Agron Smakici is set to box Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Bakhodir Jalolov in his next outing.
Boxing fans will remember Smakici as the man who cut Tyson Fury and delayed his undisputed clash with Oleksandr Usyk.
The Croatian puncher opened a gash above Fury’s right eye that required 11 stitches after accidentally landing an elbow during one of ‘The Gypsy King’s’ final sparring sessions.
As a result, organisers had no choice but to push the fight back from the initially proposed date of February 17 to May 18.
Now, Smakici is set to return to the ring for the first time since the freak accident as he gears up to face Jalolov on April 14 at the Humo Arena, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Jalolov is widely considered to be one of the most promising up-and-comers in the glamour division.
He is the current reigning World, Olympic and Asian amateur boxing champion and is 14-0 in the paid ranks.
Meanwhile, Smakici is 20-2 as a pro and recently unsuccessfully challenged for the European title against Agit Kabayel in an absolute barn burner.
Smakici dropped and badly hurt Kabayel in the second round but was stopped on his feet one round later.
That performance now looks significantly more impressive after Kababyel’s career-best win over Arslanbek Makhmudov last December, which earned him a top 10 heavyweight ranking with Ring Magazine.
In spite of Smakici’s spirited display against Kabayel, Jalolov opens up as a significant favourite.
The Uzbeki prospect continues to juggle his amateur and pro career having signed a multi-year deal with Bob Arum’s Top Rank while also recently qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
His decision to continue competing in amateur events after turning over as a pro is a controversial one.
Since the 2016 Rio Olympics, pro boxers have been permitted to enter amateur competitions, which has been met with backlash from members of the boxing fraternity.
Jalolov made headlines in 2019 when the 29-year-old, then 6-0 as a pro, knocked out highly-rated American amateur prospect Richard Torrez in brutal fashion.
The devastating stoppage led to intense debate over the safety of pros being able to compete with amateurs.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman declared that he thought it was ‘brutal and criminal’ for Jalolov to be allowed to get in there with Torrez given their gulf in experience.
“Brutal and criminal to allow a professional boxer Jalolov from Russia [Jalolov is from Uzbekistan] with 6-0 as a pro to fight outclassed, outweighed and far smaller USA 20-year-old amateur Torrez AIBA world championship in Russia,” he tweeted.
News Summary:
- Boxer who cut Tyson Fury and caused Oleksandr Usyk postponement will face Olympic gold medalist in next fight
- Check all news and articles from the latest Boxing updates.