In Philadelphia, two pieces of the four title light heavyweight puzzle will become one in as even a fight as one could sign in boxing today as WBC light heavyweight king Oleksandr Gvozdyk will face the IBF champion in the division in Artur Beterbiev.
Gvozdyk is facing his first test after knocking out long-time champion Adonis Stevenson out of boxing to win his title, although he did make his first defense in a squash match against Doudou Ngumbu, winning by a fifth-round knockout.
Beterbiev might be the biggest puncher in the division and has made two defenses of his title, the last one being a fifth-round KO of Radijove Kalajdzic in May.
Gvozdyk is the better boxer and better all-around fighter, but Beterbiev has such a huge punch and he simply walks fighters down and punishes them.
There are a few variables in this fight as well.
Both are undefeated and they met in the amateurs with Beterbiev winning by knockout, so who knows if that will come into play in Gvozdyk's psyche'.
And could the severe injuries that Gvozdyk inflicted on Adonis Stevenson affect his ability to finish an opponent, should he have the opportunity to do so?
I can see this going to either man as Gvozdyk can outbox Beterbiev and Beterbiev has been knocked a few times, so a knockout is very possible.
However, I can also see Beterbiev landing his clubbing and destructive shots that slow Gvozdyk and stop him in the middle to late rounds.
No matter your choice, this one is a fight that I am very excited about and hopefully, Ohio State will have Northwestern safely tucked away in one of those cash-grab Friday games in the Big Ten so that I can enjoy the fight.
The co-feature will see veteran welterweight Luis Collazo returning against undefeated Kudratillo Abdukakhorov.
The 38-year-old Collazo has won three in a row since his 2015 loss to Keith Thurman, where he had to retire after badly hurting Thurman, while Abdukakhorov is undefeated, but Collazo will be a huge leap in quality for Abdukakhorov, so it'll be interesting to see how he deals with that.
The winner could be line for WBO champion Terence Crawford next year unless Top Rank can find the big fight that Crawford has been looking for.
Unification WBC-IBF Light Heavyweight Titles 12 Rds
Oleksandr Gvozdyk vs Artur Beterbiev
R.L: Gvozdyk Unanimous Decision
TRS: Beterbiev KO 10
Welterweights. 12 Rds
Luis Collazo vs Kudratillo Abdukakhorov
Both: Abdukakhorov Unanimous Decision
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