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| Joseph Parker Photo Courtesy of: Photosport.co.nz |
Bethlehem, PA: The special edition of NBCSN Fight Night triple header scheduled for August 9th at Sands is going to be jam-packed with action as heavyweights and light heavyweights square off in three of the most exciting fights of the year. This battle of the big men features some of the biggest prospects in the heavyweight and light heavyweight division and includes a diverse crew of international talent.
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Czar Glazkov
Photo Credits:
Rich Graessle/Main Events
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Vyacheslav “Czar” Glazkov (17-0-1, 11 KOs), 29, is originally from Lugansk, Ukraine and just immigrated to Ft. Lauderdale, FL in the last few months. He is now training with world-renowned trainer, John David Jackson, who also trains fellow Main Events’ stable mate Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev. Now that Czar is working with Jackson look for him to start adding new combinations in the ring. He is also coming off a huge upset victory over veteran heavyweight Tomasz “Goral” Adamek on March 15th at Sands. With the victory he secured the #2 position in the IBF and the IBF North American Heavyweight Title. He is an Olympic Bronze Medalist. He is very defensive-minded and tends to be a slow starter, but look for him to get more aggressive as the fight progresses.
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Derric Rossy
Photo Courtesy of:
VPeiPics
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Derric “El León” Rossy (29-8-0, 14 KOs), 34, has far more professional experience than his younger opponent, Glazkov. He is a veteran with over 30 career professional fights in over ten years as a pro. He has fought a never-ending list of contenders from Eddie Chambers (twice), Ray Mercer, Kubrat Pulev, and more. He is a big man who likes to fight the style of a smaller man, enjoys fighting on the inside if he can. If not then he can find success utilizing his jab. He is coming off a majority decision victory over Joe Hanks on May 16th to snap and two fight losing streak so look for him to try to keep the momentum moving forward.
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Vasily Lephikin
Photo Courtesy of:
Titov promotions
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In the middle bout of this special edition triple-header we have 12 rounds of light heavyweight action for the PABA & WBO Oriental Light Heavyweight Titles. Robert “The Butcher” Berridge (24-1-1, 20 KOs) will face Vasily “The Professor” Lepikhin (15-0-0, 8 KOs). Berridge, 29, hails from Albany, New Zealand. He has won his last nine fights in a row (all KOs) dating all the way back to October 5, 2012. He also possesses that killer instinct of a fighter, when he has his opponent in trouble he finds a way to finish the job. However, he will have his hands full with his undefeated opponent. Lepikhin, also 29, is originally from Chelyabinsk, Russia, the same hometown as WBO Light Heavyweight Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev. Like Krusher, Lepikhin will make his Fight Night debut in the middle fight of a special triple-header edition. He is still an unknown but with more than half of his victories coming by way of knockout boxing fans are wondering if there are more similarities between Lepikhin and Kovalev.
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Keith Thompson
Photo Courtesy of:
Katie Thompson Photos
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Starting off the Fight Night triple header will be another New Zealand native Joseph Parker (9-0, 8 KOs) against Birmingham, AL native Keith “Untouchable” Thompson (7-2, 4 KO’s) in six rounds of heavyweight action. Parker, 22, is a hot prospect with an incredible 89% (8 of 9) knockout-to-win ratio. His biggest strength though may be the willingness to fight anybody, in only his 9th pro fight he defeated ranked heavyweight contender Brian Minto. However, he has a tendency to swing wildly at times, looking a little too hard for the knockout. Thompson is an American fighting on his home soil but this will be only the second time he has fought outside of the South (May 24, 2014 – Loss via KO to Alexis Santos in Dorchester, Massachusetts). Parker’s next fight is already scheduled back in New Zealand with Sherman Williams for PABA and WBO Oriental Light Heavyweight Titles on October 16, 2014 so the question remains whether or not Parker will be looking past Thompson and not focused on this fight.
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Robert Berridge
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Kathy Duva, Main Events’ CEO, had this to say about this triple header, “Czar Glazkov had a big win in his last fight against Tomasz Adamek and is returning for his 5th appearance on Fight Night, so I think people forget that this is just his 19th pro bout and he’s still learning on the job. A veteran like Derric Rossy, who pulled off an upset over a young heavyweight prospect (Joe Hanks) in his last fight, can show Glazkov things he hasn’t seen before. And then we have the opportunity to introduce four new faces to our fans. I’ve heard a lot about the Kiwis, Joseph Parker and Robert Berridge, so I can’t wait to see them in action.”