One of four heavyweight contenders vying to become the number one contender this summer used a stunning technique in training.
Arslanbek Makhmudov, who faces Raphael Akpejiori at Huntington Center in Toledo on July 1, smashes his abdominals with a sledgehammer.
The Russian powerhouse has fifteen knockouts from sixteen wins and currently sits in the top five with the World Boxing Council.
Heavyweight tournament
He’s since signed up for a four-person tournament featuring all fell0w-undefeated punchers to claim the top spot.
In the other bout on the night, Jared Anderson, chief sparring partner of the champion Tyson Fury, battles Zhan Kossobutskiy.
“The Real Big Baby” versus “The Heavyweight GGG” will top the bill in Ohio under the Top Rank banner.
Fighters who keep their perfect records will be expected to collide later in the year, with a world title opportunity possible for 2024.
Judging by the clip shared by promoters at Top Rank, Makhmudov will be in the shape of his life for the heavyweight showdown.
This is next level 😳#AndersonZhan | JUL 1 | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/VPgmNf6DxH
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 10, 2023
Anderson vs Kossobutskiy undercard
The ESPN+-streamed undercard will feature Toledo-born first responder DeAndre Ware. The event will also see a pair of Cleveland’s undefeated talents in, Tiger Johnson and Dante Benjamin Jr.
Ware (15-4-2, 9 KOs) will return in a six-round super middleweight fight. He is a local firefighter who saved the life of Top Rank coordinator Pete Susens after performing CPR before a weigh-in inside the MGM Grand Las Vegas Bubble in 2020.
Nearly three years later, Ware returns on a Top Rank show seeking to rebound from a defeat to unbeaten contender Christian Mbilli last September.
Rising U.S. Olympian Johnson (8-0, 5 KOs) will see action in an eight-round junior welterweight clash.
Following last year’s efforts in which he went 5-0 with three knockouts, Johnson kicked off 2023 with an eight-round unanimous decision win in April over Alfonso Olvera.
Light heavyweight prospect Benjamin (6-0, 4 KOs) will make his third appearance of 2023 in a six-round bout.
Benjamin began the year with a first-round knockout over then-unbeaten prospect Emmanuel Austin in January. He is coming off a second-round destruction of Jasper McCargo in April.
Husam Al Mashhadi (6-0, 5 KOs), the fighting pride of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, will participate in a six-round junior middleweight fight.
The explosive southpaw prospect has packed venues in his hometown. He is coming off a six-round decision over Gabriel Smith in March.
Junior middleweight standout Jahi Tucker (10-0, 5 KOs) hopes to follow up on April’s action-packed decision victory over Nikoloz Sekhniashvili. He fights in an eight-rounder against an opponent to be named.
