Astana in the sign of boxing: Tashkenbay won the IBF Asia belt on his professional debut, Bibossinov recorded his third victory
On August 28, 2026, Astana was the center of an international boxing program with which the International Boxing Association (IBA) and NOMAD Fighting marked International Boxing Day. The event at the Zh. Ushkempirov Martial Arts Palace combined five professional boxing matches and three bouts under IBA NOMAD rules with MMA gloves, and according to the IBA's official report, it brought together competitors from Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Mexico, Venezuela, Namibia and the Philippines. The main sporting highlight of the evening was the professional debut of two-time IBA world champion Sanzhar Tashkenbay, who defeated Filipino Neel Jacamos after ten rounds and immediately won the regional IBF Asia title. In one of the program's most prominent bouts, two-time world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Saken Bibossinov defeated experienced Namibian Immanuel Josef by judges' decision and improved his professional record to three wins without a loss. In the part of the program organized under the IBA NOMAD banner, Almaz Nurgali defeated Aidos Zhapparbergenov in a rematch for the bantamweight championship title.
Tashkenbay's professional beginning immediately turned into a title fight
Sanzhar Tashkenbay entered professional boxing with the reputation of being one of the most successful Kazakh boxers of his generation. In its preview of the event, the IBA stated that he won world gold medals in 2023 and 2025, while in 2022 he became Asian champion, so his transition from the amateur to the professional format was not designed as a gradual introduction through shorter and less demanding bouts. Instead, the organizers assigned him ten rounds against undefeated Neel Jacamos in his very first professional appearance, a boxer from the Philippines who had seven professional victories before arriving in Astana. According to data from the specialized PhilBoxing portal, Jacamos began his professional career in 2024, and in August 2025 he won the Philippine GAB light flyweight title. Such an opponent profile meant that Tashkenbay already had to solve tactical and physical problems typical of longer professional bouts in his debut.
The IBA's official report states that Tashkenbay sought to control the distance during the bout with his lead hand, movement and counterpunching work, while Jacamos tried to close the distance and attack with wide punches from close range. The Filipino boxer managed to impose pressure in the middle part of the fight and open a cut around Tashkenbay's right eyebrow, but the dynamics changed near the end of the fifth round. According to the IBA, the Kazakh then caught his opponent's entry with a precise right hook and sent him to the canvas. A second count followed in the eighth round, again after a well-timed counter, further strengthening Tashkenbay's advantage on the scorecards. Jacamos completed all ten rounds, but the judges' decision went to Tashkenbay, who thus won his first title at the very beginning of his professional career.
There is, however, a difference in the official designation of the weight category for that belt. In its August 11 preview, the IBA presented the bout as a fight for the IBF Asia flyweight title, which also corresponds with the original information about the event, while the report published after the fight described the title as the IBF Asia light flyweight belt. Because the available publications use different designations, the most precise wording is that Tashkenbay won the IBF Asia regional title, with a note that the category differs between the IBA's publications. Regardless of this terminological inconsistency, the result is clear: Tashkenbay ended his professional debut with a points victory after ten rounds and with a title belt around his waist. For a boxer who had already built a major name in IBA competitions, such a start immediately places him in a completely different position from the usual professional debutant.
Bibossinov confirmed his status as one of the best-known names in Kazakh boxing
Saken Bibossinov arrived in Astana with a professional record of 2-0, so the meeting with Immanuel Josef represented the 29-year-old Kazakh's third professional appearance. His amateur résumé is considerably richer: the IBA lists him as the 2021 world champion from Belgrade and an Olympic bronze medalist from Tokyo, while in December 2025 in Dubai he won another world gold medal, this time in the bantamweight category at the IBA World Championships. That is precisely why his transition to professional boxing attracts particular attention, as it brings a combination of many years of experience from major national-team competitions and what is still a very short professional career. Ahead of the event, the IBA announced his bout against Josef for eight rounds, which represented a noticeably more serious test than a standard beginner's professional program. With his victory in Astana, Bibossinov remained undefeated in professional bouts and reached a record of 3-0.
Josef, meanwhile, was not an inexperienced opponent. The World Boxing Association (WBA), in its profile of the Namibian boxer, states that he was born in 1992 and that during his career he competed at flyweight and neighboring weight classes, including fights for regional titles. Before the event in Astana, the WBA had recorded a series of his bouts against opponents from Africa and Europe, including victories in fights associated with WBA and WBO regional belts. After the Astana bout, the IBA described Bibossinov's performance as controlled and technically disciplined, with precise footwork, single punches and combinations through which he kept Josef under pressure without entering unnecessary exchanges. The bout went the distance, and the winner was determined by the judges. Such an outcome is also important for Bibossinov because it gives him an additional eight professional rounds of experience, which is valuable at a stage of his career in which he is still adapting to a different rhythm, scoring system and method of building a fight.
Nurgali won the IBA NOMAD title after five rounds of a difficult rematch
Alongside professional boxing, the program included three fights organized by the IBA and NOMAD in a format using MMA gloves, and the most important among them was the fight between Almaz Nurgali and Aidos Zhapparbergenov for the IBA NOMAD bantamweight title. Their previous meeting ended in a draw, which is why the rematch in Astana gained the status of one of the main fights of the evening. According to the IBA's report, Zhapparbergenov started the fight better, while Nurgali responded with counters and suffered a cut already in the first round. As the fight continued, Nurgali increased the pace, and the match developed into a physically demanding contest with a large number of exchanges. After five rounds, the judges awarded the victory to Nurgali, who thereby claimed the title and settled a rivalry that the first meeting had failed to decide.
The IBA NOMAD portion of the event also featured two other fights. Ruslan Madiev defeated Imran Agaev by unanimous judges' decision after, according to the official report, sending his opponent to the canvas with a combination in the second round and then maintaining control until the end of the fight. Kanat Kulmagambetov scored the only clean knockout in that part of the program, defeating Russian Timur Abdurakhmanov in the second round. The IBA states that the decisive blow was a precisely timed right hand from close range as Abdurakhmanov was moving forward. All three IBA NOMAD fights therefore ended with victories for Kazakh competitors, while the organizers succeeded in combining traditional professional boxing with a format based on smaller gloves and a different visual identity of the fights within the same program.
Toktar and Isroilov delivered the most dramatic finish of the professional portion of the program
Among the remaining professional bouts, the clash between Yerkebulan Toktar and Uzbek Bobirzhon Isroilov stood out in particular. According to the IBA, Toktar sent his opponent to the canvas with a left hook already in the early stage of the first round, but Isroilov soon responded with a clean right hand and scored a knockdown of his own. In the second round, Toktar regained control, dropped the Uzbek boxer twice and then forced the referee to stop the fight with a series of punches. The official result was a technical-knockout victory for Toktar in the second round. In a program that already included two title fights and several well-known national-team names, this match provided the strongest element of uncertainty because both boxers ended up on the canvas within a short period of time.
Russian middleweight Vadim Tukov maintained his undefeated professional streak with a points victory over Venezuelan Eddy Colmenares. The IBA described the bout as demanding because of Colmenares's height and reach, which made it difficult for Tukov to find the ideal distance. Nevertheless, after eight rounds the judges gave the advantage to the Russian boxer. Moldovan Vasile Cebotari also won by judges' decision against Mexican Jose Miguel Borrego, using movement, defense and counterattacks against his opponent's constant pressure. According to the organizers' report, Cebotari fought the closing stages more aggressively and consolidated his advantage before the final decision. The five professional bouts therefore produced three victories for Kazakh boxers, along with wins for representatives of Russia and Moldova.
Eight countries at one event and a three-day program in the capital of Kazakhstan
The August 28 event was the final part of a broader program that the IBA had scheduled over three days in its preview. An open workout was held on August 26 at the Khan Shatyr shopping and entertainment complex, while on August 27 the official weigh-in, face-offs, press conference, activities for the public and accompanying entertainment content were organized. The main fight night took place the following day at the Zh. Ushkempirov Martial Arts Palace in Astana. The IBA stated that the overall card contained eight fights, five of them professional boxing bouts and three IBA NOMAD matches. The representation of eight countries was an important part of the event's international character, with representatives of Russia, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Mexico, Venezuela, Namibia and the Philippines competing alongside the home Kazakh boxers.
The event was connected with International Boxing Day, which the IBA celebrated in 2026 on August 27 under the slogan "Honouring Our Champions, Inspiring Our Future". According to the organization, the theme was focused not only on boxers but also on coaches, referees, medical personnel, volunteers, administrators and national federations participating in the development of the sport. The IBA states that International Boxing Day was first launched in 2017 in Russia and two years later acquired an international character within the organization. The Astana event was held on August 28, therefore one day after the official date of the global celebration, and represented the fighting climax of the multi-day program. In that sense, the event had a dual function: a promotional celebration of boxing and a competitive platform on which professional debutants, established champions and fighters from the IBA NOMAD format shared the same evening.
IBA Secretary General and CEO Chris Roberts emphasized the international composition of the card after the event, stating that athletes from eight countries competed on the same stage as part of the celebration of International Boxing Day. This international dimension was particularly visible in the choice of opponents for the home stars: Bibossinov received an experienced opponent from Namibia, Tashkenbay an undefeated Filipino, and Toktar a fighter from Uzbekistan with experience in other combat disciplines. At the same time, Cebotari and Tukov brought additional European and Latin American connections through their fights with Borrego and Colmenares. For the organizers, this meant that the event did not remain exclusively a national showcase of domestic names but acquired a broader international lineup. In terms of results, however, the evening strongly belonged to the Kazakh boxers, especially in the fights carrying the greatest sporting significance.
What the results from Astana mean for the main participants
The biggest immediate beneficiary of the event is Sanzhar Tashkenbay, because he entered professional boxing without a transitional period and immediately completed ten rounds against an undefeated opponent. Two knockdowns and a won regional IBF Asia title give his professional career an opening result rarely seen in a debut. At the same time, that success does not erase the difference between amateur and professional boxing: Tashkenbay will have to continue proving his value against opponents with different styles, in a new ranking system and under different competitive demands. Bibossinov, on the other hand, had already made two professional appearances, so his victory over Josef primarily provided further confirmation that he can successfully handle longer fights against more experienced professionals. For Almaz Nurgali, the evening had a more direct title significance because by winning the rematch he claimed the IBA NOMAD bantamweight belt after five rounds.
Astana therefore offered an event on August 28 that was simultaneously a sporting show, a promotion of the new joint IBA-NOMAD format and a stage for the transition of well-known amateur champions toward professional boxing. Tashkenbay left the ring with his first professional result and first professional belt, Bibossinov with his third victory from three appearances, and Nurgali with the title after the drawn first meeting with Zhapparbergenov. The other fights brought victories for Cebotari, Madiev, Kulmagambetov, Tukov and Toktar, with Toktar's technical knockout and Kulmagambetov's knockout being the most striking stoppages of the evening. According to the IBA's official announcements, the next joint IBA NOMAD event was announced for October 11, 2026, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The Astana event was therefore not presented as an isolated show, but as part of a broader calendar through which the IBA and NOMAD are seeking to develop a joint competitive product.
Sources:
- International Boxing Association (IBA) – official report with results and descriptions of the fights in Astana on August 28, 2026 (link)
- International Boxing Association (IBA) – official preview of the complete card, location, format and three-day event program (link)
- International Boxing Association (IBA) – official publication about the press conference and the joint IBA-NOMAD concept of the event (link)
- International Boxing Association (IBA) – official publication about the theme and celebration of International Boxing Day 2026 (link)
- International Boxing Association (IBA) – overview of Bibossinov's 2021 world championship title and Olympic bronze medal from Tokyo (link)
- International Boxing Association (IBA) – report from the finals of the 2025 World Championships in Dubai and Bibossinov's gold medal (link)
- World Boxing Association (WBA) – profile of Immanuel Josef and overview of his professional appearances and regional fights (link)
- PhilBoxing – profile of Neel Jacamos and overview of his professional record before his appearance in Astana (link)