Muslim Gadzhimagomedov defends WBA bridgerweight title against Thabiso Mchunu on January 31

(The longtime amateur boxing governing body also stages some professional boxing matches.)

The WBA and WBC are the only two major sanctioning bodies to recognize the bridgerweight division, which sits between cruiserweight and heavyweight, with a weight limit of 224lbs.

Gadzhimagomedov earned a silver medal in the 2020/2021 Olympics as a heavyweight, the amateur equivalent to professional boxing’s cruiserweights. 

He won the vacant WBA bridgerweight title in July, stopping the 12-2-1 Zhaoxin Zhang in four rounds. Gadzhimagomedov defended it in October with a shutout of the 22-5-1 Leon Harth.

Including a pair of IBA pro fights that BoxRec lists separately, Gadzhimagomedov – a 28-year-old from Krasnodar, Russia – is 7-0 (3 KOs).

Mchunu, a 36-year-old from South Africa, is 23-7 (13 KOs). He fell short in both of his previous title fights, knocked out in nine rounds by Oleksandr Usyk in 2016 and defeated via split decision by Ilunga Makabu in January 2022. Mchunu then spent nearly 26 months away before returning last March, dropping a split decision to Yamil Alberto Peralta.

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter and . He is the co-host of the . David’s book, “,” is available on Amazon.