Murat Gassiev vs Peter Kadiru Preview July 11th, 2026
Former IBF and WBA Cruiserweight Champion Murat Gassiev of Russia returns to the ring this Saturday, July 11th to defend his WBA Heavyweight Title against Peter Kadiru of Hamburg, Germany. Kadiru is a late replacement for former Olympic Super Heavyweight gold medalist Tony Yoka of France. This weekend’s 12-round heavyweight tilt can be seen live on You Tube and fans should also check the DAZN schedule in their region, with the card reportedly getting underway at about 4am ET. Gassiev won the belt in December when he halted WBA ‘regular’ Champion Kubrat Pulev in the sixth round. Gassiev is now the lone WBA Heavyweight Boss since Oleksandr Usyk gave up his belts. Kadiru last saw action a couple of months ago in May when he downed Senad Gashi via a 10-round unanimous decision for his ninth straight win.
Gassiev vs Kadiru Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Peter Kadiru +250
- Murat Gassiev -300
My Pick
Gassiev won his IBF Cruiserweight Title back in December, 2016 by beating Denis Lebedev via a split decision and then added the WBA version by stopping Yuniel Dorticos in the 12th round in February, 2018 in the World Boxing Super Series. However, he lost those titles in the tournament final when he dropped a unanimous decision to current Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk in July, 2018. Gassiev then moved up to heavyweight and has fought eight times since losing to Usyk, which was his first loss as a pro.
His second defeat came at the hands of Otto Wallin in 2023 when he dropped a 12-round split decision. It feels like Gassiev has been around forever but he’s just 32 years old and he makes the ring walk with a fine record of 33-2 with 26 Ko’s. He made his pro debut in 2011 after his amateur career and has 169 rounds of experience under his belt. Gassiev possesses solid power in his fists 78.8 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including his last nine.
Gassiev measures just over 6-feet-2-inches tall with a 76-inch reach so gives up two inches in height to Kadiru. Gassiev was fighting out of California but recently received Armenian citizenship. North American fans may be familiar with him as he’s fought a few times in the U.S and has beaten the likes of Pulev, Michael Wallisch, Nuri Seferi, Felix Cora Jr., Rodney Moore, Isiah Thomas, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, Mike Balogun, Lebedev and Dorticos.
The 29-year-old Kadiru turned pro in 2019 following a stellar amateur career and climbs through the ropes with a mark of 23-1 with 13 Ko’s. As an amateur he captured a silver medal at the 2014 Youth World Championships as well as a gold at the Youth Olympics the same year. He also struck gold at the European Youth Championships in both 2014 and 2015 as a super heavyweight and took home several national titles.
Kadiru stands just over 6-feet-4-inches tall but unfortunately has an unlisted reach. As far as power goes, he’s not a heavy hitter as 56.5 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. He’s gone the distance in his last two fights but stopped his four previous opponents. His lone defeat as a pro came at the hands of Marcos Antonio Aumada in 2022 when he was caught cold and stopped in just 56 seconds.
In 2020 Kadiru won the vacant WBC Youth World Heavyweight Title when he halted Tomas Salek in the sixth round. He then added the IBF Inter-Continental Heavyweight Crown in 2024 when he stopped Victor Emilio Ramirez in the eighth stanza. He was also crowned the German Heavyweight Champion in 2020 and defended the belt once. Kadiru has fought outside of Germany just three times and outside of Europe only once and that’s why most fans have likely never heard of him.
Prediction…
Gassiev isn’t really built for speed as he relies more on his power but does possess decent technical ability. He’s not the biggest heavyweight out there but has experience and is quite durable. Kadiru has the better overall boxing ability however but lacks power and has been stopped. Gassiev is fighting in Russia and that should benefit him but Kadiru could prove to be a bit of a problem as a late replacement. Still, I’m still leaning towards Gassiev here.
I’m going with Gassiev and a stoppage is possible.
Play: Gassiev -300 @ BetOnline.ag
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Murat Gassiev betting • Peter Kadiru betting