Lee Selby

Evgeny Gradovich vs. Lee Selby this Saturday in London, UK

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selby45By Scott Gilfoid: #1 IBF challenger Lee Selby (20-1, 8 KOs) will be attempting to snatch the title from unbeaten IBF featherweight champion Evgeny Gradovich (19-0-1, 9 KOs) at the O2 Arena in London, UK.

Selby, 28, will have the hometown advantage over the 28-year-old Russian Gradovich, but I’m afraid that might not be enough for Selby. In the past, Selby, 5’8 ½”, has generally been the taller fighter in his bouts by a considerable margin.

Selby’s tall for a featherweight, and he’s used his height advantage to defeat a mix of B and C level fighters. There hasn’t been anyone good that Selby has faced, and that makes it impossible to tell whether he’s got the goods to mix it up with the best in the division. But for this fight, Selby and the 5’8” Gradovich are going to be roughly the same height with pretty the same reach.

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Evgeny Gradovich vs. Lee Selby on April 25th

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selby544By Scott Gilfoid: #1 IBF Lee Selby (20-1, 8 KOs) and IBF featherweight champion Evgeny Gradovich (19-0-1, 9 KOs) have reportedly agreed to terms for a fight on April 25th, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN.

By agreeing, the two fighters’ teams have avoided a purse bid for the fight. The Gradovich-Selby fight will be taking place at the O2 Arena in London, UK, even though Selby is merely the challenger.

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Hearn wants Lee Selby vs. Evgeny Gradovich to take place in UK

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selby544By Scott Gilfoid: If Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn gets his way his fighter #1 IBF Lee Selby (20-1, 8 KOs) won’t have to do any traveling at all like traditional challengers do when he faces IBF featherweight champion Evgeny Gradovich (19-0-1, 9 KOs) this year.

Hearn is pushing to have the Gradovich-Selby fight staged in the UK, which obviously would give Selby a huge advantage.

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Evgeny Gradovich vs. Lee Selby in the works for March

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selby45By Scott Gilfoid: IBF featherweight champion Evgeny Gradovich (19-0-1, 9 KOs) will be defending his IBF title in March against #1 IBF Lee Selby (20-1, 8 KOs), according to Gradovich’s manager Eris Klimas in speaking with esnewsreporting.com.

The fight could take place in Russia, says Gradovich. This obviously means there won’t be an immediate rematch for Gradovich against Jayson Velez, who Gradovich fought to a 12 round draw last November. Gradovich appeared to beat a tired and worn out Velez by at least four rounds, yet the judges scored the fight a 12 round draw. Needless to say, it was a really controversial decision and yet another black eye for boxing.

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Joshua destroys Bakhtov; Selby stops Brunker

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joshua7By Scott Gilfoid: In a totally predictable outcome, Anthony Joshua (9-0, 9 KOs) destroyed 34-year-old journeyman Denis Bakhtov (38-10, 25 KOs) by a 2nd round knockout to capture the World Boxing Council International heavyweight title at the O2 Arena in London, UK. Joshua hurt the aging veteran Bakhtov with some single power shots while he was foolishly perched against the ropes.

Joshua then flurried on the bleeding Bakhtov until referee Ian John-Lewis halted the fight at 1:00 of the 2nd round.

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Joshua vs. Bakhtov and Selby vs. Brunker tonight

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joshua773222By Scott Gilfoid: British heavyweight prospect Anthony Joshua (8-0, 8 KOs) will be in the ring tonight looking to pick up his 9th victory against Russian journeyman Denis Bakhtov (38-9, 25 KOs) at the O2 Arena in London, UK.

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has picked out a guy that Joshua will surely beat without him having to worry about taking much punishment. Bakhtov is a guy that was recently knocked out by Manuel Charr in 5 rounds, so that kind of tells you what Joshua is up against tonight. This fight should be over fairly quickly unless Bakhtov can test Joshua’s chin.

Bakhtov has decent punching power, but not huge power. I mean, the knockouts that he’s scored during his career have come against largely C level opposition that he’s been able to knockout with an accumulation of blows in fights that generally went deep.

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Weights: Joshua 236.5, Bakhtov 226; Selby 125.6, Brunker 125.4

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joshua78By Scott Gilfoid: World Boxing Council (WBC) International featherweight champion Lee Selby (19-1, 7 KOs) successfully weighed in on Friday for his IBF featherweight title eliminator fight on Saturday night against #15 WBO fringe contender Joel Brunker (27-0, 15 KOs) at the O2 Arena in London, UK.

Selby, 27, weighed in at 126.6 pounds. Brunker weighed in at 125.4 pounds. Selby’s promoter Eddie Hearn is calling this a 50-50 fight, which I personally feel is totally laughable. This fight is about as much a 50-50 fight as the Anthony Joshua vs. Denis Bakhtov fight.

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Lee Selby vs. Romulo Koasicha on May 17th on Cleverly-Corbin card

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By Scott Gilfoid: #4 WBC Lee Selby (18-1, 7 KO’s) will be fighting 23-year-old 2nd tier fighter Romulo Koasicha (21-3, 12 KO’s) on May 17th for the WBC International featherweight title at the Motorpoint Arena, in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. For the 27-year-old Selby, this is another mismatch that his promoter Eddie Hearn is setting him up with, and it’s kind of interesting that Hearn still isn’t ready to put Selby in against his first quality opponent after 6 years in the pro game.

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Lee Selby – Rising Star passes Toughest Test

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selby11By Mohummad Humza Elahi: Firstly, this is a response to Scott Gilfoid’s article because even though it was clearly written to incite a reaction, I believe the hyperbole is completely unjustified. Lee Selby (now 16-1, 6 KO’s) passed his toughest test last night against #4 WBC Viorel Simion (now (16-1, 7 KO’s) to capture the Intercontinental version of the featherweight belt in front of a great crowd in Hull. Firstly, let me point something out. Both fighters wake up today with practically identical records, what separates them is an extra KO for Simion and a 5 year advantage for Selby.

This alone should tell you all you need to know about where Selby currently lies in terms of both his own progression and his standing in the world rankings. The fight itself was a scrappy one for Selby; he was put under constant pressure and got tagged with more than a few punches, especially in the later rounds. However, the first 6 rounds where a shutout and he was frustrating Simion with good movement and slipping whilst trying to keep him at bay with the jab.

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