Muslim Gadzhimagomedov retained his World Boxing Association (WBA) bridgerweight crown by defeating Leon Harth by unanimous decision at the Ufa Arena in Ufa, Russia on Thursday. 

The champion of the pioneer organization made the first defense of his crown and won the cards of 120-108 by the three judges, which evidenced his tough dominance during the 12 rounds. 

It was a fight in which both boxers proposed but the local boxer was superior and was taking advantage at all times to take the win and remain the owner of the crown. 

The event was attended by the undisputed light heavyweight champion, Artur Beterbiev, who stepped into the ring to hand the belt to Gadzhimagomedov at the time of the official decision. 

The Russian remains undefeated in his professional career and reached 5 wins, 3 of them by knockout. Harth dropped to 22 wins, 6 losses, 1 draw and 13 knockouts.

Russia’s Muslim Gadzhimagomedov and China’s Zhaoxin Zhang will fight for the World Boxing Association (WBA) bridgerweight championship on Friday, July 12 in a huge showdown in Serpukhov, Russia. 

The fight will be the main event of the night and will put two powerful fighters face to face for the vacant Bridgerweight title. With the title vacant after former champion Evgeny Tishchenko tested positive for banned substances, the two available qualifiers have been called to fight. 

Gadzhimagomedov is a Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medalist in the 91 kilogram category. He turned pro in 2021 and has measured himself against much more experienced opponents with relatively easy victories over all. 

Zhang is looking to make another splash in Russia after knocking out Evgeny Romanov on February 10 in a big way. That important away win earned him a starting opportunity and now he wants to repeat the dose in Orleans. 

Gadzhimagomedov comes in with 3 career wins, 2 of them by knockout, while Zhang has 12 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw and 7 knockouts.