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Tough heavyweight contender Amir Mansour believes Olympic gold medal winner (33-1, 23 KOs) Alexander Povetkin is one of the best heavyweights in the world, and capable of defeating anyone in the division if given the opportunity. Povetkin's sole defeat came at the hands of Wladimir Klitschko in 2013.
IBF cruiserweight champion Murat Gassiev is looking to do some heavy fisted damage on February 3rd, when he faces WBA world champion Yunier Dorticos (22-0, 21 KOs) at the Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi, Russia. Their contest is a semi-final bout in the cruiserweight edition of the World Boxing Super Series.
WBA International super middleweight champion Fedor Chudinov will collide with undefeated prospect Bobby Gunn Jr. - the son of Bobby Gunn - on February 3 in Sochi, according to what Russian promoter Vladimir Hryunov told RIA Novosti. This fight will take place as part of the undercard to the semi-final clash in the World Boxing Super Series, between the IBF cruiserweight world champion Murat Gassiev and WBA "regular" cruiserweight champion Yunier Dorticos.
Former World Boxing Council (WBC) cruiserweight world champion Grigory Drozd of Russia had decided to complete his professional boxing career. Drozd had his last fight in May 2015, after which, due to countless injuries, he was unable to conduct a mandatory defense against Congolese slugger Ilungi Makabu.
Earlier this month, former WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal announced his retirement from the sport, after turning back the clock to secure a TKO victory over undefeated contender Ahmed Elbiali in Miami, Florida. Two of the biggest fights in the career of Pascal were against living legend Bernard Hopkins.
According to veteran trainer Fiodor Lapin, Olympic gold medal winner Alexander Povetkin has lost some of his accuracy and punching power and is not in the same physical former that he was - prior to the suspension related to drug test failures. After losing a twelve round decision to Wladimir Klitschko in 2013, Povetkin (33-1, 23 KOs) returned with a fury - by scoring some brutal knockouts in his next five fights.
A few days ago, promoter Richard Schaefer, who is involved in the ongoing World Boxing Super Series tournaments, revealed that the organization is going to focus on the smaller weight divisions in 2018. At the moment, the WBSS has ongoing tournaments at cruiserweight and super middleweight.
Alexander Zimin, the former head trainer of Olympic gold medal winner Alexander Povetkin (33-1, 23 KOs), criticized the current coaching staff of the Russian boxer after his most recent win over Christian Hammer. The bout, which was a WBA, WBO final eliminator, saw Povetkin dominate Hammer over twelve rounds of lackluster action on December 15 in Yekaterinburg. Due to the win, Povetkin is now in position to challenge the winner of the potential Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker unification.
WBO super featherweight Vasyl Lomachenko (10-1, 8 KOs) has little to no interest in facing Orlando Salido (44-14-4, 31 KOs) in a rematch. The fought back in 2014 with the vacant WBO featherweight belt at stake, in Lomachenko's second fight as a pro. Salido was overweight, used some dirty tactics in the bout, but ultimately walked away with a twelve round split decision win.
Former cruiserweight world champions, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (53-4-1, 37 KO) and Krzysztof Glowacki (28-1, 18 KO) are getting ready for action in the coming months. A few weeks ago, Wlodarczyk was knocked out by Murat Gassiev in the quarterfinals of the World Boxing Super Series tournament. Glowacki is supposed to be a substitute for the WBSS semi-final fight, Oleksandr Usyk vs. Marius Briedis, taking place on January 27 in Riga.