By Vadim Pushkin

As previously reported, former two-time world champion cruiserweight Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (49-3-1, 35 KOs) is set to return on March 4th as part of a card in Sosnowiec, Poland.

It will be the first fight for "El Diabo" since losing his world title to current champion Grigory Drozd of Russia in September 2014. He was coming into this fight off a lengthy layoff.

Prior to that loss, Wlodarczyk was on a very solid run where he stopped for champion Giacobbe Fragomeni in six rounds in a bout held at the UIC Pavillion in Chicago and traveled over to Russia where he got off the floor to knock out Olympic gold medal winner Rakhim Chakhkiev in eight rounds.

At 34-years-old, he still has time to get a lot of things done.

Wlodarczyk (49-3-1, 35 KOs) will face gate-keeper Valery Brudov (42-7, 28 KO), who lost three of his last four bouts - including last month's decision loss to Noel Gevor in Germany.

If he wins, his trainer Fedor Lapin says a fight against WBA interim-champion Beibut Shumenov (16-2, 10 KO) is possible for a date in late April. The fight was scheduled to take place last December, but Shumenov withdrew with an injury. Shumenov has been out of the ring since winning a decision over BJ Flores last July in Las Vegas.

"With all my heart I want to get back to the throne of being a world champion. If I beat Brudov, I will have a fight with the WBA interim-world champion Shumenov. What would a win there get me? The opportunity to face Denis Lebedev for the full WBA world title," Wlodarczyk said.