Totowa, NJ:Main Events continues to add to an already impressive light heavyweight stable with the signing of Nadjib Mohammedi, the 29-year old from Gardanne, Bouches-du-Rhône, France who earned the #1 position in the IBF earlier this year with his seventh round knockout of Anatoliy "The Gladiator" Dudchenko in his US debut. Mohammedi was announced as the mandatory challenger for IBF belt in July, but then-IBF and WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Bernard Hopkins instead elected to fight a title unification bout against Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev, which took place last weekend. Kovalev defeated Hopkins in a wide decision to become the IBF, WBO and WBA Unified Light Heavyweight Champion.
While waiting for his chance at the IBF belt, Mohammedi knocked out Demetrius Walker at 2:16 in the first round on Saturday as part of the Hopkins-Kovalev undercard. With Kovalev's unanimous decision defeat of Hopkins, Kovalev inherited Mohammedi as his mandatory challenger for the IBF belt.
"Signing with Main Events was one of my dreams come true," explained Mohammedi. "I finally have the opportunity to show the world that Nadjib Mohammedi is the best light heavyweight in boxing today. I was unknown before, but now with Kathy and her staff's work everyone will know my name." He added, "It is an honor to now be part of an organization that has the top fighters in my division and now everyone will now know the name Nadjib 'Irondjib' Mohammedi. The only trajectory is the victory!"
Main Events' CEO Kathy Duva said, "When Sergey Kovalev won the WBO Light Heavyweight Title from Nathan Cleverly in August of 2013, we began investing heavily in the light heavyweight division. Nadjib is a very welcome addition to our roster and there are big things for him right around the corner in 2015."
Main Events has added yet another hot light heavyweight prospect, Vasily "The Professor" Lepikhin (17-0, 9 KOs), to their already impressive light heavyweight stable which includes: current WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev, undefeated Cuban sensation Sullivan Barrera, Isaac "Golden Boy" Chilemba, IBF mandatory contender Nadjib "Ironjib" Mohammedi, and Lionel "Lonnie B" Thompson.
The 29-year old phenom from Gelendzhik, Russia, is the current WBO Oriental and PABA Light Heavyweight Champion. Lepikhin earned both titles on Aug. 9 when he stopped Robert "The Butcher" Berridge, of New Zealand, in the fifth round during his US television debut. This past Saturday, Vasily defeated Brazilian Jackson "Demolidor" Junior via a ten-round unanimous decision.
Vasily is managed by Egis Klimas and trained by his father, Andrey Lepikhin, who also trains fellow Klimas/Main Events' stable mate Dmitry "The Mechanic" Mikhaylenko. Lepikhin and Mikhaylenko trained together for their last two fights, both of which took place at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, PA. Additionally, Vasily sparred with current unified light heavyweight world champion Sergey Kovalev while "The Krusher" prepared for his title defense against Blake Caparello in August of this year. German Titov Promotions is co-promoting Lepikhin as well as Mikhaylenko.
"The Professor" earned his nickname because he attended university in his native Russia for five years where he earned two separate higher education degrees, one in management, the other in sports training. He attended university during the day while continuing to train as a boxer at night. Vasily explained he kept this grueling schedule for mental discipline and agility, "I did this for self-development. In boxing, thinking, your mind is most important. You have to think. I had a schedule. In the morning I went to school. At lunch I had a nap. In the evening I went to the gym for boxing. Usually I woke up at 8:00 in the morning and I went to sleep at 11:00 at night."
When asked about the co-promotion with Main Events, Lepikhin said, "I am grateful to Main Events for this opportunity. My goal is to become a good fighter. I am fighting for myself to develop my abilities, to develop my techniques to become a good fighter is my first and main goal."
Main Events' CEO Kathy Duva said, "Egis asked us to take a look at Lepikhin, so we put him on our card in August. Of course when Egis asks me to look at a fighter, I do it. Once again, he found an excellent light heavyweight prospect, who I believe will shortly be on the list of the world's elite light heavyweights. We're also developing a great relationship with our co-promoter, German Titov."
