By: Sean Crose

With a single loss on his resume, Sergey Lipinets is continuing to aim for welterweight glory. On the 24th of this month, the 16-1 Kazakh fighter will battle the 17-0 Kudratillo Abdukakhorov at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Casino in the main event of a Showtime card that will be presented by Premiere Boxing Champions. The winner will walk out of the ring that night in possession of the IBF Interim title. “The 31-year-old Lipinets (16-1, 12 KOs) will look to remain unbeaten since moving up to welterweight in 2018,” claimed Showtime in a press release, “and position himself for further title opportunities in the welterweight division.”

Lipinets’ one and only loss came to none other than Mikey Garcia back in 2018, via unanimous decision. The fighter has gone on to win three in a row since that lone defeat, however. Lipinets was last in the ring in July of last year when he bested Jayar Inson by technical knockout in the second round. There’s little doubt that the man will have a strong corner on the 24th. “Born in Kazakhstan and representing Russia, Lipinets now lives in Woodland Hills, California,” states Showtime, ” and is trained by renowned coach Joe Goossen.”

In order to further move along his career, though, Lipinets will have to get through the undefeated Abdukakhorov. “Born in Uzbekistan,” Showtime states, “and fighting out of Kuala, Lumpur, Malaysia, Abdukakhorov (17-0, 9 KOs) is the top-rated welterweight contender in the IBF rankings.” Abdukakhorov’s last fight was a technical decision win over popular vet Luis Collazo last October. Although not known for his power punching, Abdukhorov is a highly skilled and well regarded contender. As Showtime says, he’s ranked number one on the IBF’s list of welterweight contenders. Lipinets himself is currently ranked third by the IBF.

There’s a lot at stake for both men here. The winner will not only win an interim title, he will also be in line to face Errol Spence Junior for the IBF’s world welterweight championship (as opposed to the interim strap). Of course, Spence has a highly anticipated fight next month on pay per view against highly regarded and well liked former titlist Danny Garcia. Not that mandatory’s can be avoided forever.

The Lipinets- Abdukakhoro bout was originally set to go down on October 11th, but has been resituated to the 24th, perhaps because Abdukahorov reportedly had visa issues. The entire card will be aired live starting at 9:00 pm on Showtime.

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