Sergey Lipinets

After a brief amateur boxing career in which he went 35–5, Lipinets turned pro in 2014. After winning 10 pro bouts, Lipinets faced Lenny Zappavigna in an IBF eliminator. The winner would become the mandatory challenger to the IBF champion, the winner of an April 2017 bout between Ricky Burns and Julius Indongo. Lipinets proved to be too much for Zappavigna, as the latter went down during round 5 before being counted out following a right straight from Lipinets in round 8. Both fighters suffered several cuts during the fight.

The IBF ordered Lipinets to face Akihiro Kondo for their vacant title. The fight was finalized for 4 November on the undercard of a Deontay Wilder bout. The event was televised on Showtime. Lipinets became the IBF champion, winning by unanimous decision (118–110, 117–111, 117–111). The decision was booed upon being announced but several media outlets scored it for Lipinets, albeit on closer cards. Lipinets connected to Kondo's body often throughout the fight, but Kondo remained unfazed by the body shots. Kondo kept coming forward and rocked Lipinets in round 5. Lipinets was cut by an accidental head clash midway through the fight.

Lipinets was born on Martuk, Kazakhstan, but moved to Russia at the age of 9. Lipinets originally competed as a kickboxer, medaling in competitions like the 2012 W.A.K.O. European Championships and the 2013 World Combat Games.

Sergey Lipinets (Russian: Сергей Алексеевич Липинец ; born 23 March 1989) is a professional boxer from Kazakhstan and former kickboxer who held the IBF light-welterweight title from 2017 to 2018. As of August 2019, Lipinets is ranked as the world's eighth best active welterweight by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, ninth by The Ring magazine and tenth by BoxRec.