02.02.2018

One day to go until Ossetian Gassiev’s boxing matchup with Cuban Dorticos in Sochi

JAMnews

Tskhinval/i

The second semi-final of the World Boxing Super Series is in for one of its most anticipated matchups of the season, as the Ossetian elite fighter Murat Gassiev, who is an IBF world champion, is getting ready to battle it out with his counterpart from Cuba Yunier Dorticos on 3 February in Sochi, Russia. More than seven thousand fans from across South and North Ossetias, including president of the former Anatoly Bibilov, have travelled to Sochi to root for Gassiev.

Some of those who’ve stayed behind will be able to watch the fight live on a big screen in the café Vincenzo in Tskhinval. Director of the café Albert Valiev, who is also head of South Ossetia’s Boxing Federation, told JAMnews the match was scheduled to start at 1 a.m. Moscow time.

“We’ll be starting the broadcast at 20:00 [on 2 February] though. We took some previous experiences of ours into account and bought a new TV set and a projector. Everybody is welcome to come to the café Vincenso,” Valiev said.

Ossetians across the world have taken to Facebook to express support for Murat Gassiev and wish him luck.

Last October, Gassiev scored a knockout victory over former WBC and IBF champion from Poland Krzysztof Włodarczyk in the WBSS quarter-finals. Earlier, in September, Dorticos knocked out Russian Dmitry Kudryashev.

Gassiev, 24, has 25 victories under his belt, including 18 knockouts. Dorticos has won 22 fights, 21 of them by knockout.

The World Boxing Super Series started in September 2017 and will last until May 2018. The prize fund is 50 million dollars. The winners are getting a special prize as well – the Muhammad Ali Trophy.

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