Salita Promotions Lightweight Dimash Niyazov Returns to Action Saturday in Kazakhstan

On Saturday, September 9, undefeated lightweight Dimash Niyazov, Salita Promotions’ own fighting NYC cop, will return to his birthplace of Kazakhstan to face Brazil’s Eduardo Pereira dos Reis at the sold-out, 12000-seat Saryarka Velodrome in Astana.

Niyazov (11-0-3, 5 KOs), a resident of Staten Island, and Pereira dos Reis (22-4, 18 KOs) of Sao Paolo will meet in a six-rounder as part of the Astana EXPO 2017 event headlined by a 12-round battle for the WBO NABO Super Welterweight and WBA Inter-Continental Super Welterweight Championships between Kazakhstan’s undefeated Kanat Islam (24-0, 19 KOs) and also undefeated Brandon Cook (18-0, 11 KOs) of Canada.

The fight will be the first-ever outside of the United States for the 28-year-old Kazakh-born Niyazov. And with 12,000 of his countrymen expecting big things from him, Niyazov says he’s feeling the pressure.

Are you nervous, fighting outside the US and in front of so many people?

I feel a little nervous because it’s my first time fighting here and I have to perform well. A lot of people, my fans, are coming just to see me, so I feel the pressure to do very well. in front of 12,000 people. They all know me. I got to look good.

Why did you take this fight so far from where you’ve now lived for many years?

I live in the USA, I work in the USA. I have my family in the USA, so all my moves I make in regard to boxing are going to take place in the US. This was just an opportunity that I saw that can improve my boxing career.

How did training camp go for this fight?

Training camp with my father went well. I am ready to perform and outbox the guy. I’m not looking for a knockout. I’m going to box the guy outclass him and the knockout will come by itself.

How did you get the nickname Lightning?

The fans gave me this name. It’s because of my fast hands. Sometimes when they see a knockout or knockdown it happens so fast they can’t tell what happened.