Shakhram Giyasov: Top Welterweight Prospect
On February 26, news broke that World of Boxing and Matchroom Promotions are on the cusp of signing a co-promotional pact for welterweight super prospect Shakhram Giyasov. The deal may actually be done as he will be featured on the under-card of Srisaket Sor Rungvisai vs Juan Francisco Estrada 2 over the DAZN platform.
Giyasov is a former amateur standout who won a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics. Furthermore, he won a gold medal at the AIBA world championships in 2017. He turned pro less then a year ago, and has racked up seven impressive wins against opponents vastly more experienced in the pro ranks.
Out of all seven opponents, only one has survived to see the final bell. The man they call “Wonder Boy” is one of the sport’s best prospects.
He comes from the decorated Uzbek Amateur system, which continues to pump out high level competitors whom are now flooding the pro ranks. He originally competed at junior welterweight, where he would’ve been competing with two fellow Uzbeki stand outs; Olympic gold medal winner Fazliddin Gaibnazorov, and highly touted pro prospect Shojohan Ergashev.
Giyasov, who is naturally bigger than his countrymen, moved up to welterweight for his February 23 bout where he dismantled hometown fighter Edgar Puerta in Mexico. At 147lbs, he joins another excellent prospect from his home nation in Kudratillo Abdukakhorov.
Abdukakhorov is currently ranked top 10 in multiple sanctioning bodies and is the IBF’s #1 ranked challenger. The mention of these other fighters is merely to show the caliber of fighter Giyasov has came up around.
In the Ring
For those who haven’t seen Giyasov fight, his style is that of a sharp intelligent fighter. In addition, he always works behind his jab, even in scenarios where some fighters may abandon it. He attacks the body confidently, and with both hands. His left hook is one of his better punches both to the head and the body. However, he really excels when he is throwing a wide array of punches in between his extremely accurate 1-2.
As for the deal with Matchroom, this should come as no surprise. World Of Boxing houses many of the world’s top Russian and Eastern European fighters. Many of them have been featured on Matchroom cards and on the DAZN application. The two promotions came together to co-promote light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. Bivol won his world title in just his twelfth fight, and it’s likely they’re looking at a similar trajectory for his stablemate Giyasov.
Boxing has changed. We now live in the era of the fast-tracked super amateur. The extremely talented fighters no longer pad their records for 25 plus fights. Increasingly often, guys who fought at the highest level in the un-paid ranks are jumping headfirst into the deep end of the pro ranks. Giyasov seems to have the recipe to be the next one.
He certainly has the amateur pedigree. He has added world renowned Joel Diaz as a trainer to the mix. Now, adding the Matchroom/DAZN marketing machine behind him tells me that it’s much more likely he’s looking to bypass the prospect phase and become a real title contender.
By: Tanner Gill
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