Gassiev (33-2, 26 KOs) had been preparing to face 2016 Olympic champion Yoka at Moscow’s VTB Arena on July 11 before news emerged that the Frenchman sustained a back injury last week.

As reported by The Ring, the show's IBA organizers got straight to work on securing a credible replacement for Yoka in order to keep the show alive. Joe Joyce, who is scheduled to face Artem Suslenkov over 10 rounds on the undercard, was one of the names in the running for a shot at Gassiev.

But now it is understood that Kadiru (23-1, 13 KOs) has been drafted in to save the show on less than a week’s notice.

The 29-year-old has been steadily rebuilding following a shock 56-second knockout defeat to Marcos Antonio Aumada in 2022 and is now on a nine-fight winning streak.

He last boxed on May 15 when outpointing experienced Senad Gashi over 10 rounds in Mannheim, Germany during the Paddy Donovan-Karen Chukhadzhian undercard, claiming his most significant win to date.

Now that victory has paved the way to a shot at the WBA heavyweight title.

This comes after Gassiev, The Ring’s ninth-rated heavyweight, was elevated from his position as ‘regular’ champion in the wake of Oleksandr Usyk’s decision to vacate his belts.

Gassiev, the 32-year-old former world cruiserweight champion, claimed the secondary belt when stopping previous holder Kubrat Pulev in the sixth round of their Dubai clash on December 12.

He had been set to make his first title defense against Yoka but now Kadiru, not currently ranked inside the top 15 with any of the four major sanctioning bodies, will head to Moscow instead.