By Mark Vester
WBA heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev and Matt Skelton laid out their battle plans during a Wednesday press conference to announce their Jan. 19 title clash in Dusseldorf.
"I will beat him," said Skelton. "I am always in training. When I'm not with my family, the gym is my home."
Skelton, the current Commonwealth champion, attempts to become the first British fighter to capture the world heavyweight crown since Lennox Lewis. Chagaev, unbeaten as a pro, has been sidelined with an illness and has not seen action since he upset Russian giant Nikolai Valuev to take the title in April.
Chagaev is confident of victory, and happy to finally step back in the ring.
"I'm healthy and can’t wait to get back to boxing. It finally starts again. I can't wait to get back to the ring and I’m looking forward to fighting Matt Skelton in Dusseldorf," Chagaev said. "It will be a tough fight against a hard puncher. I have good memories about this town as I have beaten John Ruiz in an eliminator fight in November 2006. And that made my title winning effort possible. I'm really excited about the Dusseldorf crowd."
Tickets are available from next week on:
Universum Ticket Hotline: +49 40- 696 559 59
CTS-Eventim Hotline: +49 1805-5 70 000
Düsseldorf-Marketing: +49 1805-644332
Send News Tips and Comments To Mark Vester @ boxingscene@hotmail.com
