Jono Carroll is an experienced boxer who has faced top opposition and has an impressive track record. Albert Batyrgaziev is a young and talented boxer. He has won ten fights, seven of them by knockout, and is undefeated in his career.

Both fighters will meet on 12th July on the IBA Champions' Night in Serpukhov, Russia for the WBA Interim Super Featherweight title in an open fight with both looking to win. Carroll will be looking to make it a long fight to counter his opponent's strength and punching power.

Carroll, like many Irish fighters, comes from humble beginnings and his professional career began with a search for secure work abroad. His life changed when he moved to Australia, where he got his first chance in the ring two years later. He began his professional career with two wins.

Seeking to progress and earn better money from higher paying fights, he entered the Prizefighter series, defeating seasoned veterans such as Stephen Foster and Gary Buckland on his way to the final, cementing his place as one of the rising stars of lightweight boxing.

It took 18 fights before the Dubliner could face Tevin Farmer for the IBF super featherweight title. He lost. That defeat taught him a lot and made him stronger. Since then, he has suffered only one other defeat and has never been knocked out of a fight. 

With that in mind, he will take on unbeaten local favourite, Olympic and IBA Professional World Champion Albert Batyrgaziev for the WBA Interim Super Featherweight title on the IBA Champions' Night in Serpukhov, Russia.

"Everybody starts with an undefeated record," said Carroll. "So he is not a seasoned professional, even though he has won the IBA title, the Olympics and everything else". The Irishman points to his experience. ""I've proved myself in 10 or 12 round fights, I've proved myself at world level. Now it's time for him to prove it. He's never been in the ring with someone like me before," said Carroll.

Statistics show that Batyrgaziev has a high knockout rate. Seven of the Russian's 10 victories have come when his opponent was unable to continue. Carroll can only claim the same in seven of his 24 wins. "I want to put him in deep water and then drown him in the later rounds," said Carroll, confident of winning the test of endurance and psychological warfare.

"I fought Stephen Foster in my fourth professional fight and he was a seasoned professional. He had never fought anyone like Foster in his first 10 fights, let alone at my level," Carroll pointed out.

The Irishman fought Foster to the end in a very hard fight that ended with him in hospital, but he stayed on his feet for the entire round. He praised his opponent, because he had never been beaten before and "that works in his favour". "I have tasted defeat, if anything tasting defeat is a kind of victory. It's like you learn a lot from it, but at the same time it's still hard to get over," said Carroll.

The Irishman admits that defeat teaches you and that the Russian is too young to know that defeat is a lesson. By beating his rival in his home town, he hopes to teach him that lesson. Pointing to the other boxers Batyrgaziev has fought, he said that none of them will give him what he will in Serpukhov.

"We are in your country and you are an Olympic champion, I wish you good luck, but I am not here to give up. I am a prizefighter, so show me the money and I will be there 100% ready to rip his head off," added 'King Kong' Carroll.