Boxing
Who is Mourad Aliev? Meet the French Olympian fighting for the European heavyweight title
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Mourad Aliev will take on Labinot Xhoxhaj this weekend at the Universum gym in Hamburg for the EBU European and WBC International Silver heavyweight titles.
With the heavyweight division set for a big shake-up this summer, Aliev is one of the promising fighters toiling away to get himself into the conversation for a world title shot.
Ahead of his first try at continental honours, here is everything you need to know about Mourad Aliev.
Who is Mourad Aliev?
- Nationality : France
- Age : 29
- Stance : Southpaw
Aliev is a recent graduate of the French Olympic boxing programme, turning pro in the heavyweight division shortly after the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
He is under the Universum banner and has fought almost all of his career out of Germany, aside from one fight in Turkey.
Record
- Total fights : 13
- Wins : 13
- Losses : 0
- Knockouts : 10
Aliev had a short but successful amateur career, mixing it with some of the best the super heavyweight division had to offer, including Dainier Pero, Frazer Clarke and Bakhodir Jalolov.
He claimed a silver medal at the 2019 European championships and earned a spot at the 2020 Olympic Games for France.
After he progressed to the quarterfinals, he was faced with Frazer Clarke, whom he had fought three times, winning only once. It looked as though Aliev was going to even the score with Clarke, until he was disqualified for an alleged headbutt.
Aliev gained notoriety for staging a protest - refusing to leave the ring for an hour to demonstrate his disdain for what he believed was an injustice.
Once his wounds had healed, he turned over and fought like a man with a point to prove, winning four of his first six fights inside the distance and claiming the WBC Mediterranean belt - his first honours.
He added another WBC trinket to his collection in 2023, knocking out Ali Kiyidin in the ninth round to win the WBC International Silver title that he currently holds.
The biggest win of his career so far came against Evgenios Lazaridis in 2023, defending his title via unanimous decision in Germany. Lazaridis pushed the WBC Interim champion, Agit Kabayel, all the way three years earlier.
Aliev is on a five-fight knockout streak headed into his next fight, after most recently knocking out Davide Brito in Hamburg and is currently ranked in the top ten with the WBC - ahead of the likes of Deontay Wilder, Andy Ruiz Jr and Jared Anderson.
