Batyrgaziev vs Dickens headlines July 2 IBA show in Istanbul

Olympic gold medalist Albert Batyrgaziev will defend his secondary super featherweight belt against Jazza Dickens next month in Turkey

WBA interim super featherweight champion Albert Batyrgaziev will defend his title against veteran Jazza Dickens in the main event of a July 2nd IBA show in Istanbul, which will most likely air on the IBA’s YouTube page.

This is a situation that does actually merit an interim bout, as full champion Lamont Roach Jr is slated to rematch Gervonta “Tank” Davis later this summer. Tokyo gold medalist Batyrgaziev (12-0, 8 KO) picked up the belt with a body shot finish of Jono Carroll last year, then handed Neri Ariel Cruz Romero his first defeat in his first official defense.

Batyrgaziev unofficially went down against Carroll, getting rattled by a hook and touching the mat with his glove, and officially twice against Romero. There’s some real vulnerability there, making for an interesting matchup with Dickens (35-5, 14 KO); the 34-year-old is coming off a decisive upset of Zelfa Barrett.

An interesting co-feature pits Tokyo bronze medalist Hovhannes Bachkov (7-0, 6 KO) against former super lightweight title challenger Shohjahon Ergashev (25-2, 22 KO). The Uzbek has struggled to pick up the pieces since saying “no mas” against Subriel Matias, notably hitting the deck in a decision loss to 8-2 Julian Smith last July.