By Alexey Sukachev
Highly regarded Russian bantamweight contender “Knight” Alexander Bakhtin (22-0, 9 KOs) will be back to the ring on July 5 at Chatan Dome in Okinawa, Japan, to face Indonesian national champion Richard Samosir (18-1-3, 7 KOs) in the initial defense of his OPBF title. Unbeaten Chita native, who is currently ranked #2 by the WBC, #4 by the WBA and #5 by the IBF at 118 lbs, spent his entire career in Japan, retaining the Japanese national belt record nine times before taking a forced one-and-a-half-year-long layoff due to various off-ring problems. Bakhtin, whose amateur record reads as 124-4, 80 KOs and who is trained by well-known Russian specialist Alexander Zimin, is now desperately looking for a world title opportunity in a talent-filled bantamweight class.
