IBF cruiserweight world champion Murat Gassiev (25-0, 18 KOs) has been issued a warning from his upcoming opponent, WBA world champion Yunier Dorticos (22-0, 21 KOs).
The two undefeated heavy hitters will collide at the Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi, Russia on February 3, 2018.
The contest is a semi-final bout in the cruiserweight edition of the World Boxing Super Series.
Gassiev, the second seed and trained by veteran coach Abel Sanchez, earned his spot in the semi-final when he blew away Polish Krzysztof Wlodarczyk in New Jersey in October with a powerful performance to produce a third-round KO.
Dorticos aka ‘The KO Doctor’, the tournament’s fourth seed, impressed in his quarter-final with a devastating KO victory in the third round over Russian Dmitri Kudryashov in San Antonio in September.
The Cuban puncher has no issue with heading over to Gassiev's backyard. He says he would have taken the fight anywhere.
"The camp is going very well and in Russia there will be no coincidences," said Dorticos to George Ebro. "We have not neglected a single detail and, personally, I have never put in so much dedication, so much focus. Gassiev is warned.
"Every new fight seems to be the fight of my life, and this will be too. We are willing to go to Iraq if necessary. We have taken precautions for war. And on the 3rd an Atomic Bomb is going to happen in Russia.''
His trainer believes the boxer has become even better since the tournament began.
"He has grown a lot in and out of the ring," says coach Eric Castaño. "This Super Series of Boxing has brought out the best in him and allowed him to show the world who is the real Dorticos. The victory in Russia will place him at a higher level. He deserves it. He has earned it. He is another, he is better. ''