By Alexey Sukachev
Two more bouts have been added to the already packed fight card, promoted by the "World of Boxing" on May 22 in Moscow, Russia. While a fight between pro debutant Ramzan Baysarov and trialhorse Andrey Polyakov (0-7) will hardly draw any attention, another one should be praised by hardcore boxing junkies.
Dmitry Bivol (2-0, 2 KO), a mutil-time amateur youth medalist, will try to continue his rapid rise in ranks with a fight against experienced Ugandan Joey Vegas (17-10-2, 10 KOs), who went the distance with 2012 London Olympics gold medalist Yegor Mekhontsev last November.
Bivol, managed by Vadim Kornilov (as is Mekhontsev), debuted on the same card with a stoppage win over 25-10 Jorge Olivera. He followed it up with the third-round TKO versus experienced former national champion Konstantin Piternov (18-6) in April. The bout is scheduled for eight in the light heavyweight division.
In the main event, top-rated heavyweight Alexander Povetkin (28-1, 20 KOs) will risk his WBC Silver title against Cork-based TBRB #10 Cuban Mike Perez (21-1-1, 13 KOs). Perez, 29, is also rated #2 by the WBC, whilst Povetkin, 35, is #1 under the same sanctioning body.
In a co-main event, WBC cruiserweight champion Grigory Drozd (39-1, 27 KOs) will defend his regalia against 29-year old Polish challenger Lukasz Janik (28-2, 15 KOs), who is ranked #19 by the WBC and has no ranking by the TBRB. 35-year old Drozd is the fourth-rated TBRB cruiserweight.