By Igor Lazorin, tass
The venue for the final fight of the World Super Series of Boxing (WBSS), in the cruiserweight division, will be determined by the date of May 20th.
The Secretary General of the Russian Boxing Federation Umar Kremlev told journalists that a final decision will be coming down within the next two weeks.
In the final round, Murat Gassiev of Russia will collide with Oleksandr Usyk or Ukraine for the WBC, IBF, WBA, WBO cruiserweight titles.
Initially, Gassiev and Usyk were scheduled to collide in May 11, but the contest was pushed back a few weeks after Usyk withdrew with a training injury.
WBSS had targeted the contest to take pace in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).
In several interviews, Kremlev made it clear that Russia was ready to stage the fight if Saudi Arabia refused to hold it - although Usyk has verbally rejected the idea of fighting Gassiev in his backyard.
Gassiev, who is trained by veteran coach Abel Sanchez on Big Bear, will resume preparations for the final fight of WBSS in early May.
Kremlev said the Russian Federation made a very lucrative offer to stage the final WBSS showdown.
"We made the necessary proposals, did everything possible to make this fight in Russia, and now we are waiting for a decision. I think that our proposal is the best. I believe that the finals will be held in Sochi. The decision is coming [on the venue]," Kremlev said to journalists.
Gassiev has a record of 26 wins (19 by knockout) and no defeats. And on the other end, Usyk has a record of 14 wins (11 by knockout), and no defeats.
Both Gassiev and Usyk had very tough fights in reaching the final round of the tournament. Gassiev won an IBF/WBA unification with a knockout victory over undefeated Yunier Dorticos, while Usyk won a WBO/WBC unification with a very tough decision win over undefeated Mairis Briedis.
