Bakhodir Jalolov and Hovhannes Bachkov, gold and bronze-winning Olympic medalists respectively, have been added to the card for global promotional company Probellum’s first event of 2022, which takes place in Dubai next month.
The duo, both undefeated in the professional ranks, are the latest high-profile fighters to be confirmed for the event, which will be held at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium on March 18 and 19.
“We are absolutely delighted to add both Bakhodir and Hovhannes to the card for our first event of the year,” said Richard Schaefer, President of Probellum.
“These guys have already shown their talent and there is no question they both have huge futures in the sport.
“To have fighters of this quality competing on the opening night of the event is fantastic news and we are very excited about the prospect of watching them in action. Make no mistake, Probellum Evolution is going to be an event to remember.”
Since turning professional in 2018, Uzbekistani fighter Jalolov (9-0, 9 knockouts) has made a serious statement of intent by winning all nine of his bouts to date via knockout, the most recent of which coming at Probellum’s inaugural show in December, when he produced a devastating performance to see off the challenge of Colombia’s Julio Cesar Calimeno inside the first round.
Jalolov, who won super-heavyweight gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, will face Poland’s Kamil Sokolowski (11-24-2, 4 knockouts) on the opening night of Probellum’s Dubai event.
“I’m thrilled to be returning to Dubai for Probellum’s first event of the year”, said Jalolov. “My training camp has been going well, I’m feeling fit and I’m confident I can maintain my unbeaten run.”
Up-and-coming Armenian Bachkov (2-0, 1 knockout), who has enjoyed a strong start to his professional career and eased to a comfortable victory over Turkey’s Binali Shakhmandarov in his most recent bout, will also be competing on the opening night of the event when he faces Argentina’s Cristian Coria (29-9-2, 13 knockouts).
Bachkov showcased his undoubted qualities at amateur level on multiple occasions and picked up gold medals at both the 2017 European Championships and the 2019 European Games. Like Jalolov, he was also a medalist at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning a bronze in the lightweight competition.
“I’m very excited to be competing at Probellum Evolution and I’m looking forward to putting on a great show for the fans,” said Bachkov. “It’s been a good start to my professional career but there is a lot more to come from me and I will show my quality in Dubai.”
The opening night will be headlined by France’s Estelle Mossely (9-0, 1 knockout), who defends her IBO lightweight title against Argentina’s Yanina del Carmen Lescano (10-1, 2 knockouts), with Ireland’s Jono Carroll (21-2-1, 5 knockouts) facing Serbia’s Serif Gurdijeljac (21-6, 8 knockouts) in the co-main event.
Sunny Edwards (17-0, 4 knockouts), from the UK, puts his IBF flyweight title on the line against Pakistan’s Muhammad Waseem (12-1, 8 knockouts) in the headline bout of night two, supported by a fascinating contest between USA’s Regis Prograis (26-1, 22 knockouts) and Ireland’s Tyrone McKenna (22-2-1, 6 knockouts). For live news and updates, be sure to follow Probellum on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
