By Jim Calfa: Former WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk will be making his second fight of his comeback next Saturday night against Ricards Bolotniks (19-6-1, 8 KOs) in a ten round contest on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez vs. John Ryder on DAZN PPV at the Estadio Akron, in Guadalajara, Mexico. The card starts at 8 pm ET.
In Gvozyk’s comeback fight against Josue Obando, he looked sharp, beating him by a six round unanimous decision last February in Pomona, California.
Gvozdyk (18-1, 14 KOs) retired while at the top of his game after a loss to Artur Beterbiev in 2019. Now coming back after four years, the 36-year-old Gvozyk hopes to become a two-time 175-lb champion by taking on Dmitry Bivol or Beterbiev.
Gvozdyk has got a tough opponent in Ricards Bolotniks, who is one of the best at light heavyweight. Bolotniks was recently beaten by Joshua Buatsi by an eleventh round knockout in 2021 but bounced back from that loss with a victory over Hrvoje Sep by an eight round unanimous decision last year in April.
If Gvozyk can recapture his form from 2015 to 2019, he has a good chance of winning a world title. It will be important that Gvozdyk stay busy and fight frequently because he won’t get back to where he was if he’s fighting only once or twice a year.
“I received an invitation from Canelo to be one of his sparring partners for his fight against Bivol,” said Gvozdyk to Badlefthook about why he decided to unretire.
“I spent a whole camp with him and was happy with my performance, and the idea of coming back came up automatically.”
It wouldn’t be surprising if Gvozdyk worked Canelo over in that camp. With his size, power, combination punching, and boxing skills, Gvozyk was likely a nightmare for the Canelo and had a lot of success against the Mexican star.
For Gvozyk to fight on Canelo’s undercard on Saturday suggests he became good friends with the Mexican star. That’s good news for Gvozhyk because he’ll get a lot of visibility fighting on Canelo’s cards.
“Sparring with the best made me realize I can still compete at the highest level. Canelo inspired me but enabled me to discover my abilities,” said Gvozyk.
“I know enough about Bolotniks to know he is a powerful and solid fighter. He will be doing everything he can to put me back to retirement,” said Gvozdyk.
