Middleweight fringe contender Ievgen Khytrov will face Jonathan Batista in a stay-busy fight tonight.

The eight round bout will take place at the Masonic Temple in Norfolk, Virginia.

Khytrov (15-1, 12 knockouts) was victorious in his last bout on Sept. 15, winning a one-sided decision over gatekeeper Derrick Findley. It was his first fight in eight months, when he suffered the first loss of his pro career at the hands of Immanuwel Aleem in Brooklyn, New York.

The 29-year-old Khytrov is originally from Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine and now resides in Brooklyn.

Lou DiBella has promoted Khytrov for most of his career.

Batista (16-10, 9 KOs) has not fought since Oct. 19 of last year when he was knocked out in the fourth round by unbeaten junior middleweight prospect Radzhab Butaev. The 33-year-old Batista, who resides in the Dominican Republic, has lost nine of his last 11 bouts.

In the main event, super middleweight Frankie Filippone (23-6-1, 8 KOs), who resides in Norfolk, will square off against veteran Billy Bailey (12-21, 4 KOs) in a 10 round bout.

Cruiserweight prospect Montez Brown (4-0, 2 KOs) will face hard-hitting Zed Mitchell (9-1, 9 KOs) in a six round bout.

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