Murat Gassiev is set for his next heavyweight adventure.

The former unified WBA/IBF cruiserweight titlist will next face Germany’s Erkan Teper, with their scheduled 10-round bout to take place July 22 at Dynamo Volleyball Arena in Moscow.

The bout will be the second as a heavyweight for Gassiev, with his divisional debut resulting in a 1st round knockout of Nuri Seferi last October 13 in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Prior to the bout, the 27-year-old Gassiev (27-1, 20KOs)—who hails from Vladikavkaz, Russia but lives and trains in Big Bear, California—hadn’t fought since July 2018, when he dropped a wide unanimous decision to Oleksandr Usyk in their undisputed cruiserweight championship and World Boxing Super Series tournament final in Moscow.

Gassiev won the IBF cruiserweight title in a twelve-round split decision win over countryman Denis Lebedev in December 2016. Two successful title defenses followed, including a thrilling twelfth-round knockout of then-unbeaten Yunier Dorticos in their February 2018 WBA/IBF title unification clash in the semifinal round of the WBSS tournament.

Teper (21-3, 13KOs) serves as a step up in competition from Seferi and will perhaps provide a better gauge for where Gassiev rates in the current heavyweight landscape.

The 39-year-old Teper—who is based out of Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany—is currently on a two-fight win streak. Both have come versus club-level competition following an eighth-round technical knockout defeat versus current Top 10 heavyweight contender Robert Helenius in September 2018, the lone stoppage loss of his eleven-year pro career.

The upcoming fight will mark the first since the pandemic for Teper, who will join promotional stablemate Viktor Faust in training camp to prepare. Both are promoted by Erol Ceylan’s EC Boxing, with Faust due to return to the ring in July on a separate card.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox