Press releases

MINSK, 12 March (BelTA) – Belarus’ Ivan Baranchyk has become the mandatory challenger for the IBF junior welterweight title, BelTA informs.

The boxer from Soligorsk beat down Russia’s Petr Petrov. The one-sided match was stopped by the referee in round eight. Ivan Baranchyk now has an 18-0 record that includes 11 knockouts. To claim the welterweight world champion title, he has to win a fight against the big-name Miguel Angel Garcia Cortez, best known as Mikey Garcia.

Belarusian athletes have been coming into the spotlight in professional boxing. Another Belarusian, Kiryl Relikh, claimed a WBA super lightweight champion title in San Antonio on 10 March. He is the second professional Belarusian boxer after Sergei Lyakhovich to become a world champion.