Friday Fight Time: Magomed Kurbanov-Liam Smith Junior Middleweight Showdown to Stream Live and Exclusively on ESPN+ – Live stream from Russia to begin at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT
Former WBO junior middleweight world champion Liam “Beefy” Smith is set to enter enemy territory. Smith, from Liverpool, England, will battle undefeated Russian contender Magomed Kurbanov for the vacant WBO International junior middleweight title Friday at KRK Uralets in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Liam Smith looked in tremendous shape as he successfully made weight for his clash with Magomed Kurbanov tomorrow.
Former world champion Smith (29-2-1, 16 KOs) faces Kurbanov (21-0, 13 KOs) in Ekaterinburg, Russia on Friday, with the event broadcast in the USA and Canada on ESPN+, and on Fite TV for the rest of the world.
The WBO International super-welterweight title is also on the line, with Smith looking to move one step closer to a crack at world honours with a victory.
The two men took part in their weigh-in on Friday, with Smith coming in at a ripped and ready 69.6kg (153.4lbs), while Kurbanov was slightly heavier at 69.85kg (154lbs).
Smith is looking to continue his good run of form, having picked up three straight victories over Roberto Garcia, Mario Alberto Lozano and Sam Eggington in the past two years.
Smith (29-2-1, 16 KOs) held the WBO junior middleweight world title from 2015-2016 before losing to Canelo Alvarez via ninth-round stoppage. He is 6-1 since the Alvarez fight, including two wins over current middleweight contender Liam Williams. Smith is riding a three-bout winning streak since his latest world title challenge, a game 2018 decision loss to Jaime Munguia. Kurbanov (21-0, 13 KOs) is a six-year pro who has held the WBO International junior middleweight title twice before. His most notable victory came in November 2019, when he outlasted longtime contender Diego Chaves over 12 rounds. Kurbanov went 3-0 in 2020, including a decision win over Ismail Iliev.
In other streaming action on ESPN+:
Welterweight contender Eduard Skavynskyi (13-0, 7 KOs), who was born in Ukraine and now resides in Yekaterinburg, will fight former world title challenger Joel Julio (39-5, 33 KOs) in a 10-rounder.
In a 10-round showdown for the vacant WBO European junior featherweight belt, Evgenii Liashkov (8-1, 2 KOs) will go for his ninth consecutive victory against Mukhammad Shekhov (8-0-1, 3 KOs), a one-time amateur standout for his native Uzbekistan.
Enriko Gogokhia (12-0, 7 KOs), a former professional kickboxing standout from the nation of Georgia, will look to extend his knockout streak to five against Gustavo David Vittori (24-7-1, 12 KOs) in an eight-round junior welterweight contest.
Southpaw boxer-puncher Zafar Parpiev (9-2, 2 KOs), who is coming off a December knockout win over the previously undefeated Turat Osmonov, will fight Filipino veteran Alphoe Dagayloan (14-4-6, 5 KOs) in an eight-rounder at junior bantamweight.