By Dmitry Mikhalchuk, Andrey Novak and Alexey Sukachev / Photo by K2 Ukraine

WBO #2 rated cruiserweight Oleksandr Usyk (7-0, 7 KOs) will face WBO #15 Johnny Muller (19-4-2, 13 KOs) tomorrow, on August 29, in Kiev, Ukraine, with the WBO Intercontinental title at stake. The event will be distributed by Inter channel and will feature several more contests, including a much-awaited debut of fiery junior welterweight Denis Berinchyk. The tourney is presented by K2 Promotions Ukraine and sponsored by Khortytsia.


“I saw his fight with Mateusz Masternak and a few other fights,” said Usyk during a presser on Tuesday. “The guy is strong and never gives up. However, I have a good plan for this fight. We have done nice body of work. And on Saturday I'm going to showcase my achievements in the ring”.

Added James Ali Bashir, Usyk’s trainer: “We prepared the same way for this opponent as for the other opponents. We respect him. He did not come here from South Africa to lose. But Olexander also wants to win. We expect a great fight.”

A great fight is what opponents have learned to expect from Muller, who heads into Saturday’s show riding a three-fight win streak. Included among the lot is a stunning split decision nod over Top 10 cruiserweight contender Mateusz Masternak this past June in Gauteng, South Africa. 

The headlining clash versus Usyk marks just the second career pro fight outside of South Africa for Muller. His lone road trip resulted in a 10-round decision loss to Doudou Ngumbu last June.

“I am familiar with previous Usyk’s opponents Danny Venter and Daniel Brewer, they are both my countrymen”, said Muller. “They both were defeated by Oleksandr. But this doesn’t mean that I am waiting for the same result. I'm ready to fight. I am a young, strong and my goal is to become a world champion. I came here to win”.

“We know that Alexander is a good fighter”, said Harold Volbrecht, Muller’s manager and former long-time welterweight contender. “And so we trained a lot for this fight. Many times I was in other countries with my boxers. We are not afraid boxing on our opponent’s territory. We came here to win. I am 100% sure that the audience will see a great and dramatic bout”.

2012 London silver medalist Denis Berinchyk, the most recent signee of K2 Promotions, will make his debut against Belgian Tarik Madni (19-8-1, 1 KOs). “I will not say much”, said Berinchyk. “Instead I’ll show a good fight on August 29. It'll be a professional fight, not an amateur one. Gloves and arena will be different. Check out the new Denis Berinchyk”.

On the undercard promising light middleweight Khusein Baysangurov (3-0, 2 КОs) from Russia will fight Georgian Nodar Robakidze (14-13-3, 5 КОs) and super welterweight WBO International champion from Ukraine Alexander Spirko (18-0, 10 КOs), rated #2 by the WBO, will meet Latvian Eduard Gerasimov (6-4-1, 6 КOs).

FULL WEIGHTS
Oleksandr Usyk 199.5 vs. Johnny Muller 195 – 12 rounds
Denis Berinchyk 139.1 vs. Tarik Madni 141.4 – 6 rounds
Khusein Baysangurov 148.7 vs. Nodar Robakidze 148.5 – 8 rounds
Olexander Spyrko 159.6 vs. Eduards Gerasimovs to be weighed-in later – 8 rounds
Oleg Malinovskiy (15-0, 5 KOs) 128.6 vs. Bahyt Abdurahimov (11-8, 5 KOs) 125.6 – 6 rounds
Petr Ivanov (3-0, 1 KO) 166.3 vs. Beka Aduashvili (13-1, 6 KOs) 167.4 – 6 rounds
Maksym Ponomarev (10-1, 1 KO) vs. Levan Shonia (14-7, 10 KOs) – 6 rounds
Aram Faniyan (3-0) 142 vs. Dmitriy Manuilenko (debut) 139.5 – 4 rounds