Fight card announced for first African IBA Champions’ Night in Addis Ababa
August 10th, 2024 / IBA Champions Night
Africa’s first IBA Champions’ Night is ready to take place on 17 August in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with a large card consisting of seven matches scheduled.
Headlining this historic night of boxing will be Zambia’s Patrick Chinyemba and Theophilus Allotey from Ghana. Chinyemba became the first African winner at an IBA Champions’ Night when he defeated Russia’s Artur Nagapetian in Dushanbe, Tajikistan; and it is only fitting that he be rewarded with a main event fight in the 51kg weight category over eight rounds.
The African Games champion and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist faces African Games bronze medallist Allotey, who he defeated in Accra on his way to that African title last year.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Peter Pita Kabeji, the reigning African Championships and African Games champion, meets Yusuf Changalawe from Tanzania in an eight-round, 80kg match-up. It will be a rematch of the African Games semi-final, which Kabeji won unanimously.
Uzbekistan’s Nodirjon Mirzakhmedov and Temirtas Zhussupov from Kazakhstan meet at the 51kg weight over eight rounds, as do Mexico’s Daniel Valladares and Edmond Khudoyan from Russia. European champion and world bronze medallist Khudoyan has had history with Zhussupov – who he defeated at IBA Champions’ Night Belek – but he has never faced former IBF World Minimumweight title holder Valladares. Zhussupov, the 2021 world champion, meets Mirzakhmedov again after defeating him at the World Championships in Belgrade. The Uzbek boxer is a two-time Asian champion.
Four matches fill out the undercard, including a women’s 75kg match between World Championships and African Games bronze medallist Rady Gramane from Mozambique and the African Games champion Patricia Mbata from Nigeria.
Ethiopian Temesgen Mitiku meets African Games silver medallist Yassine Elouarz from Morocco at the 75kg and Mitiku’s teammate Abubeker Sefan faces Ghana’s youngster Joseph Commey, the African Games champion and Commonwealth Games runner-up, in the 60kg division.
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Media contacts:
Elena Sobol, Head of Communications and PR, International Boxing Association: elena.sobol@iba.sport
