Christian Mbilli’s postponed title defense against Canelo Alvarez has its first undercard bout, as ESPN KnockOut reports that Lindolfo Delgado will meet Arthur Biyarslanov that day for the vacant IBF super lightweight title.
Former Olympian Delgado (24-0, 16 KO) barely escaped a final eliminator against Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela last November, earning a shot at reigning champion Richardson Hitchins in the process. Hitchins wound up flubbing his weight cut for a planned defense against Oscar Duarte,
signing with Zuffa Boxing, and subsequently vacating his belt to move to 147.
Enter Eye of the Tiger Management’s Biyarslanov (21-0, 17 KO). “The Wolf” likewise competed in Rio, winning his first bout before running into Artem Harutyunynan in the Round of 16, then turned pro two years later. His two biggest professional victories to date have come over faded veterans Mohamed Mimoune and Sergey Lipinets.
Pretty solid matchup; let’s see if they can maintain at least this level of quality as “Mexico vs the World” fills out.
