Press Release
Daniyar Yeleussinov will face Julius Indongo for the IBF Intercontinental Welterweight title on Friday November 27 behind closed doors at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Florida, live on DAZN.
Yeleussinov (9-0 5 KOs) faces a stern test of his ambitions in the paid ranks as the Kazakhstan Olympic gold medal man aims to press on the accelerator as he enters double figures in pro fights.
Indongo (23-2 12 KOs) represents a major step up in class for Yeleussinov, having taken on Terence Crawford for the undisputed Super-Lightweight title in August 2017 as the unified IBF and WBA champion, having unified against Ricky Burns three months earlier.
“I thank Indongo for accepting this challenge,” said Yeleussinov. “He’s a former World champion that will come to fight.
“This will be a great fight for me and a great boxing show at the Hard Rock. I am going to show I'm the better fighter and Indongo will see the best of Daniyar Yeleussinov. I hope my fans will enjoy this event.”
“Daniyar is a very gifted boxer and a highly accomplished Olympian,” said Indongo. “However, I don’t fear anyone, because my skills will be a challenge for him as well. I feel as if my skills and conditioning, since training in America, have improved very much, so it is going to be a good fight. I am prepared to put on a great performance and get the win.
“I understand the importance of this fight for my career. I need to win…period. When I do, I will be considered as a contender in both the 140 lb. and 147 lb. divisions. This fight will open the doors I need to become a World champion again.”
“This is the test that Daniyar needs to show that he’s ready to press for World honors,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “Julius is a former unified World champion; he’s been in with some great fighters and still has ambitions at the very top level.
“We believe that Daniyar is going to be a player in the division for years to come, but he must prove that by closing 2020 in style against Julius and setting up a big year in 2021.”
“Julius Indongo is only three years removed from being the unified champion at 140 and his losses have come exclusively at the hands of truly elite competition,” said Indongo’s promoter, Lou DiBella. “Daniyar Yeleussinov may have a gold medal from the amateurs, but is he an elite pro? Indongo represents a challenge in both skill and experience that Yeleussinov has not encountered as a professional. Indongo is hungry for another chance at a World title so, frankly, he views Yeleussinov as the stepping-stone and not the other way around.”
Yeleussinov’s clash with Indongo is part of a night of action in Florida as bitter rivals Daniel Jacobs and Gabe Rosado clash at Super-Middleweight.
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Heavyweight Filip Hrgovic and welterweight Daniyar Yeleussinov, both 2016 Olympic medalists and among boxing's top prospects, were added on Monday to Matchroom Boxing's April 17 card at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
Their scheduled 10-round bouts will be on the DAZN show headlined by the fight between former junior welterweight world titleholders Regis Prograis and Maurice Hooker.
Kazakhstan's Yeleussinov (9-0, 5 KOs), 28, won a gold medal in Rio. He will face by far his most notable opponent in former unified junior welterweight world titlist Julius Indongo (23-2, 12 KOs), 37, of Namibia.
"This is the most important fight of my career," Yeleussinov said. "I had a great end to the year, and I feel I am building real momentum in the pro game now, but this is a big leap in quality of opponent. Julius is a former unified world champion and has huge experience at the very top level, so I will need to put on a career-best performance to keep my run going."
Indongo won a junior welterweight belt on the road in Russia in 2016 when he knocked out Eduard Troyanovsky in stunning fashion in the first round. Then he unified two belts by outpointing Ricky Burns, again on the road in Scotland, in his next fight in April 2017. Four months later, Indongo traveled to Terence Crawford's home area of Lincoln, Nebraska, and got knocked out in the third round in a fight for the undisputed 140-pound crown.
In his next fight, Indongo's only one of 2018, he got knocked out in the second round by Prograis, but he bounced back with a win last August.
"This is a big night in the careers of Filip Hrgovic and Daniyar Yeleussinov," Matchroom Boxing promoter Hearn said. "Filip is a big problem for the heavyweight division. [He] is gaining valuable experience with every camp and fight, and all eyes will be on the 27-year-old in Maryland as he looks to make another statement in boxing's glamour division.
"Daniyar is really growing in the paid ranks and has been impressive in his recent outings, but Julius Indongo is a big step up for the 'Kazakh Thunder.' The former unified world champion will look to carry his power up to 147l pounds, so Daniyar will be under pressure to both impress again and stave off the attack of the dangerous Indongo."
From ESPN
