IF there’s one thing you can say about Bakhodur Usmonov, he likes to stay busy. Barely two months ago, at the close of May, Usmonov stopped Albert Pagara of the Philippines in three rounds, picking up the IBA PRO Intercontinental lightweight crown for his efforts.
While Pagara’s 35-1 record was slightly misleading, he was on a nine-year winning run before running into Usmonov. Two months before that destructive win, the Tajikistan talent had defeated hard-hitting Uzbek prospect Nodirbek Soyibov, 9-0 (8 KOs), via third-round retirement in Russia.
Momentum is building fast as the 27-year-old headlines IBA.PRO 8 in his native land again later today, returning to the Tennis Palace and Water Sports Complex for another Champions’ Night. Opponent on this occasion is Christopher Mouafo, a sturdy Cameroonian with championship experience.
Currently boasting a 10-0 (5 KOs) slate, with a couple of IBA matchups separate from the record, as the two continue to merge and mingle uncomfortably, much of Usmonov’s prior reputation was built on a solid amateur career that culminated in an appearance at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Usmonov was eliminated in the Round of 32 by Bulgaria’s Radoslav Rosenov. However, in the preliminary qualifiers for that tournament, he defeated Cuba’s Erislandy Alvarez, who went on to qualify for the Games and pick up a gold medal.
Elsewhere, the IBA have been busy lately, even launching a boxing game during their ‘Golden Era’ announcement at the start of July. The likes of Tyson Fury, Terence Crawford and Roy Jones Jr were on hand to test it out. All three were in Turkey for IBA.PRO 7. “The IBA Boxing Game is our digital bridge to the next generation,” explained president Umar Kremlev.
