela.

In October, Zoirov won by split decision in Vienna over another accomplished boxer Samuel Carmona from Spain and fought to a draw against Dmitry Dvali of Russia in the summer.

Finol will be an eye-catching opponent, and he will be hoping to catch the IBA World title too. A victory over Alexis Alvarado in his home country in August was then followed by a unanimous defeat of Samat Zhetibayev in Vienna, bringing his record to 5-0.

Ryan Martin (26-2) from the United States and Isaac Lucero (16-0) from Mexico are to go eight rounds for the IBA American Pro title at 67kg. Both are to feature at IBA Champions’ Night for the first time. Martin has a career going back a decade and has faced impressive boxers in the past including Scotland’s Josh Taylor. Lucero remains undefeated and will step out of North America for the first time in his professional career.

Australia’s Joel Camilleri and Weljon Mindoro from the Philippines are both vying for the IBA Pro 75kg Asian Champion title on the undercard. Camilleri is on a seven-match winning streak heading into the bout, while Mindoro (13-0-1) has yet to lose – recently leaving his home nation for the United States where he has won both of his bouts across the Pacific by knockout.

The IBA Pro 80kg African Champion title is on the line for the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Patrick Mukala (16-2-1) and Namibia’s Paulinus Ndjolonimu (18-0). It will be uncharted territory for both boxers who will fight outside of the continent for the first time. Mukala is undefeated in five years while Ndjolonimu has not lost ever in his professional career – but will box outside of Namibia for the first time.

Jose Quiles from Spain and Ardit Murja from Albania are to box for eight rounds for the IBA Pro 60kg European Champion title. Quiles, a European Games silver medallist, will be looking to bounce back from a defeat to Javier Ibañez in the main event of IBA Champions’ Night Madrid; and Murja (15-1) heads into the contest having won his last 13 matches, all held in his home country.

Puneh Akhundtabarmazandarani (7-3-1) from Iran and Romania’s Xenia Jorneac (11-7) are to face off in the only women’s contest of the night in the 57kg division. The Iranian, also known as “Tina”, took Chiranchaya Phunsang of Thailand to a draw in Bangkok in August and will look to remain undefeated in four matches. Jorneac last fought professionally in September 2023 where she lost on points to Shannon Ryan.

Finally, Artush Hovhannisyan (6-0) from Armenia and Georgia’s Georgi Kushitashvili (2-0) will meet in an eight-round ranking bout in the 86kg division. Hovhannisyan defeated Kazakhstan’s Adlan Selmurzayev in April at IBA Champions’ Night in Almaty, while his opponent has won by TKO in both of his professional contests.

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Media contacts:

Elena Sobol, Head of Communications and PR, International Boxing Association: elena.sobol@iba.sport

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