A total of 4,000 fans witnessed a spirited flyweight contest between the 2013 AIBA World Boxing Championship silver medallist and Iran’s Sajad Mohammadpour, who is currently ranked number five in APB.

Both boxers fought hard in the knowledge that the winner would get to the top tier of the 52 kilogram ranking, moving them closer to a title fight against current APB world champion Misha Aloian of Russia.

Latipov is a slick boxer who is known for liking to keep his distance and score with power punches, but Mohammadpour had done his homework, getting closer to his taller opponent and launching in with aggressive combinations.

The occasional success from the Iranian was not enough to overcome Latipov’s superior technique though, and the openings in Mohammadpour’s defence were exploited by the Uzbek as he controlled the match on his way to victory.

Another local favourite, light welterweight Ikboljon Kholdarov, made his APB debut against Ireland's former EUBC European Boxing Confederation champion Raymond Moylette earlier in the evening.

Moylette pressured the 2014 AIBA Youth World Championships bronze medallist throughout the bout, using smart defence and explosive power-shots as he showed a clear improvement from last month's defeat at the hands of Turkey's Batuhan Gozgec on his first APB outing. 

However Kholdarov, the youngest AIBA pro boxer, moved around the ring sharply to make it hard for the Irishman to score, and the judges awarded the Uzbek a narrow split decision for his work-rate and overall control of the bout.

The third APB bout of the evening saw Uzbek welterweight Dilshod Makhmudov battle it out with Onder Sipal, brother of the Turkish APB world welterweight champion Onur Sipal.

Both boxers have great experience of winning medals in major tournaments over the years and their respect for each other showed as they sized each other up in the early exchanges.

From the second round on, both were fully engaged and trading punches in an all-action encounter until, to the delight of the home crowd, Makhmudov was declared the winner.

APB is the only individual professional boxing competition that allows boxers to compete while retaining their Olympic eligibility.

It is run under the governance of AIBA in partnership with AIBA National Member Federations and showcases 90 of the world’s top-ranked boxers competing in 10 weight classes.

The APB boxers’ roster comprises the best AIBA Open Boxing and World Series of Boxing athletes as well as a selection of professional boxers from across the globe.

Rio 2016 will be the first Olympic Games in history where professional boxers are allowed to compete.

The only route professional boxers can take to qualify for the Games is through the APB competition, which is fully supported by the International Olympic Committee.

APB bouts feature eight and 12 rounds with boxers ultimately competing for the title of APB champion.