THIS past July, Isaac Chilemba accomplished the rare feat of going a full twelve rounds against light heavyweight knockout artist Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev. On November 19, he will be featured on his former rival’s undercard opposite hard-hitting, fast-rising Ukrainian prospect Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
“Firstly, I thank Main Events for standing by me and for this opportunity,” said Chilemba. “I thank my manager, Jodi Solomon, for always standing by my side and believing in me. I thank HBO, my fans, and all boxing followers around the globe. Oleksandr Gvozdyk, with a good amateur back ground, who is a highly as a rated and undefeated as a pro. I’m going to work with my idol, the person I look up to most, Roy Jones Jr. This is a huge opportunity for me to train with him, learn from him, and have him in my corner. Not only is he the greatest, but he cares and has love for the game. I’m looking forward to getting back in the ring, and completing what I should have done in my fight against Kovalev, but 10 times better than ever!”
Chilemba, an eleven year pro hailing from Malawi, has been on the big stage before. He battled to a draw against Tony Bellew in March of 2013, but fell to the Brit when they fought again two months later in the rematch. A loss against unbeaten Colombian-Quebecois Eleider Alvarez and a draw against Thomas Oosthuizen also dot his resume.
“Isaac is a very exciting fighter with a lot of upside,” said Chilemba’s new trainer, Roy Jones Jnr. “I am very excited to be training him and be part of his team now. I look forward to seeing much bigger and better things from him in the future. He is fighting a very good opponent so we look forward to this challenge. I can’t wait to start to work with him.”
For Gvozdyk, an up-and-comer from Robert Garcia’s stable in Oxnard, California, this will be his fourth fight in a very busy 2016. In his last outing, he blasted through Tommy Karpency in six rounds on the Crawford-Postol undercard, and knocked out another Kovalev victim, Najib Mohammedi, in the second round back in April.
“I am really happy to have this opportunity to fight on such a big card like Kovalev-Ward,” said Gvozdyk. Thanks to Top Rank, Main Events and to my manager Egis Klimas to make my goals come true! Chilemba is a tough opponent and I am expecting a tough fight. It’s a good test for me and I will pass it!”
