Russian giant Apti Davtaev, potential Fury sparring partner & Beterbiev teammate, to return on Chechen 'Special Operation' show

Apti Davtaev, the undefeated heavyweight giant from Chechnya who was slated to be heavyweight champ Tyson Fury’s sparring partner and a teammate of feared puncher Artur Beterbiev, will make his ring return on April 8 in Grozny.

After over a year since his last fight in Moscow, Davtaev defends his 20-0-1 record against Belgian Jack Mulowayi at the ‘Time of Legends 6: Special Operation’ to be held in the Chechen capital, under the auspices of the republic’s ‘Akhmat Boxing’ club.

Chechnya’s ‘Akhmat’ club of fighting, named after the father of Chechen Republic leader Ramzan Kadyrov, and also represented by WBC and IBF world light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev, who defended his titles with a 10th-round TKO of contender Adam Deines for the first time in his professional career in front of a Moscow crowd on Saturday.

Beterbiev made his way to the ring at Megasport Arena for that fight accompanied by the Akhmat anthem and followed by bearers of the Russian and Chechen Republic flags.

Davtaev was slated to be Tyson Fury’s sparring partner for a proposed third fight with Deontay Wilder, from whom the Manchester man wrested the WBC heavyweight title in February last year.

“I want to feel his power,” an eager Apti told RT Sport News last September, but that arrangement was of course halted first by the Covid-19 pandemic and then Fury’s insistence that he was not going to grant a trilogy to the American knockout artist.

According to Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn, Fury is believed to have signed a two-fight deal with fellow Brit and world champion Anthony Joshua, holder of the other three main belts: the WBA super, IBF and WBO titles.

Also on the card is light-heavyweight Umar Salamov; Rizvan Elikhanov; MMA fighter WBO Youth middleweight champion Abdul-Kerim Edilov; and Aslambek Idigov, who will defend his WBO European and IBF European belts on the undercard.