Dmitry Mikhaylenko returns to action on May 7

May

Welterweight contender Dmitry Mikhaylenko has passed every significant test thus far as a pro. He continues his path toward contention in a stay-busy fight Friday night.

Mikhaylenko will face Charles Manyuchi in a 12-round bout at DIVS in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

Mikhaylenko (21-0, 9 knockouts) is coming off a one-sided, 10-round unanimous decision win over former fringe contender Karim Mayfield in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on Jan. 30.

Prior to the Mayfield fight, Mikhaylenko put together a string of three consecutive knockout wins, which included Ronald Cruz and Johan Perez.

Mikhaylenko, who is ranked in the Top 10 in the IBF, WBA and WBC, is ranked No. 9 by THE RING magazine.

Manyuchi (17-2-1, 11 KOs) has not fought since July 18, when he stopped Gianluca Frezza in the sixth round.

The fighter from Masvingo, Zimbabwe, who has stopped his last seven opponents, in also unbeaten in his last 15 bouts.

Unbeaten junior lightweights Evgeny Chuprakov and Sebastian Tlatlik will square off in a 12-round bout.

Chuprakov (15-0, 8 KOs) scored a decisive 12-round unanimous decision win over Timur Akhundov in his last bout on Feb. 27 in Ekaterinburg.

Chuprakov is ranked No. 5 by the WBO and 12 by the IBF.

The hard-hitting Tlatlik (10-0, 9 KOs) has stopped all but one of his opponents (ultimately stopping Sergej Vib in their rematch) but has only faced three fighters with winning records. He stopped Sandro Luetke Bordewick in the second round in his last bout on Feb. 12.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since Oct. of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper, BoxingScene.com and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing.