American heavyweight Brandon Moore was reportedly given a contract to fight Murat Gassiev for the WBA heavyweight title before Peter Kadiru was later announced as the replacement opponent.
Gassiev needed a new opponent for his July 11 fight at VTB Arena in Moscow after Tony Yoka withdrew with a back injury. Moore, who is ranked No. 15 by both the WBO and IBF, was said to be in line for the opportunity and preparing to travel with his team to secure Russian visas.
Steve Tannenbaum told World Boxing News that Moore’s advisor, Raul Alvarez, kept him updated as the situation developed. “Moore’s advisor, Raul Alvarez, informed me he was waiting for the call this past weekend as he and his team of five out of Florida were expecting to fly to New York on Monday to obtain visas from the Russian Consulate and fly to Moscow for Saturday’s bout,” Tannenbaum said. “And then Peter Kadiru was announced as the opponent.”
Tannenbaum said he believes Kadiru may have been chosen because he was already in Europe, making the logistics easier with only days left before the fight. “Bad break for Moore,” he said. “You can’t count on anything in this business even when they dangle a contract in front of you.”
Kadiru will now challenge Gassiev for the full WBA heavyweight title, despite not being listed in the WBA’s published top 15. Joyce had also been discussed as a possible replacement before Kadiru was selected.
Moore has won three straight fights since losing to Richard Torrez Jr in May 2024. Kadiru is also in strong form with nine consecutive wins, but the late switch raises fresh questions about the process behind Gassiev’s short-notice WBA title defense.
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