The 24 year-old, who has six stoppages from his 11 wins, takes on experienced Ghanaian Isaac Quaye at the Titanic Hotel on Merseyside after inking a deal with respected North-West promoter Stephen Vaughan.
Tikhonov joins compatriots David Agadzhanyan, David Avanesyan and Andrey Meryasev on the bill and says having such a strong contingent of his fellow countrymen around him will spur him on.
“It really helps to have a lot of Russian fighters with me, especially having Andrey here with us who is my stable mate from St Petersburg,” Tikhonov told World Boxing News.
“In regards to my opponent Quaye, I checked a couple of his fights and he is a quite awkward little fighter that likes to clinch and make it uncomfortable with the close distance fighting.”
Given that Tikhonov fights at 122lbs, and the fact that Britain has such and abundance of talent in that division, the southpaw was asked his thoughts on potential bouts with world champions Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg in the coming year or beyond.
“It all depends on the level of preparation I will be getting in New Year,” he said. “But I’m really looking forward to fighting out of Vaughan Boxing and looking forward to the training camps and sparring sessions.
“Ultimately if I will be asked to step up to fight the likes of Frampton and Quigg I will never turn such an opportunity down. I just hope the UK fans enjoy my fight and we can see what happens in the future.”
Pushed on whether he is aiming for a stoppage to impress the Brits, Tikhonov concluded: “There is always a chance of that!”
Tickets for the event are selling fast and are £75 including a three-course Christmas Dinner and boxing.
There will also be live music, an auction and entertainment on the night as Vaughan Boxing will be trying to raise money in association with the Oliver King Foundation.
Dinner will be served at 4pm boxing commences 5:30 pm. Call the ticket line on 07789037802 or visitwww.vaughanboxing.tv for more information.
Russian Channel Boets fighter will be broadcasting the event on channel www.red-media.ru
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