Andreas Katzourakis takes on Kudratillo Abdukakhorov on the May 31 OTX card
Andreas Katzourakis hopes to make a statement at the expense of the former top contender.
Katzourakis will face Kudratillo Abdukakhorov on May 31, OTX Boxing officially announced on Wednesday. Also announced was the clash between Robert Terry and Vladimir Hernandez.
Both 10-round fights will take place at the Red Owl Boxing Arena in Katzourakis' hometown of Houston, Texas and will be broadcast live on DAZN (8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT).
Both fights are part of The OTX Tournament, an eight-man tournament that has two fights decided in its opening round. On April 19, Brandon Adams of Los Angeles knocked out Israel Villarreal of Bronx, New York and Francisco Veron of Argentina won by unanimous decision over Angel Ruiz of Mexico.
Katzourakis (12-0, 10 knockouts), a native of Athens, Greece, last fought on Jan. 20, winning by third-round knockout after opponent Corey Caad did not answer the bell in the fourth round. In his last fight on August 25, Katzourakis knocked out Raphael Igbokwe, stopping him in the eighth round.
The 26-year-old has stopped seven of the last eight players. Katzourakis is managed by David McWater.
Most of Katzourakis' career has been fought as a middleweight. He officially weighed in at 155 pounds in his October 2022 victory over goaltender Cameron Krael.
Abdukakhorov (20-2, 12 KOs), who lives in Andijan, Uzbekistan, was the IBF No. 1 contender. 1 welterweight for the past few years. He faced Cody Crowley, losing by unanimous decision. Two and a half months later, Abdukakhorov lost a unanimous decision to Shawn Owens.
The 30-year-old has won his last two fights, most recently on November 17, with a second-round knockout victory over Maono Ally.
The winner of the Katzourakis-Abdukakhorov fight will fight the winner of the Terry-Hernandez contest, which is an exciting crossover matchup.
Terry (11-0-1, 4 KOs), who lives in Jersey City, New Jersey, last fought on November 11, defeating Luis Midyeal Sanchez by decision in six one-sided rounds. In Terry's most notable fight, he fought to a draw against Raul Garcia in the undefeated prospect's fight that was part of the ShoBox TV show on April 7 last year.
Hernandez (14-6, 6 KOs) lost a unanimous decision to undefeated Troy Isley in his last fight on November 16. In his previous fight on August 25, Hernandez picked up an upset win over top prospect Lorenzo Simpson.
Hernandez, 34, is from Ciudad Lerdo, Mexico and now lives in Stockton, California.
The winners will meet in a semi-final later this summer, with the final tentatively scheduled for late 2024. In the event of a draw after the scheduled 10 rounds of a fight, there will be a split round to determine the winner.
The winner of the tournament will receive a cash bonus and a promotional contract with OTX Boxing.
Also on the card, Houston's Giovanni Marquez (9-0, 5 KOs) will take on San Antonio's Jason Limon (8-0, 2 KOs) in an eight-round junior welterweight bout. Marquez is the son of former junior middleweight champion Raul Marquez.
Hard-hitting junior welterweight Breyon Gorham (16-0, 13 KOs), another Houston native, will face Luis Baltazar (12-1-1, 5 KOs) of Hidalgo, Texas in a six-round fight.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has handled boxing in Southern California and internationally since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. They can be reached at [email protected]
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