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Sergey Lipinets is ready to give junior welterweight another try.
The former titlist is preparing to drop back down in weight following a two-year foray in the welterweight division, with hopes of his return to the 140-pound division to come next January. Lipinets—who briefly held the IBF junior welterweight crown—never moved up to welterweight out of physical necessity more than means to remain active. With more opportunities now opening back up in his old division, it felt like time to return to his optimal weight.
“The main reason I had to go up to 147 was that they had that 140 [World Boxing Super Series] tournament and I wasn’t included,” Lipinets explained to BoxingScene.com. “There was no title opportunity or money fight at 140 that I could go for.”
The second season of the World Boxing Super Series featured tournaments in three weight divisions, including junior welterweight which ran from October 2018 through October 2019. Lipinets—a Kazakhstan native who is now based in Beverly Hills, California—had already conceded his IBF title to then-unbeaten Mikey Garcia by that point, moving up where he claimed a decision win over Erick Bone in August 2018.
The biggest win of Lipinets’ career—more so than his title-winning effort over Akihiko Kondo—came in March 2019, when he outlasted Lamont Peterson to stop the former two-division titlist in the tenth round of a hellacious war on the road in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
The win was followed by a two-round wipeout of Jayar Inson, a very late replacement for John Molina Jr, who withdrew one day prior to fight night due to severe dehydration. The fight took place on the Fox Sports Pay-Per-View undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s final career win, a twelve-round decision over then-unbeaten Keith Thurman to claim the WBA “Super” welterweight title.
Lipinets hoped for a shot at that or any other welterweight title, though that day never came. The pandemic slowed down his career, not returning until last October where he fought to a twelve-round draw with unbeaten Custio Clayton in their IBF “interim” welterweight title fight last October 24 on Showtime. Lipinets returned to the network for his most recent fight, a one-sided sixth-round stoppage at the hands of rising contender Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis (28-0, 26KOs) this past April 10 in Uncasville, Connecticut.
While there is no shame in losing to an elite talent like Ennis, the fight was a reminder of how out of place Lipinets is at welterweight.
“I took a shot at 147 and it felt good,” admitted Lipinets. “My fight with Lamont was kind of reassuring and I kept on going. When I was offered to fight Jaron, me and the team knew how much of an uphill fight that would be but I never said no to a fight and despite the injuries and tough camp fought on. Lost to the guy that will be the most avoided fighter of modern times and probably undisputed at 147 and 154 lb.
“Now there are great opportunities at 140 and I’m moving back down to take another shot at the championship. Thanks to Gold, there are no bumps or bruises and that fire is still burning.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox