By Jake Donovan
Ruslan Chagaev and Lucas Browne are set to kick off the first round of the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight tournament, with their title fight taking place Saturday evening in Grozny, Russia.
Both boxers took to the scales on Friday, with the two fighters traveling different paths in ultimately meeting in the middle. Chagaev weighed in at a near career heaviest 248.4 lbs., while Brown whipped himself into the best shape of his career, checking in at a career lightest 249.3 lbs.
Chagaev (34-2-1, 21KOs) will attempt the second defense of his version of the WBA heavyweight title. Interestingly, the bout takes place hours before interim champ Luis Ortiz faces Tony Thompson in a non-title fight in Washington D.C.
The heavyweights could find themselves on a collision course, although a lot needs to happen in order to reach that point. Chagaev has two fights to wade through, beginning with a dangerous defense versus a taller, fresher challenger in the unbeaten 6'5" Browne (23-0, 2KOs).
Not helping the 5'11" southpaw's cause is that his activity level has slowed to a crawl in recent years. Dating back to his controversial title win over Fres Oquendo in July '14, the 37-year old Chagaev has fought just once per year. His lone title defense came 53 weeks after claiming the belt, scoring a 1st round stoppage of Francesco Pianeta last July in Germany.
Saturday's showdown marks his return to Grozny, where he outpointed Oquendo in a bout that was drowned in controversy before, during and after their 12-round affair. Oquendo reportedly positive for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) - not the first fighter from outside Russia to be falsely accused of doing such - with those allegations along with a laundry list of shady dealings resulting in his successfully suing way into a second title fight.
As such, Chagaev will be looking at a rematch with the Chicagoland Boricua - in the event he escapes unscathed on Saturday.
Browne has every intention of making sure that doesn't happen. A late bloomer to the sport, the 36-year old Aussie has remained a work in progress, at times looking the part but his own lack of conditioning often a hindrance in his career development.
Such is not the case for this fight, as Browne - who has weighed as heavy as 274.75 lbs. earlier in his career and 273 lbs. just two years ago - has weighed less with each passing fight. Saturday's title challenge puts him six pounds lighter than his struggling 9th round knockout of Julius Long last August.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox