For Makhmudov, who is promoted by the promotional organization Top Rank, this will be the third performance this year. Wallish returned to the ring in May after losing to Murat Gassiev last year.
At the recently concluded WBC convention, Makhmudov (No. 4 in the heavyweight rankings) was tasked with defending the WBC silver belt with Zhan Kosobutsky, which should be the next fight of the Russian Lion after the December fight. If Mahmudov refuses, he risks losing his trophy.