Boxer Kirillov plans comeback after five-year break

Moscow, April 23 (IANS/RIA Novosti) After a five-year hiatus from boxing, former IBF super flyweight champion Dmitry Kirillov is mounting a comeback, with a possible return bout set for May 16 in St. Petersburg, his hometown.

"I'm not sure about the 16th of May but I'm definitely coming back," the 34-year-old Russian told BoxingScene.com over the weekend.

"I'm serious about it - I'm gonna be back to boxing pretty soon. As I've pointed out the scheduled date is a very big if, but sooner than later my comeback will happen."

Kirillov, who is 29-4-1, with nine KOs, insisted his return to the ring is not for the money. He retired after a devastating 2008 knockout by Vic Darchinyan in his super flyweight title defence.

"Desire and hunger - that drives me through this adventure," he said. "It's a soul of a fighter - I need to get back to the ring, I want to fight more."

Nicknamed "The Baby," the 5'4" fighter established himself as one of Europe's top contenders shortly after he went professional in 1998, rattling off 20 straight wins to start his career. He lost the super flyweight title to Luis Alberto Perez in 2006 and regained it a year later in a three-round unanimous decision over Jose Navarro.

According to BoxingScene.com, Kirillov is expected to fight on May 16 card at Casino Conti with Sergey Mitchnik, Russian welterweight champion David Avanesyan and 2004 German Olympian Vitaliy Tajbert.

Kirillov, however, said he has yet to begin sparring.

--IANS/RIA Novosti

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