Avtandil Khurtsidze is a Georgian former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2017.
16 Facts About Avtandil Khurtsidze
1.
2.
Avtandil Khurtsidze held the WBO interim middleweight title in 2017 and won the IBO middleweight title in 2011.
3.
Avtandil Khurtsidze challenged for the interim WBA middleweight title in 2010.
4.
In September 2018, Khurtsidze was convicted of racketeering and wire fraud conspiracy and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, and is expected to remain incarcerated in the United States until 2028.
5.
On 31 July 2010, Avtandil Khurtsidze beat Sergey Khomitsky in Minsk, Belarus by sixth-round corner retirement.
6.
Avtandil Khurtsidze rebounded from the controversial loss to N'Dam N'Jikam by returning to his native Georgia for his next fight, the first time he had done so since his professional debut.
7.
Avtandil Khurtsidze faced Mariusz Cendrowski for the vacant IBO middleweight title on 13 March 2011.
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Billy Joe Saunders 8.
Avtandil Khurtsidze applied his trademark aggression to continuously stalk Cendrowski all over the ring, and landed powerful punches with his left hand throughout the duration of the fight.
9.
On 11 June 2011, Avtandil Khurtsidze defended his IBO middleweight title against Dionisio Miranda in Kyiv, winning by first-round knockout.
10.
Avtandil Khurtsidze knocked his opponent down with a crushing overhand left.
11.
Miranda got up but was quickly put on the canvas face down after Avtandil Khurtsidze caught him with a big left hook.
12.
Avtandil Khurtsidze finally returned to the ring in July 2014, where he would go on to win four consecutive bouts in the United States by technical knockout, before facing undefeated middleweight prospect Antoine Douglas as a short notice opponent on 5 March 2016, after Douglas' original opponent Sam Soliman sustained an injury.
13.
In early February 2017, Avtandil Khurtsidze, who was mandatory challenger for WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders, took a step aside fee to allow Saunders to pursue a bigger fight.
14.
Avtandil Khurtsidze connected with a left hook to win the bout by fifth-round technical knockout, bringing his streak of consecutive TKO victories to six, and securing a world title shot against Saunders.
15.
On 30 August 2018, it was reported that Avtandil Khurtsidze had been stabbed in the face in a "stabbing rampage" in a Brooklyn detention center, after members of his crime syndicate Razhden Shulaya were involved in a reported row with a Latin American gang.
16.
In September 2018, Avtandil Khurtsidze was convicted of racketeering and wire fraud conspiracy and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment.