Former cruiserweight champion Murat Gassiev is set to make his heavyweight debut next month in Texas.
Matchroom Boxing officially announced that Gassiev will face Joey Dawejko on July 27 as part of the undercard for the WBO and WBC junior welterweight title unification between Maurice Hooker and Jose Ramirez. The card will be streamed in the United States on DAZN.
Gassiev has not fought since last July when he lost to Oleksandr Usyk in the World Boxing Super Series finals with the undisputed cruiserweight crown on the line. The loss snapped Gassiev?s 26-fight win streak that started in his pro debut back in 2011. Gassiev held the IBF title since 2016 when he defeated Denis Lebedev by split decision. The 25-year-old Gassiev won the WBA cruiserweight title in the WBSS semifinals last year with a 12th round stoppage win over Yunier Dorticos. Both Gassiev and Usyk are signed to Matchroom Boxing and are set to make their heavyweight debuts in the coming months.
Dawejko has faced a number of notable heavyweights throughout his career from former world champion Charles Martin to Jarrell Miller and Bryant Jennings. Dawejko has his lost his last three fights with his last win taking place in 2017 when he defeated previously-unbeaten fighter Kelvin Nunez. The 28-year-old from Philadelphia has not fought since a majority decision loss to Sergey Kuzmin back in March.
Although not officially announced, it had been previously reported that IBF super featherweight champion Tevin Farmer will make his fourth defense of the title against Guillaume Frenois on the same card.