Mikhail Aloyan completes WBSS bantamweight lineup

The Sauerlands made an announcement today confirming Ryan Burnett’s participation in the World Boxing Super Series bantamweight tournament and announcing the final participant: two-time Olympian Mikhail “Misha” Aloyan.

They will announce the seedings and matchups this Friday in Moscow. The four seeded fighters will get to chose their opponents from the other four with the exception of Emmanuel Rodriguez, who will face mandatory challenger Jason Moloney in the quarterfinals.

Aloyan (4-0, 0 KO) is a surprising addition, to say the least. He won bronze in 2012 and silver in 2016, losing to the devastating Tugstsogt Nyambayar in London and Shakhobidin Zoirov in Rio, but was stripped of that silver medal after testing positive for the stimulant tuaminoheptane. Two of his four pro wins have come by split decision, including a razor-thin but admittedly entertaining victory over Alexander Espinoza on the Gassiev-Dorticos undercard.

One would think that whichever fighter winds up getting first pick will set his sights on Aloyan. He’s obviously skilled, but there are a pair of genuine monsters in Naoya Inoue and Zolani Tete who would love to add an Olympian’s scalp to their mantle. He’d better hope Ryan Burnett is ranked #1.