MOSCOW, Russia, CMC – Guyanese pugilists Leon “Hurry Up” Moore and Wayne “Big Truck” Braithwaite will feature on the undercard for one of the biggest fight nights in Russian history next month.
The 32-year-old Moore collides with World Boxing Council No.3 ranked Alexander “The Knight” Bakhtin of Russia for the WBC Silver super bantamweight crown, and the 36-year-old Braithwaite will face fellow veteran Ali Ismailov on November 4 at the Khodynka Ice Palace in the Russian capital.
The two fights will be supporting bouts on the card featuring World Boxing Organization No.2 ranked Denis Lebedev of Russia and three-time/three-division World champion James Toney of the United States.
Moore has lost only twice in a 30-fight career – both times under questionable circumstances on the road.
He lost a split decision to former flyweight king Irene Pacheco on October 21 five years ago in Colombia for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental bantamweight title, and a majority decision to World-ranked Timur Shailezov on March 16 four years ago in Kyrgyztan for the vacant North American Boxing Association bantamweight title.
Since his loss to Shailezov, Moore has been undefeated in 10 fights – the most recent a non-title bout against Felipe Almanza in New York last April.
The 30-year-old Bakhtin (27-0, 11 KOs) is a quality boxer who retained the Japanese national title nine times between 2003 and 2006 before moving to Russia to revive his career which was interrupted by legal trouble.
The southpaw Braithwaite (24-4, 20 KOs) has been relatively inactive in recent years and his last fight came on March 6 last year, when he TKO’d Adam Harris in a non-title bout in Connecticut in the United States.
Braithwaite is a former World Boxing Council cruiserweight champion, making three successful defences of the title before losing the belt to Guadeloupe-born Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck in a unanimous decision six Aprils ago.
He currently holds the WBC Fedelatin and WBC Latino cruiserweight titles, after a third round TKO over Yoan Hernandez three years ago, which started him on the comeback trail.
But Braithwaite lost an International Boxing Federation title eliminator two years ago to American Steve Cunningham before his success over Harris.
The 37-year-old Ismailov (18-7-1, 13 KOs) has been on the downward curve, following a controversial loss in a referee’s technical decision to Victor Ramirez two years ago. He has lost all of his last four fights.
The card will also feature Sherman “The Tank” Williams. The 39-year-old Bahamian (34-11-2, 19 KOs) is helping Lebedev prepare for Toney and will face a yet to be announced heavyweight opponent.