Murat Gassiev vs Peter Kadiru Preview

What is at stake when the newly crowned WBA heavyweight champion Murat Gassiev faces late-sub Peter Kadiru at the VTB Arena in Moscow, Russia?

For starters, it is a heavyweight title fight in the post-Oleksandr Usyk world. Usyk dropped all four of his heavyweight belts. That means Gassiev, 33-2 (26 KOs), best known for his cruiserweight run, in which he lost to Usyk in an undisputed cruiserweight bout, is an unlikely champion in 2026.

Let’s explore the storylines for the week’s major fight.

Moses Itauma Is Front-And-Center For This Bout

Gassiev is fighting, but the elephant in the room is Moses Itauma. He fights Filip Hrgovic on August 29. It is never wise to assume anything in boxing; people assume that Itauma will beat Hrgovic.

After that, the next step would be a belt. Enter Gassiev. If Gassiev were to win, look who the No. 1 contender is– Itauma.

Why Is Murat Gassiev A Champion?

Seriously.

Gassiev is 32. That shocks me; I would assume he would be 37 or 38. His heyday was in 2017 and 2018. He trained with Abel Sanchez. During that time, Gennadiy Golovkin was one of the biggest fighters in the world, and Sanchez’s gym in Big Bear Lake, California, was a place many fight fans only dreamed of visiting.

That was then; this is now. Gassiev is older and fighting at heavyweight. His best wins are at cruiserweight. He won the title against a now 45-year-old Kubrat Pulev. He lost a split decision to Otto Wallin, who was stopped by Anthony Joshua shortly after. Gassiev is a puncher, but at this point, that is about it.

Who Is Peter Kadiru? 

Kadiru, 23-1 (13 KOs), is truly unknown. His only loss came to Marcos Antonio Aumada via a first-round KO. In heavyweight terms, that means one of two things. 1) He got caught early by a punch, or 2) he is a vulnerable contender.

When looking at Aumada’s record, he has not replicated a similar win against a world-class foe, and Kadiru hasn’t faced truly world-class opposition thus far in his career.

Sometimes guys show up and are different. That is the best-case scenario for this fight.

What Do The Eyes Tell Us? 

Who knows.

Gassiev is vulnerable; anything could happen, but given that he had a full camp, he should win, probably by knockout.

What Do The Odds Say

Gassiev is the favorite.

(Editor’s Note: DAZN will stream this fight on Saturday and will release the start time later in the week.)

Lucas Ketelle

Lucas Ketelle is a boxing writer and podcaster who has appeared on various platforms throughout his career.

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