In the opening out of the HBO World Championship Boxing tripleheader on March 14, Isaac “Golden Boy” Chilemba (23-2-2, 10 KOs), will face undefeated Russian prospect, Vasily “The Professor” Lepikhin (17-0-0, 9 KOs) for 12 rounds. Chilemba is technical fighter whereas Lepikhin is a boxer/puncher. Below is the scouting report for this match-up:
Category | Isaac “The Golden Boy” Chilemba | Vasily “The Professor” Lepikhin |
| Age | 27 | 29 |
| Record | 23-2-2 (10 KOs) | 17-0-0 (9 KOs) |
| Strength | Chilemba is a skilled technical fighter with incredible endurance and good defense. He utilizes his jab well and has good accuracy with his punches. | Vasily is a boxer/puncher who possesses powerful combinations and a good chin. He fights with confidence and is willing to stand and trade with anybody. |
| Weakness | “The Golden Boy” does not possess adequate punching power in either hand; he has only recorded one knockout victory since 2011. | Lepikhin tends to not utilize his size and reach, which was on display in his previous bout against the hard-hitting Jackson Junior. He took shots that he did not have to take which could prove costly when facing a boxer as accurate as Isaac Chilemba. |
| Experience | Chilemba has faced top opposition throughout his career, which includes a pair of bouts with former title challenger Tony Bellew and a win over former title contender Edison Miranda. | “The Professor” will be at a disadvantage here, because he has not yet faced any top-level opposition. |
| Power | Chilemba will be at a disadvantage here; he recorded only one knockout since 2011 in his most recent bout again the tough and gritty Cory Cummings. | Vasily will have the advantage here. He throws vicious body shots and three of his last four knockouts have come in the first round including one against the hard-hitting and longtime ranked light heavyweight contender, Robert “The Butcher” Berridge. |
| Speed | Chilemba is very quick on his feet, which makes him difficult to hit at times. | Lepikhin’s speed is on full display during his combinations. |
| Endurance | Chilemba has excellent endurance, as he has gone 12 rounds eight times in his career. | Vasily has good endurance. He has proven this by going a full 10 rounds on three different occasions, including his most recent bout. |
| Accuracy | Chilemba is a very accurate puncher; he picks his shots wisely and times his punches well. | Lepikhin has solid accuracy, which can be seen during his work to the body. |
| Defense | Chilemba will be at an advantage here. He possesses good foot work and moves around the ring very well. He is also an effective counter-puncher, which stems from his defensive skills. | Vasily will be at a disadvantage here. Vasily is a big man that likes to fight the fight of a smaller man. He likes to stand toe-to-toe and will take shots in order to give them right back. |
| Chin | Chilemba has never been stopped, and was able to get off the canvas to earn a win over previously undefeated Maxim Vlasov after being knocked down twice. | Lepikhin has a solid chin and showed he can overcome an onslaught from a big puncher in his most recent bout with Jackson Junior. |
| Style | Isaac is a technical fighter with good counter-boxing skills and a good defense. | Vasily is a boxer/puncher who likes to engage with his opponents and utilize his vicious body attack. |
| Intangibles | Chilemba is sitting comfortably in his division as the WBC #2 contender, and instead of protecting that ranking he has decided to continue fighting the best in the world. He is challenging himself against the highly regarded and ranked Lepikhin. Since 2009, Chilemba has faced opposition with a combined record of 249-46-5. | After knocking off two consecutive power punchers in Robert Berridge and Jackson Junior, “The Professor” has decided to challenge himself and show the world that he can compete against a technical boxer who is also ranked #2 in the world. |
| Crowd Support | Chilemba may have a slight advantage here, he has been in bigger fights throughout his career and may be more known to the true boxing fans in attendance | Vasily may be at a disadvantage here, but his in-your-face style just might win him some crowd support by the end of the night and by signing a co-promotional agreement with Interbox he may have the Canadian fans on his side. |
| The Match-up |
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According to Jolene Mizzone, Main Events’ matchmaker, “This is a very important fight because this is a very important division right now. The winner of this fight would put himself right in the mix with any of the light heavyweight champions.”
