Unbeaten Russian WBA International super bantamweight champion Alexander Bakhtin expects a difficult fight when he takes on Mexico’s Mario Briones, Bakhtin has told RIA Novosti.
Briones will travel to Bakhtin’s Siberian former home city of Ulan-Ude for the September 7 fight, with Bakhtin hoping to register the 30th victory of his professional career.
“Briones is a very tricky, very patient boxer who throws a good punch,” Bakhtin said.
“I’ve had fights with Mexicans before, those guys can’t be killed off. It seems they hit hard and emphatically, they fall and that just seems to spur them on.”
Bakhtin has won all 29 of his professional fights, 11 of them by knockout, and has beaten former title challengers Nehomar Cermeno, Mbwana Matumla and Nick Otieno.
Briones has a 21-2-1 record but has often faced weaker opposition, with only four of his opponents coming into their bouts with him with a winning record.
He briefly held the WBC Fecombox super bantamweight belt, but lost recent challenges for regional belts against AJ Banal of the Philippines and Panama’s Roberto Vasquez.
