ZHAN KOSSOBUTSKIY-HUSSEIN MUHAMED HEAVYWEIGHT CLASH SET FOR NOVEMBER 5 IN GERMANY
Rising heavyweight Zhan Kossobutskiy will face fellow unbeaten Hussein Muhamed in a scheduled 10-round contest at the Rudolf Weber-Arena in Oberhausen, Germany, on November 5.
In the amateur ranks, Kossobutskiy defeated 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Mahammadrasul Majidov, 2016 Olympic silver medalist Vassiliy Levit, and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Frazer Clarke. He turned professional in September 2017.
The powerful Uzbekistan-born fighter initially fought in one of the old Soviet Union countries before moving to Germany, where he impressively stopped previously unbeaten Agron Smakici (KO 1).
Since then, Kossobutskiy has easily vanquished American trailhorse Joey Dawejko (KO 2), unbeaten Alexis Garcia (TKO 5) and former world title challenger Johann Duhaupas (RTD 5). The 33-year-old southpaw boasts an impressive record of 18-0 (17 knockouts).
Muhamed (17-0, 14 KOs) debuted in 2014 and his path has been slower. The German-born fighter has scored wins over one-time super middleweight title challenger Epifanio Mendoza (RTD 3), respected journeyman Denis Bakhtov (DQ 3), and perennial battler Yakup Saglam (UD 10). Kossobutskiy represents a marked step in competition.
The undercard will feature former Cuban standout Jose Larduet (8-0, 7 KOs) against once-beaten Ali Kiydin (16-1, 15 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round heavyweight contest.
Former IBF super middleweight title challenger Vincent Feigenbutz (35-3, 31 KOs) will look to win his fifth fight since suffering a defeat to Caleb Plant (TKO 10). The 27-year-old German is now operating at middleweight and will face an as yet unknown opponent.
There is also an opportunity for exciting heavyweight prospect Mourad Aliev (5-0, 3 KOs) to climb the ranks when he faces the vastly more experienced Yakup Saglam (46-7, 42 KOs) in a 10-round bout. Aliev is most famous for protesting his DQ loss to Frazer Clarke at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by refusing to leave the ring.
