By Jake Donovan
Oleksandr Gvozdyk is well aware of the responsibility that comes with being a world champion. Not only does he need to continue to win, but to also look good doing so.
The unbeaten boxer from Ukraine insists he’s prepared for that challenge, he enters his maiden title defense versus France’s Doudou Ngumbu on Saturday
“Winning the title has put a lot more attention on my career,” Gvozdyk (16-0, 13KOs) told BoxingScene.com ahead of his first title defense, which airs live on ESPN from a sold-out 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Penn. “There’s more responsibility when you are world champion. Everyone is on watching and following you.
“Even if you win, you can’t look bad. Otherwise, everyone will be talking bad about you.”
As it pertained to his in-ring performance, there was nothing but high praise which came from his championship winning 11th round knockout of Adonis Stevenson last December. The action fight came in stark contrast to the one which positioned him for the title, settling for a relatively quiet 12-round decision over an unengaging Mehdi Amar last March.
The fallout from the championship win, however, was something never wished upon another human being. Stevenson suffered from a brain bleed which required emergency surgery and his continuing the recovery process to this day.
Gvozdyk was chief among those in the boxing world expressing his sincerest wishes for the fallen former champ to enjoy a full recovery. At the same time, he still has a job to do in the ring, beginning with his first title defense nearly four months after claiming the crown.
His title reign comes at a time when the light heavyweight division is brimming with talent at the top level. More so as it relates to the “prize” part of prizefighting, there’s more money than ever being thrown at the sport, with each of the four major titlists—Gvozdyk, Sergey Kovalev, Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev—all armed with lucrative network contracts.
Bivol is the only among the four who doesn’t fight under the ESPN umbrella. The unbeaten titlist comes in armed with his rich contract through sports streaming service DAZN, enough to command attention at the negotiating table.
Before he can even begin thinking about unification, however, Gvozdyk has to remain focused on the present task at hand.
Ngumbu (38-8, 14KOs) has never proven to be a world beater, but also not the easiest out for any light heavyweight—nor has he ever been classified as the type of all-action fighter that makes him must-see TV. In fact, he remains largely anonymous to stateside boxing fans outside of an entertaining yet clear-cut defeat to Andrzej Fonfara in 2014.
The fact that he’s next in line, though, gives the reigning light heavyweight king enough reason to not think about anything else Saturday’s fight—and just as important, what home viewers and fans in attendance alike will be saying in the end.
“He wants to grab my title,” Gvozdyk explains of why Saturday’s fight is the most dangerous on his schedule. “He has the opportunity and (at age 37) isn’t going to come in like there will be another title shot waiting for him. For right now, the toughest guy in the division is the one right in front of me.
“The arena will be sold out and with a lot of Ukrainian flags waving in the air in the crowd. I’m here to win the fight, but also want to make sure everyone is talking about my performance afterward. So I need to take care of my business in the ring before even talking about the future. He is in the way of my goal and everything I want to accomplish.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox