Imam Khataev seeks his third consecutive victory tonight against Padraig McCrory in a 10-round light heavyweight contest on DAZN at Capitole de Québec in Quebec City. The Olympic bronze medalist defends his NABF title on the Osleys Iglesias–Oliver Zaren undercard.
Khataev (12-1, 11 KOs) has stopped both opponents he has faced since his disputed split-decision loss to David Morrell in July 2025. Adam Deines lasted three rounds last December, while Mickael Diallo was stopped in the opening round in June. McCrory (20-2, 10 KOs) now gets the task of interrupting that run.
The Morrell performance remains the strongest evidence of what Khataev can do against higher-level opposition. He dropped the Cuban with a right hand in the fifth round and pushed him through a hard 10-round fight. Morrell got the decision, but Khataev’s promoter disputed the scoring and called for a rematch.
That leaves Khataev in a different position from a prospect whose potential rests entirely on knocking out overmatched opponents. He has already shown that his power and pressure can trouble a leading contender. The defeat added a loss to his record without settling how far he can go at 175 pounds.
McCrory offers another opportunity to build on that performance, although beating him would not answer every question left by the Morrell fight. Khataev needs opponents who can withstand his early attacks and force him to sustain his work deeper into a contest. His two quick stoppages have provided little opportunity to demonstrate that.
The temptation tonight will be to chase another early finish. Khataev’s power makes that a realistic outcome, but applying pressure without wasting punches would also serve him well when he returns to tougher opposition.
A third straight win would keep Khataev moving toward those fights. After the showing against Morrell, the next step should be another opponent capable of testing whether he can turn a competitive performance at that level into a victory.