Unlike countryman and fellow two-time Olympic gold medalist Bakhodir Jalolov, it looks like Hasanboy Dusmatov has some actual professional ambitions. Koki Kameda’s 3150Fight announced that Dusmatov will meet Rene Calixto Bibiano in an IBF flyweight eliminator as part of their two-day Saikou x LUSH event this month in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
The show runs from the 25th to the 26th, featuring John Riel Casimero vs Kyonosuke Kameda on the first day and Luis Nery vs Sathaporn Saart on the second. It’s unclear
where this one will land.
Dusmatov (7-0, 5 KO), then 23, ran the table in Rio so dominantly that he claimed the Val Barker trophy. After turning professional for a while, he dipped back into the amateur ranks for Paris 2024, where he once again claimed gold. He’s among the best of an incredibly stacked Uzbek squad and could very easily take over the division after “Bam” Martinez’s exit.
Calixto (23-1-1, 9 KO) twice challenged Willibaldo Garcia for super flyweight gold, fighting to a draw the first time out before dropping a split decision five months later. Not the most impressive pedigree, but he’s Dusmatov’s best professional opponent by a country mile and the Uzbek has only gone past eight rounds on one occasion.
The poster calls this an “eliminator for two position;” Felix Alvarado sits atop the rankings ahead of a vacant no. 2, so I’m guessing either the winner will become the mandatory challenger after Alvarado’s fight with champion Masamichi Yabuki in November or be thrown into a second, more final eliminator.
