By Alexey Sukachev
All parties made their required weight limit for Saturday's big show in Moscow. The card is topped by a pair of cruiserweight title fights pitting Russia versus Poland.
The main event features Krzysztof Wlodarczyk in the seventh defense of his second tour as cruiserweight champ. The recently-turned 33-year old fights outside of Poland for his third straight fight, as he faces top contender Grigory Drozd.
Both fighters were well within the cruiserweight limit. Wlodarczyk (49-2-1, 35KOs) weighed in at a fighting ready 199 lb. for his second fight in Moscow in his past three starts. Russia's Drozd (38-1, 27KOs) tipped the scales at 198.2 lb. for his first world title fight.
The co-feature showcases Denis Lebedev in a long-awaited ring return, as he defends his portion of the cruiserweight title versus Poland's Pawel Kolodziej.
Lebedev (25-2, 19KOs) weighed in at a fighting ready 198.6 lb.; Kolodziej (33-0, 18KOs) came in right at the cruiserweight limit of 200 lb. in what is also his first crack at a world title.
Saturday's card marks the first fight back for Lebedev since his controversial knockout loss to Guillermo Jones last May. Clouding the feat was the fact that Jones tested posted for a banned substance, as discovered in his post-fight urinalysis. A rematch was due to take place this past May, but canceled mere hours before the opening bell, when Jones once again produced a dirty sample during random drug testing.
ALL WEIGHTS (IN KG):
Krzysztof Wlodarcyzk, 90.3 kg vs. Grigory Drozd, 89.9 kg - 12 rounds, cruiserweight
Denis Lebedev, 90.1 kg vs. Pawel Kolodziej, 90.7 kg - 12 rounds, cruiserweight
Andrey Knyazev, 90.3 kg vs. Shalva Jomardashvili, 90.3 kg - 12 rounds, cruiserweight
Sergey Lipinets, 63.8 kg vs. Daniel Loemeli, 63.9 kg - 8 rounds, super lightweight
Alexander Sharanov, 68.1 kg vs. Godwin Cudjoe, 69.3 kg - 6 rounds, welterweight