Hryunov: Soliman Can Be Next for Chudinov on 8/8

By Alexey Sukachev

Dmitry Chudinov (13-0-2, 8 KOs) was an unproven prospect with an interim title coming into his Sunday fight versus rugged Dane middleweight and fellow talent Patrick Nielsen (22-1, 11 KOs). Twelve rounds later the Russian boxer is not only a new face in the middleweight elite but he has also elevated his status and is being put on the brink of a partial unification, says his promoter Vladimir Hryunov.

“The WBA issued a statement that Gennady Golovkin will be awarded a super champion’s status and will fight Daniel Geale next. At the same time, Dmitry’s status was elevated to that of a regular world champion. We are presently in negotiations with Team Soliman for a unification fight. The fight is preliminarily targeted for Aug. 8 in Sevastopol," said Hryunov to Andrey Kulyanov of Gazeta.ru.

Chudinov beat Nielsen on June 1 in Mytischi, Russia, with a unanimous decision (117-111, 116-112, and 115-113). One day earlier, the 40-year old Australian veteran made an international splash by convincingly beating a multi-time German champion Felix Sturm with lopsided scores (118-110, 118-110 and 117-111) in Sturm’s backyard to snatch Felix’s IBF 160lb title. Sevastopol is a seaport in Crimea, a point of conflict between neighboring nations of Russia and Ukraine.