By Alexey Sukachev

According to Alexey Vasilyev, director of the Ural Boxing Promotions, one of their brightest gems - Denis Shafikov (34-1-1, 19 KOs) - will be back to the squared circle on December 13 as a part of a huge night of boxing which is headlined by a welterweight fight between Timothy Bradley and Diego Chavez. The HBO card is set to take place at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Nevada. Shafikov’s opponent has yet to be defined.

IBF #1 Shafikov is coming off a decent win (TKO 9) over his compatriot Rustam Nugaev earlier this year. He is planning to take IBF lightweight champion and TBRB #4 135lber Mickey Bey (21-1-1, 10 KOs) in the first half of 2015. Bey recently dethroned long-time IBF master Miguel Vazquez with a debatable split decision. Vazquez previously defeated Shafikov last February.