Ukrainian middleweight Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-1, 10 KOs) and his opponent Jack Culcay (25-3, 13 KOs) from Germany took part in the traditional weigh-in ceremony before the fight. Derevyanchenko showed 159 pounds on the scales, and Culcay was 159, 2 pounds. Top middleweight contender Sergiy Derevyanchenko taking on Jack Culcay in a 12-round IBF title eliminator.
Watch the live broadcast of the boxing event from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, in the main event of which WBA and WBO lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko will fight against the mandatory challenger for one of his belts Anthony Crolla.
The unified lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko and the mandatory challenger for one of his titles, Anthony Crolla went through an official weigh-in procedure on the eve of their fight on April 12 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The weight of the contender was 134.8 pounds, the champion was 134.4 pounds.
Big time boxing will finally hit one of Canada’s big time markets on May 11, as Lee Baxter Promotions presents a night of world class professional boxing at the Vogue Theatre in downtown Vancouver.
There hasn’t been a professional boxing event in Vancouver since 2012, and in total, there have been only four since the year 2000.
In the main event, B.C.’s own heavyweight threat Adam Braidwood will be in action as he continues his journey towards the Canadian heavyweight title. Braidwood is one of the division’s most dangerous punchers, and his only two losses have come at the hands of UFC veteran Lee Mein (one he avenged) and to Canadian Olympian Simon Kean.
The former CFL standout-turned heavyweight slugger was born in Delta, BC, and now resides in Victoria, BC, and is sure to have plenty of fans eager to see him fight in his home province for just the second time.
“We’re extremely proud to be the ones to bring boxing back to Vancouver. It’s been a mystery why this market hasn’t been served at all, but those days are over,” said Lee Baxter. “With Adam Braidwood in the main event, you know it’s going to be a night you’ll remember, because he doesn’t know how to fight any other way.”
In the co-feature, fellow heavyweight standout Kristian Prenga will face an opponent to be named later. Prenga is riding a five-fight knockout streak, and all of his professional wins have come by KO. Aside from the action in the ring, he is known for his rabid fanbase and following from the Albanian-Canadian community, who have made for some of the more incredible live boxing atmospheres in recent memory on Canadian turf.
“Both Braidwood and Prenga have huge fanbases and the same mindset inside the ring. If they get past their respective tests, who knows, it's a possibility that we see them in the ring against one another at some point this year,” said Baxter. "Who wouldn't want to see two punchers of that calibre face off?"
The night will also feature undefeated super bantamweight Ross Mylet, who will be boxing for the first time outside of Ontario. In terms of fighting outside of his home province however, Mylet is no stranger. The 28-year old is a former North American kickboxing champion, representing Canada for many years. Mylet remains closely connecting with the kickboxing and combat sports community across the country, and is eager to show his skills in British Columbia once again.
In addition, Canadian national amateur champion Amanda Galle will be making her second professional appearance after thrilling a Toronto crowd in her debut with a dominant win over Perla Rojas.
The full undercard, including British Columbia’s amateur light heavyweight champion Buneet Bisla making his professional debut, will be announced shortly.
Former heavyweight champion, and now the mayor of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, Vitali Klitschko, spoke about his attitude to the possible return to the ring of his brother Wladimir. Earlier it was announced about Klitschko's win-win combination: for his birthday DAZN offered him a “gift” of 80 million dollars.
WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol said that the difficulties in organizing a unification battle were connected with the preferences of the American public. According to Bivol, American audience wants to see more fights of local boxers on TV than the Russian ones.
WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev of Russian wants to meet his compatriot Arthur Beterbiev, the IBF belt holder. Earlier it was reported that the teams negotiated about this fight, but could not come to agreement on the conditions of the fight.
Former middleweight title contender Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-1, 10 KOs) is confident that he will be able to defeat the German Jack Culcay (25-3, 13 KOs), forcing him to make mistakes.
Alexander Krassyuk, the promoter of K2 Promotions Ukraine, claims that he received from Paco Valcarsel, the head of the WBO a guarantee that Oleksander Usyk (16-0, 12 KOs) will soon receive the status of a mandatory challenger for the heavyweight title.
Former unified cruiserweight champion Murat Gassiev of Russia may make his debut in the heavyweight division in June. This was announced by Vitaly Slanov the coach of the athlete.
