European heavyweight hhampion Labinot Xhoxhaj (20-0-1, 16 KOs) will defend his blue belt to Mourad Aliev (13-0, 10 KOs), who puts up his WBC International Silver title in an exciting champion vs champion fight held in Hamburg, Germany, on June 7, live on DAZN.
The winner of this double championship clash could find themselves in touching distance of a heavyweight world title fight.
EBU titlist Xhoxhaj, 32, turned pro in 2016. The Kosovo-born boxer has fought in Germany, Kosovo, and Switzerland during his rise.
The undefeated heavyweight earned a victory over the always-combative Tamas Lodi in 2020, although he was held to a draw by Milosav Savic recently in 2023.
The Kosovan was expected to lose to the far bigger Oleksandr Zakhozhyi in his last fight in November 2024, but bravely recovered from an early knockdown in round two to score one of his own in the 10th, en route to an impessive 12-round unanimous decision over the unbeaten opponent.
Frenchman Aliev was a standout amateur who represented his country at the 2021 Olympics. Since turning pro, the Russian-born boxer has fought primarily in Germany, where he resides.
The 29-year-old “White Wolf” has scored wins over Ali Kiydin, Yakup Saglam, Evgenios Lazaridis, and, most recently, David Brito.
It’s set to be an unmissable European heavyweight title fight that could cause a stir in the heavyweight division, with Aliev holding a WBC #10 world ranking.
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