An eight-match fight card is set for the first IBA Champions’ Night of the season tonight, as Yerevan plays host again, with the main event seeing Pavel Sosulin of Russia face Carlo Bacaro of the Philippines for the WBA Asia Middleweight title.

Sosulin remains undefeated in 11 professional bouts and will look to win his third IBA contest after victories against Uzbek Kudratillo Abdukakhorov in Kirov and Fatih Keles of Türkiye in Serpukhov last year. A 100% record may fall as Bacaro sits on an impressive 12-match winning streak, which includes eight knockouts, which in turn will be tested for the first time outside of his home country in the 10-round bout.

Armenian hopes lie with IBA World Championships silver medallist Davit Chaloyan in the co-main event, who looks to build on his IBA Pro debut win last year in Yerevan. He meets Vitaly Kudukhov from Russia this time in the +92kg division over eight rounds, who has seven wins and two losses to his name.

Narek Manasyan will be looking for his first IBA Champions’ Night win as he goes six rounds with Nigeria’s Austine Nnamdi (11-5). Manasyan made his IBA Pro debut in Monte Carlo in 2023 in a losing effort to Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine in the 92kg division but will be hopeful a home crowd can spur him on past Nnamdi who has won by knockout 10 times from his 11 victories. His IBA Pro debut saw him narrowly lose by majority decision to Russia’s Alexander Dorofeev in Serpukhov last year.

Another WBA-sanctioned contest on the card sees Russia’s Khuseyn Baysangurov and Venezuela’s Leonardo Sanchez fight over 10 rounds in the welterweight division. Baysangurov continues to be one of the most impressive boxers to ever grace IBA Champions’ Night, holding a superb record of 24-1, which includes 20 knockouts. His last victory came at IBA Champions’ Night La Guaira, Venezuela, where he defeated Nicolas Jara convincingly. Fittingly, he will take on a Venezuelan this time in the form of Leonardo Sanchez (16-0-1) who has fought out of his home country so far during his career but has experienced going the whole 10 rounds.

Gurgen Madoyan and Kudratillo Abdukakhorov of Uzbekistan are to meet over six rounds in the 71kg division. Madoyan’s first IBA Pro match saw him lose by split decision to the highly-regarded Roniel Iglesias from Cuba and will look to bounce back against Abdukakhorov (20-5).

Karen Tonakanyan is set for his 63.5kg contest with Anis Chilaev representing Tajikistan over six rounds. Tonakanyan (5-1) returns to IBA Champions’ Night after more than two years, losing at the very first edition of the event in Abu Dhabi to the esteemed Sofiane Ouimha from France; and in that time has delivered two more victories as a professional. Chilaev is undefeated in 11 contests as a professional but is set to box outside of Russia where he resides for the first time.

Ararat Harutyunyan and Alexandru Paraschiv of Moldova are scheduled for a six-round bout in the 67kg division. It is set to be Harutyunyan’s professional debut as he will be hoping for the Yerevan crowd to push their compatriot to a win. Paraschiv will be looking to win this time after defeat on his IBA Champions’ Night debut in Monte Carlo in 2023 to Lasha Guruli from Georgia.

Finally, Artur Bazeyan will be aiming to continue the success of his IBA Champions’ Night debut last time out in Yerevan as he meets the Albanian Ardit Murja (15-2) in the 60kg division. Bazeyan’s first professional contest saw him win by knockout in the final round against Victor Vacula from Moldova in October, while Murja’s only IBA contest to date saw a losing effort on points to Jose Quiles from Spain. That said, Murja’s professional record is impressive and should not be underestimated.

We look forward to an outstanding first start to the 2025 Champions’ Night edition in Yerevan. 

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Media contacts:

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

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