Battle of the 11-0 featherfists! This is 3rd-billed on the Usyk vs. Dubois II card, just below co-feature Okolie vs. Lerena on July nineteenth. Ten rounds scheduled for the IBF intercontinental light heavyweight championship (1st defense of Lapin). The incumbent is a 6'6" southpaw from Ukraine, a good buddy and training partner of Oleksandr Usyk (who also manages & promotes him). His challenger, managed by Billy Joe Saunders, hails from Southampton and is the reigning BBBofC and Commonwealth Boxing Council light heavyweight champion. Both had decent amateur runs, with Lapin competing in nearly 300 bouts (290, winning more than he lost) and Edmonson going 52-8. Both are in their late twenties - Lapin 28, Edmondson 29. Both are 11-0, with four kayos for Lapin and three for Edmondson.
I've seen a range of opinions on Lapin - ranging from being a "superb boxer" with unbelievable speed and the one to carry the Ukrainian boxing torch after Usyk & Lomachenko - to being a weak-hitting all-sizzle no-substance hype job who's only getting pushed onto major cards due to his friendship with Usyk. Edmondson is a solid British domestic level operator - so if Lapin is the former he should dominate, and if he's the latter he ought to crumble.
In the course of searching for information on Lapin, btw (specifically his exact amateur record) I came across one interesting fact: some sectors of the Ukrainian government are not fond of him. He is on a list of "threats against national security", in fact, due to his once having protested on behalf of Russian occupiers of Crimea (where both he and Usyk used to live; Lapin was born in Poland).
Daniel Lapin vs. Dylan Colin: This content is protected Lewis Edmondson vs. Dan Azeez: This content is protected
My only time seeing him was against Colin on the Usyk vs. Fury II undercard. On the one hand, it was a clean shutout (or at worst 9-1) over an undefeated opponent that came in French national champ at 175lbs. On the other it was a SNOOZER. Somebody in that RBR called him a "mini-Bivol" and even that oversells his wow factor and willingness to go for the kill.
Daniil is the youngest son of Usyk's trainer. His eldest son, Sergey, is the manager of Usyk's team. They both owe everything to Usyk. He pulled them out of Simferopol to Kyiv. Daniil had dubious victories in the amateur ring and was never considered promising even at the Crimean level. His older brother was also an amateur. Both tried, they were pulled out at the Crimean level, thanks to their father's name. But they did not go further as amateurs. They were attached to Usyk's locomotive. One got hooked on the purse, the other on the Events. One boxes, the other counts.
I was wondering how Daniel might be related to a Sergey Lapin that fought in WSB about twelve years ago (teammates with Usyk & Loma). Guessing that is Sergey Jr., making him Daniel's older brother? (I deduced that their dad is Sergey Sr. by Daniel's patronymic middle name being Sergeevich, or "son of Sergey - and Daniel is too young to be the son of the guy I remember from WSB as they're only about 11 years apart in age)
The authorities were unhappy not with Daniil, but with his older brother Sergei, who manages Usyk’s affairs.
Yes, Sergey and Daniil are the sons of Sergey Lapin, Usyk's trainer. Sargey is much older than Daniil. Sergey is the same age as Usyk and a childhood friend. He boxed for the "Atamans" in WSB. Daniil ran around as a kid when they boxed in the amateur ring. By the way, Sergey Lapin Sr. still trains guys in Simferopol (Crimea), and both his sons are in Kyiv.
