By Ryan Burton, photo by Ryan Hafey/PBC
Poland's Izuagbe "Izu" Ugonoh (17-0) made headlines in December when he signed with boxing power broker Al Haymon.
Ugonoh, who is trained by world class trainer Kevin Barry, had spent most of his recent career fighting in New Zealand on the undercards of WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker. Parker is also trained by Barry.
The 30-year-old Ugonoh will return to the ring on Saturday against 2012 U.S. Olympian Dominic Breazeale (17-1) in a bout that will be televised on free-to-air FOX.
Ugonoh said that everything sort of just fell into place when asked about how he hooked up with Haymon.
"You know the boxing world is a small world. Everybody knows all the up and coming fighters and they look for potential and I believe I do have the potential to be right there in the mix. I have the opportunity and now it's all about making the most of it. That is my plan. This a challenge and I love a challenge and I expect to rise to the occasion and have a great night," Ugonoh told BoxingScene.com.
When he signed with Haymon he wasn't really sure if he would get an opportunity to be in such a high profile fight right off but said that this is what he has worked so hard for.
"This is something I have been working hard to get to. The opportunity presented itself and I plan on taking advantage of it," said Ugonoh.
Barry recently told BoxingScene.com that a victory over Breazeale could lead Ugonoh to a fight against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder who faces Gerald Washington in the main event of Saturday night's triple header.
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