Igor Gennadyevich Mikhalkin (russian: Игорь Геннадьевич Михалкин; born 31 May 1985) is a Russian
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
. He held the
IBO light-heavyweight title from 2017 to 2018 and challenged once for the
WBO light-heavyweight title in 2018. At regional level, he held the
European light-heavyweight title between 2014 and 2016.
Professional career
Mikhalkin made his professional debut in November 2007. On his 12th professional contest, he suffered a loss to
Aleksy Kuziemski
Aleksy Kuziemski (born 9 May 1977) is a Polish professional boxer and light heavyweight world title challenger.
Amateur career
As an amateur, Kuziemski for Astoria Bydgoszcz won a bronze medal at the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships in ...
. In April 2014, Mikhalkin defeated Mohamed Belkacem by
unanimous decision
A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighte ...
to claim the
European light-heavyweight title. He made three successful defenses of that title, with the last coming against Patrick Bois in March 2016. During his tenure as European champion, Mikhalkin was highly ranked by the
IBF
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
.
Prior to his continental title defense against Bois, Mikhalkin tested positive and admitted to taking
meldonium
Meldonium (INN; trade name Mildronate, among others) is a limited-market pharmaceutical, developed in 1970 by Ivars Kalviņš at the USSR Latvia Institute of Organic Synthesis, and now manufactured by the Latvian pharmaceutical company Gri ...
, a substance banned by
WADA and was stripped by the
EBU. He was also banned for two years by the EBU. The suspension was lifted in November of that same year.
Mikhalkin vs. Oosthuizen
In May 2017, Mikhalkin defeated
Thomas Oosthuizen to claim the
IBO light-heavyweight title.
Mikhalkin vs. Kovalev
On March 3, 2018, Mikhalkin challenged WBO light heavyweight champion
Sergey Kovalev for his belt. Kovalev defeated Mikhalkin in the seventh round via TKO.
Mikhalkin vs. Bauderlique
On September, 10, 2021, Mikhalkin fought
Mathieu Bauderlique, ranked #5 by the WBC, #9 by the IBF, #10 by the WBA and #12 by the WBA at light heavyweight. Mikhalkin lost the bout after retiring at the end of the seventh round.
Professional boxing record
References
External links
*
Igor Mikhalkin - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankingsa
Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mikhalkin, Igor
1985 births
Russian male boxers
Living people
Light-heavyweight boxers
Sportspeople from Irkutsk
Russian sportspeople in doping cases