One of the sport’s noted road warriors will finally get a true home game.
Boxing Scene has confirmed that the Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov-Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez IBF title eliminator will take place on February 17 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. RCC Boxing’s German Titov firmed up the location on behalf of the former IBF junior lightweight titlist after his company secured the rights to the fight through a December 12 purse bid hearing.
The winner will become the mandatory challenger to unbeaten two-time and reigning titlist Joe Cordina (16-0, 9KOs), who can use the interim period to enter a voluntary title defense.
The bout will mark the first in his home country for Rakhimov (17-1-1, 14KOs), who was born in Bokhtar which is roughly 100 kilometers from capital city Dushanbe. The majority of his career has taken place in Russia, specifically RCC’s home base in Ekaterinburg. However, the Tajik southpaw has been forced to fight on the road for his four career sanctioned title fights or eliminators.
Rakhimov traveled to South Africa, where he rallied to drop and stop unbeaten Azinga Fuzile in the eighth round of their September 2019 IBF title eliminator. A February 2021 draw versus then-unbeaten IBF titlist Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz took place in Indio, California.
Rakhimov was afforded a neutral backdrop of Abu Dhabi for his IBF title win. It came on a Matchroom Boxing-promoted show versus Matchroom boxer Zelfa Barrett whom he knocked out in the ninth round last November. His first defense ended in a twelve-round defeat to Cordina (16-0, 9KOs) this past April 22 on the road in Cardiff, Wales.
Nunez (25-1, 25KOs) will fight outside of his native Mexico for the first time as a pro. The 26-year-old knockout artist from Los Mochis has stopped each of his last 15 opponents, none lasting beyond the tenth round.
RCC Boxing outbid Matchroom to win the rights to the fight that was first ordered on October 30, two days after Nunez’s second-round knockout of Oscar Escandon on an October 28 DAZN show from Cancun.
Nunez called for a shot at O’Shaquie Foster—who scored a dramatic 12th round knockout of Eduardo ‘Rocky’ Hernandez to defend his WBC title in the main event that evening—or Cordina. However, he is forced to go the traditional route to earn his first title fight and will have to do so on the road.
The IBF settled on a Rakhimov-Nunez final eliminator after a failed attempt to stage a four-man box-off tournament when there were no takers to separately face either boxer under such circumstances.
By Jake Donovan