This Saturday at the Friedrich-Ebert Halle in Ludwigshafen, Germany, heavyweight Mourad Aliev (6-0, 4 KOs) wil clash with Ali Kiydin (16-1, 15 KOs). Mourad was born in Moscow but has lived in France since the age of six and is now age twenty seven. A talented southpaw, he won a silver medal at the 2019 European Games and a 2021 Olympian. Aliev lost to Frazer Clarke of the UK by disqualification in the Olympics. He stands six feet seven inches tall and will tower over the 31 year-old Kiydini, who is from Frankfurt and is five feet eleven and a half inches.
Kiydin's nickname is “Iron”, and he has considerable KO power. Ali also has a solid amateur record including wins over Ali Demirezan and Clarke, and two losses against Joe Joyce.
Ahmet Oner of Arena Promotions is working with Universum Promotions for this event and other projects. He promotes both of these fighters and stresses that this isn’t a David vs. Goliath type of fight. Rather, it´s a Pocket Hercules vs. Goliath match-up, because Kiydin has real power in both hands and needs an impressive win. Oner says some of the greatest heavyweights like Joe Frazier, David Tua and Mike Tyson didn´t tower over opponents, but each of them proved to be a dauntingly explosive “Tall Order.”
Oner said: “I hope Mourad won´t underestimate Ali, or he may be surprised. If Mourad is able to manage and handle Ali´s power in the first few rounds he might be able to get a stoppage win in the later rounds. But, if Ali comes out fast, with quick hands then he can dislodge and derail Mourad´s plans. I think it´s a good match up and it´s going to be an exciting fight for the fans.”