Friends with Kadyrov: A Russian boxer hiding behind the Australian flag will appear on the Lomachenko's undercard

Russian boxer Imam Khatayev (6-0, 6 KOs) will appear on the undercard of the May 12 show in Perth, Australia, featuring a championship fight between Vasyl Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) and George Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs). The 29-year-old from Chechnya will fight Latvian Richards Bolotniks (20-7-1, 8 KOs) in the light heavyweight division.

Khatayev won a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. He was congratulated on his medal by the so-called head of the republic Ramzan Kadyrov, with whom Imam appeared in public on several occasions. Having started his professional career in the ring in Grozny, the Russian has been hiding shyly behind the Australian flag since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Khatayev has fought his last three fights in Canada, including a show featuring Kadyrov's "brother" Artur Beterbiyev (20-0, 20 KOs). Imam finished all of his fights in the early rounds, with the most recent being a success in the third three minutes.

Interestingly, Khatayev has deleted his Instagram page, and his profile on the Kremlin-controlled Vkontakte is closed to third-party users.

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