Avtandil Khurtsidze

Avtandil Khurtsidze
Statistics
Weight(s) Middleweight
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Reach 185 cm (73 in)
Nationality Georgian
Born (1979-05-02) 2 May 1979
Kutaisi, Georgia
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 37
Wins 33
Wins by KO 22
Losses 2
Draws 2

Avtandil Khurtsidze (Georgian: ავთანდილ ხურციძე; born 2 May 1979) is a Georgian professional boxer who held the interim WBO middleweight title in 2017.[1] He is trained by Andre Rozier and shares a gym with former world champion Daniel Jacobs.[2]

Professional career

Khurtsidze vs. Saunders and cancellation

In early February 2017, mandatory challenger Khurtsidze took a 'step-a-side' fee to allow Billy Joe Saunders to pursue a bigger fight.[3] On 28 February, it was announced that Khurtsidze would fight British boxer Tommy Langford for the vacant interim WBO title in April.[4]

After retaining his belts against Jacobs, Gennady Golovkin stated that he wanted to unify the middleweight division and hold all the belts available. Golovkin said, "My goal is all the belts in the middleweight division. Of course, Billy Joe is the last one. It is my dream." Rumors of the fight taking place in Golovkin's home country Kazakhstan in June during the EXPO 2017. The last time Golovkin fought in his home country was in 2010.[5] On 20 March, Golovkin said that he would fight Saunders in his native Kazakhstan or the O2 Arena in London.[6]

Saunders tweeted on social media that although he didn't watch Golovkin's fight with Jacobs, he was ready to fight him.[7] Saunders claimed to have signed the contract on his end and gave Golovkin a deadline to sign his.[8] On 29 March, Frank Warren also stated that Golovkin would have ten days to sign for the fight.[9] Saunders later claimed to have moved on from Golovkin, until Warren said the deal was still in place.[10] Over the next week, Saunders continued to insult Golovkin through social media.[11] On 7 April, Warren told iFL TV, that Golovkin had a hand iunjury, which was the reason why the fight hadn't been made. In the interview, he said, "At the moment, they’re saying that Golovkin’s injured. So we’re waiting to see where this is all going. But as far as I’m concerned, we agreed [to] terms." It was also noted that he would wait until 6 May, for any updates.[12] On 11 April, it was reported that the fight would not take place and Golovkin would ultimately focus on a September 2017 fight against Canelo Alvarez.[13]

On 22 April 2017, Khurtsidze knocked Langford out in round 5 with a left hook to secure his next fight against Saunders.[14] A day later the fight between Saunders and Khurtsidze was discussed to take place at the Copper Box in London on 8 July 2017.[15] On 8 June, Khurtsidze was arrested in New York along with 32 others, linking him in a Russian and Georgian crime syndicate. Racketeer charges and conspiracy to commit fraud were the two alleged charges, promoter Lou DiBella said, whilst the fight wouldn't be completely called off, it would be postponed.[16][17] Due to the fight being a mandatory defence, Saunders' promoter Frank Warren said that he was unable to make a voluntary defence, as such, taken off the card completely, although the rest of the card would still take place.[18]

RICO indictment

On June 8, 2017, prosecutors from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York indicted Khurtsidze on charges of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a Russian organized crime syndicate operating in the New York City area. According to the indictment, Khurtsidze is alleged to have paid $17,800 for three cases of purportedly stolen cigarettes.[19][20]

Professional record

37 fights, 33 wins (22 knockouts), 2 losses (1 knockout), 2 draws
Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
Win 33-2-2 United Kingdom Tommy Langford TKO 5 (12), 0:27 2017-04-22 United Kingdom Leicester Arena, Leicester, Leicestershire Won interim WBO Middleweight title.
Win 32-2-2 United States Antoine Douglas TKO 10 (10), 0:33 2016-03-05 United States Sands Bethlehem Event Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Won WBO International Middleweight title.
Win 31-2-2 Dominican Republic Melvin Betancourt TKO 1 (8), 2:22 2015-08-07 United States Bally's Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win 30-2-2 United States Phillip Penson TKO 4 (8), 1:00 2015-02-20 United States Hilton Westchester, Rye Brook, New York
Win 29-2-2 United States Eddie Hunter TKO 5 (8), 2:13 2014-10-30 United States Florentine Gardens, Hollywood, California
Win 28-2-2 United States Allen Conyers TKO 1 (8), 1:23 2014-07-23 United States BB King Blues Club & Grill, New York City
Win 27-2-2 Ghana Ossie Duran MD 12 2011-12-18 Ukraine Sport Palace Yunost, Zaporozhye Won vacant WBC Silver Middleweight title.
Win 26-2-2 United States Jason LeHoullier TKO 2 (10), 2:37 2011-10-03 Ukraine Sports Complex "Freestyle", Kiev
Win 25-2-2 Colombia Dionisio Miranda KO 1 (12), 2:37 2011-06-11 Ukraine Sport Palace, Kiev Retained IBO Middleweight title.
Win 24-2-2 Poland Mariusz Cendrowski UD 12 2011-03-13 Georgia (country) Sport Palace, Tbilisi Won vacant IBO Middleweight title.
Loss 23-2-2 Cameroon Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam UD 12 2010-10-30 France Palais des Sports Porte de Versailles, Paris XV, Paris For interim WBA Middleweight title.
Win 23-1-2 Belarus Sergey Khomitsky RTD 6 (10), 3:00 2010-07-31 Belarus Club Reaktor, Minsk
Win 22-1-2 Hungary Mihaly Kotai TD 8 (12) 2010-05-21 Ukraine Sports Complex "Freestyle", Kiev
Win 21-1-2 Kyrgyzstan Kuvanych Toygonbayev TD 8 (12) 2009-11-20 Ukraine Budivelnik, Cherkasy Retained WBA Inter-Continental and EBA Middleweight title.
Win 20-1-2 Belgium Jamel Bakhi RTD 5 (12), 3:00 2009-07-18 Ukraine Sportpalace, Odessa Retained WBA Inter-Continental Middleweight title.
Win 19-1-2 Hungary Attila Kovacs MD 12 2009-03-28 Ukraine Budivelnik, Cherkasy Retained WBA Inter-Continental Middleweight title.
Win 18-1-2 Argentina Antonio Valentin Ochoa UD 12 2008-09-27 Ukraine Sport Palace, Kiev Retained WBA Inter-Continental Middleweight title.
Win 17-1-2 Argentina Javier Alberto Mamani MD 12 2008-07-05 Ukraine Sportpalace, Odessa Won vacant WBA Inter-Continental Middleweight title.
Win 16-1-2 Hungary Ferenc Olah TKO 2 (10) 2008-05-17 Ukraine Sportpalace Lokomotiv, Kharkov
Win 15-1-2 Latvia Jurijs Boreiko TKO 4 (12) 2008-03-23 Ukraine Sportpalace Meteor, Dnipropetrovsk Won vacant EBA (extinct) Middleweight title.
Win 14-1-2 Azerbaijan Tagir Rzaev TKO 2 (8) 2008-02-21 Ukraine Sport Palace, Kiev
Win 13-1-2 Ukraine Volodymyr Borovskyy UD 8 2007-11-17 Ukraine SC Voskhod, Kiev
Win 12-1-2 Georgia (country) Ruslan Semenov TKO 5 (8) 2007-09-13 Ukraine Sport Palace, Kiev
Win 11-1-2 Ukraine Maksym Velychko UD 6 2007-07-14 Ukraine Ukrainian House, Kiev
Win 10-1-2 Ukraine Taras Boyko RTD 5 (8), 3:00 2007-06-09 Ukraine Sport Palace, Kiev
Win 9-1-2 Russia Denis Balandin TKO 6 (6) 2007-04-26 Ukraine SC Voskhod, Kiev
Win 8-1-2 Ukraine Serhiy Petryk TKO 3 (4) 2007-02-27 Ukraine Sport Palace, Kiev
Loss 7-1-2 Guyana Tony Marshall TKO 7 (8), 1:33 2005-05-13 United States Saratoga Gaming and Raceway, Saratoga Springs, New York
Win 7-0-2 United States Calvin Shakir TKO 3 (6), 2:45 2005-03-18 United States New Alhambra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Win 6-0-2 United States Chris Hall UD 6 2005-01-28 United States Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Draw 5-0-2 Mexico Carlos Antonio Escobar PTS 6 2004-11-12 United States New Alhambra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Win 5-0-1 United States Leo Edwards TKO 6 (6), 2:17 2004-10-15 United States New Alhambra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Win 4-0-1 United States Fred Drayton TKO 1 (4) 2004-07-16 United States Hampton Beach Casino, Hampton Beach, New Hampshire
Win 3-0-1 United States Jon Gaddis UD 4 2004-06-18 United States New Alhambra, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Draw 2-0-1 United States Orazio Robinson PTS 4 2004-04-08 United States Wyndham Inner Harbor Hotel, Glen Burnie, Maryland
Win 2-0 United States Kenny Kingsley TKO 1 (4), 0:54 2004-02-20 United States Ballys Park Place Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win 1-0 Georgia (country) George Kanchaveli TKO 3 (4) 2002-10-11 Georgia (country) Sport Hall, Variani

References

  1. ↑ "Avtandil Khurtsidze". boxrec.com. December 25, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Rozier: Khurtsidze Will Pressure, Beat Down Billy Joe Saunders! - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2017-06-09.
  3. ↑ "Khurtsidze expected to take step-aside money for Saunders - The Ring". The Ring. 2017-02-07. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  4. ↑ "Khurtsidze vs. Langford set for interim title". Bad Left Hook. 2017-02-28. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  5. ↑ "Golovkin: Billy Joe Saunders is The Last One, It is My Dream! - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
  6. ↑ "Billy Joe Saunders could fight Gennady Golovkin in London". Evening Standard. 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
  7. ↑ "“I’m ready!” – Saunders wants Golovkin unification". www.boxnation.com. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  8. ↑ Ltd, Vitalnetwork. "Vital Boxing | Saunders Gives Golovkin a Deadline". www.vitalboxing.com. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  9. ↑ "Frank Warren Hits Golovkin With Deadline To Ink Saunders Deal - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  10. ↑ "Saunders' Promoter: We Have NOT Moved On From Golovkin - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  11. ↑ BoxingNewsAndViews (2017-04-03). "Billy Joe Saunders T-Shirt Message For Gennady Golovkin - Boxing News". Boxing News and Views. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  12. ↑ "Warren: Golovkin Injury Holding Up Getting GGG-Saunders Done - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  13. ↑ "Report: Gennady Golovkin to skip June return and focus on Canelo Alvarez". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2017-04-12.
  14. ↑ "Tommy Langford beaten as Avtandil Khurtsidze sets up Billy Joe Saunders bout". BBC Sport. 2017-04-22. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  15. ↑ "Billy Joe Saunders vs. Avtandil Khurtsidze on July 8, Copper Box - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  16. ↑ "Avtandil Khurtsidze indicted on racketeering charges - The Ring". The Ring. 2017-06-08. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
  17. ↑ "Billy Joe Saunders bout cancelled after Avtandil Khurtsidze arrest". BBC Sport. 2017-06-08. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
  18. ↑ "SAUNDERS V KHURTSIDZE UPDATE". Frank Warren. 2017-06-09. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
  19. ↑ "Members And Associates Of Russian Crime Syndicate Arrested For Racketeering, Extortion, Robbery, Murder-For-Hire Conspiracy, Fraud, Narcotics, And Firearms Offenses". www.justice.gov. Retrieved 2017-06-09.
  20. ↑ "Boxer Avtandil Khurtsidze indicted on federal racketeering, fraud charges". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-06-09.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Avtandil Khurtsidze.


International championships
Preceded by
Antione Douglas		 WBO International Middleweight Champion
March 5, 2016 – April 22, 2017
Won interim world title 		Vacant
World boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam		 WBO Middleweight Interim Champion
April 22, 2017 – June 14, 2017
Stripped 		Vacant
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