Denis Lebedev v Murat Gassiev to be shown live on Sky Sports
Thursday 1 December 2016 16:50, UK
A cracking cruiserweight world title fight between Denis Lebedev and Murat Gassiev will be shown live on Sky Sports.
Lebedev will defend the IBF straps against a fellow Russian at the iconic Khodynka Ice Palace, Moscow, on Saturday night.
Gassiev is yet to taste defeat and has been labelled as the new Gennady Golovkin by trainer Abel Sanchez, who will be in his corner.
The 23-year-old gets his first shot at a world title having blasted his way up the rankings, winning 17 of his 24 fights inside the distance, and almost half of them inside the opening three rounds.
Both fighters have impressed current WBC champion Tony Bellew, whose trainer David Coldwell will be watching closely as part of our commentary team, alongside former cruiserweight king Johnny Nelson and Ed Robinson.
Southpaw Lebedev is the most experienced of the current lineal champions having held the WBA belt since 2012.
He added the IBF title to his collection by beating Argentine Victor Emilio Ramirez last time out, but the WBA are yet to confirm their title will be on the line in Moscow.
Bellew has called out Lebedev before he signed to take on bitter rival David Haye at heavyweight, live on Sky Sports Box Office, in March, only for the 37-year-old to agree to take on compatriot Gassiev, in what has already been billed as a fight-of-the-year contender.
You can watch Denis Lebedev v Murat Gassiev, live on Sky Sports 5, Saturday, 7pm.
