By Steve Kim
So what were Bob Arum's thoughts on Oleksandr Gvozdyk's third round demolition of Yuniesky Gonzalez this past weekend at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland?
Arum, the CEO of Top Rank, wants to bring Gvozdyk to Las Vegas on June 17th and have him ringside at the T-Mobile Arena for the highly anticipated rematch between IBF, WBA, WBO world champion Andre Ward and challenger Sergey Kovalev.
"I'd like to bring him to Las Vegas on June 17th. I think he'd knock out Kovalev and Ward on the same night," said the veteran promoter, who now looks to position 'the Nail' for a title shot.
Gvozdyk (13-0, 11 KO's) is rated as high as fourth by the WBC. There has been talk of a WBC eliminator between him and the third ranked Joe Smith.
When asked if such a match-up interested him, Arum stated - "It depends on what kind of elimination. If its a bullsh*t elimination that leads nowhere, no. Why? If it's an elimination that leads to Adonis Stevenson without excuses or anything, yeah."
Currently, Stevenson is scheduled to face Andrezj Fonfara in a rematch on June 3rd. In recent years Stevenson has taken the path of least resistance in defending his WBC light heavyweight title.
The winner of Stevenson-Fonfara will have to make a mandatory defense against unbeaten Eleider Alvarez, who took a step-aside deal to allow that rematch to happen
Arum is beyond confident in Gvozdyk's ability to overcome Stevenson.
"I have no question that Gvozdyk blasts Stevenson before the end of the sixth round," boasted Arum.
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.
