Usually, it takes a boxer more than a dozen fights to morph from promising prospect to legitimate contender. Sergey Lipinets appears to be one of the rare exceptions to that rule.
Since making his pro debut less than two years ago, Sergey Lipinets has whipped all eight of his opponents, with six of those wins coming by knockout. (Todd McLennan/Premier Boxing Champions)
Having obliterated all eight of his opponents—including six by knockout—Lipinets has the look of fighter who is on the fast track to a title opportunity. The 26-year-old native of Kazakhstan will try to take another step up the 140-pound ladder when he battles Levan Ghvamichava (16-1-1, 12 KOs) on March 15 at Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino in Nice, California.
The fight, which is slated for 10 rounds, headlines another Premier Boxing Champions Toe-to-Toe Tuesdays card that will kick off with 2012 Olympic silver medalist Tugstsogt Nyambayar (4-0, 4 KOs) facing Rafael Vazquez (16-2, 13 KOs) in a 10-round, 126-pound bout.
Sergey Lipinets launched his career less than two years ago with a six-round shutout victory over Franklin Varela in April 2014. From there, he let his heavy hands send a message by stopping six consecutive opponents from May 2014 to July 2015.
Then on October 30, Lipinets faced his stiffest test to date when he opposed undefeated Haskell Rhodes in the main event of a card in Orlando, Florida. It turned out not to be much of a test at all, as Lipinets dismantled Rhodes in a lopsided, 10-round unanimous decision.
Now it’s Ghvamichava’s turn to try to solve Lipinets.
A 30-year-old native of the Eastern European nation of Georgia who now fights out of Hayward, California, Ghvamichava will be looking to extend a five-fight winning streak that dates to August 2014. Four of those victories were of the stoppage variety, while the fifth was an eight-round unanimous decision over Cameron Kreal in Ghvamichava’s most recent outing in Houston on October 31.
Nicknamed “The Wolf,” Ghvamichava began his career with nine consecutive victories before dropping a six-round split decision to Alberto Herrera in July 2013. The only other blemish in his five-year professional career is a six-round majority draw against Abel Ramos in May 2014.
“I’m looking forward to facing off against Sergey Lipinets,” Ghvamichava said. “He is a tough, skilled fighter, but I am preparing hard for victory with my trainer, Virgil Hunter. I’m very grateful to my team and excited for this fight.”
Lipinets acknowledges he’s in for a tough fight against Ghvamichava, but remains confident this is just another steppingstone on his way to bigger and better things.
“This is a big test for me to show the world that I can be a future world champion, which has been my goal since I turned professional two years ago,” he said. “I’m so thankful to everyone involved in this show, and I will put on a memorable performance.”
Nyambayar has stopped all four of his opponents inside of three rounds since turning pro in March. In his last bout, Nyambayar—a 23-year-old native of Mongolia who now fights out of Carson, California—scored a second-round KO of Pedro Melo in Costa Mesa, California.
Vazquez is coming off a 10-round, unanimous-decision loss to once-beaten Ryan Kielczewski on October 10 in Massachusetts, a defeat that snapped the 36-year-old's eight-fight winning streak. A native of Puerto Rico now living in Brooklyn, New York, Vazquez fought five times in 2015 and has boxed 71 rounds since turning pro in September 2010. By comparison, Nyambayar has just seven professional rounds under his belt.
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