Enkhmandakh Kharkhuu is a flyweight, but will be competing on Thursday’s Golden Boy Fight Night at bantamweight.
Kharkhuu, an undefeated Mongolian fighter, faces Mario Hernandez in his first six-round fight at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California. The bout will be streamed on DAZN.
Kharkhuu, 28, had a lot of amateur fights. He currently spends roughly eight to nine months in the Los Angeles area training with John Pullman and then three months back home in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
In December, Kharkhuu, 5-0 (2 KOs), scored a first-round knockout of Carlos Johnson, and even though he is signed by 3 Point Management, the same team behind Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, Kharkhuu’s next goal seems obvious. He wants to find a promoter.
“First off, he is a really good fighter,” Pullman told BoxingScene. “Second, he is in a weight class that isn’t big. There just isn’t a deep talent pool of American fighters.”
“He is a flyweight, who is actually ranked No.12 by the WBA,” Pullman said. “He is getting a great opportunity, but his original opponent fell out two weeks ago. They got another opponent on short notice so we have to do it at a heavier weight.
“You got to be willing to fight in three different weight classes to be able to get fights,” Pullman added.
Pullman remains an optimist as he noted that fights can fall out at any weight or level, citing heavyweight Joseph Parker and lightweight Shakur Stevenson as recent high-profile examples.
“When I have a fighter who wants to be in the gym when they don’t have a fight coming up, [that] is a good thing,” Pullman said. “That doesn’t mean you are always pushing yourself pedal to the metal; but you are actively training so you can go over things when there is no pressure. If you don’t have a fight coming up we can experiment.”
Hernandez, 34, is a veteran of Los Angeles area. He was at one point in his career signed with Thompson Boxing. From Santa Ana, California, Hernandez is coming off a majority decision loss to Floyd “Cashflow” Diaz in September. He currently holds a record of 12-5 (4 KOs).
“He is a tough guy who has been in there with some tough guys and he is a little bit bigger naturally,” Pullman said. “It could pose some challenges, because Hernandez is a bigger guy with some experience. My guy is ready for the challenge.”
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.