Petro Ivanov

Petro Ivanov (Петро Іванов, ; born 12 July 1996 in Nizhyn, Ukraine) is an undefeated professional boxer from Ukraine. As of June 2023, he holds the IBF International title in the super middleweight division in the world. The Ukrainian is presently ranked as 8th in the world by the IBF, 18th in the WBC, 7th in the EBU and 15th in the IBO.

Making his professional debut in 2014, Ivanov defeated Louis Toutin through a TKO in round 9, becoming the WBC Youth World Super Middle Champion in 2018. In the past, the Ukrainian held several belts including the WBC Youth World Champion, the WBC International Silver Champion and the WBC International Champion in the super middleweight class.

In 2023, he became the ambassador of Ready to Fight, a blockchain-based boxing platform created by Sergey Lapin and Oleksandr Usyk. This platform supports effectively the needs of the boxing community by finding an opponent for sparring or duel, discuss and approve the terms of cooperation and gain money on it.

Petro Ivanov has been boxing in Germany since 2019 while still living in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Since July 2022 he lives in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Amateur career
At the age of 18, Ivanov decided to move into professional boxing because since childhood he desired to enter the ring like the Klitschko brothers. He dreamed of feeling the energy of a huge arena filled with boxing fans and deserving standing ovations from the audience after each victory.

Professional career
Ivanov started his professional career in 2014 with his debut in Lviv, Ukraine in the undercard fight of Oleksandr Usyk. Ivanov won by knockout in the first round in less than two minutes.

In 2018, he won his first WBC Youth World title against the previously undefeated Louis Toutin (12 wins, 11 KOs) from France. One year later, he defended his title in Karlsruhe against Vladimir Belujsyk from Slovakia by TKO in the fifth round. He attributes his success to the professional guidance to his coach Oleksandr Lichter, and the support from his manager Maxim Michailew and promoter Faechersport Management.

In August 2020, Ivanov defeated Roman Shkarupa by unanimous decision after eight rounds. This event "Big Boxing Night" was hosted by Usyk17 Promotion from heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. Other boxers entering the ring were Vladyslav Sirenko, Oleksandr Zakhozhyi, Viktor Vykhryst, Daniel Lapin, Oleg Malinovskyi, and Andrii Velikovsky. Ivanov won his new WBC International Silver title in a fight against Yusuf Kanguel in October 2020. In the fourth round, Ivanov surprised Kanguel with his powerful hooks, uppercuts and head punches and won by KO.

In August 2021, Ivanov accepted his next title fight for WBC International Super Middle in Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen. The Ukrainian went powerfully against Rafael Amarillas Ortiz from Mexico who had only lost three times out of eighteen fights. Petro Ivanov achieved his fourteenth win out of sixteen fights (two draws) and secured his third WBC title after previously being WBC Youth and International Silver Champion.

In July 2022, Ivanov stepped into the ring at the Erdinger Boxnacht in Erding to compete for the IBF International title against Robert Talarek from Poland. Demonstrating top-class combinations, Ivanov was victorious in the fourth round, securing the win by TKO. Referee Robert Hoyle then intervened, officially declaring Ivano as the new IBF International Champion.

In June 2023, Ivanov retained his IBF International title against Gino Kanters via a 12-round KO victory. Ivanov has dominated all 12 rounds with his higher activity, power punches, precision and combinations. Kanters was too busy defending himself. With weaker power punches and precision, he couldn´t decide the fight.

As of 2023, Petro Ivanov holds the IBF International Super Middleweight title and is officially ranked seventh in the world by the IBF's list of rankings.