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Starting today at Noon EDT on Integrated Sports PPV in the United States, we'll have live coverage of a pair of cruiserweight title fights from Moscow, as Krzysztof Wlodarczyk defends the WBC title, while Denis Lebedev returns from a lengthy absence to defend the WBA belt.
Wlodarczyk (49-2-1, 35 KO) will be facing Grigory Drozd (38-1, 27 KO) in the main event. Wlodarczyk, 33, hasn't lost since 2007, when he was beaten by Steve Cunningham, running up a record of 12-0-1 since then, while the 35-year-old Drozd has gone 13-0 since a 2006 loss to Firat Arslan. Drozd won the European title from Mateusz Masternak in a minor upset last October, and defended once this year against Jeremy Ouanna.
Lebedev (25-2, 19 KO) is a bit of a wild card today, as the 35-year-old Russian slugger hasn't fought since a terrible beating at the hands of Guillermo Jones in May 2013. That fight cost him his title and put him in the hospital, but the belt was eventually returned after Jones failed a post-fight drug test (though the result was not overturned), and then failed pre-fight drug tests before a canceled rematch.
Kolodziej (33-0, 18 KO) just turned 34 this week, and is a dangerous foe for a comeback fight where Lebedev may or may not be very good anymore. He's not considered a true top contender, but he's certainly a capable fighter.
On the Undercard
- Svetlana Kulakova (9-0-1, 1 KO) defends the WBA junior welterweight title against Ana Laura Esteche (10-3-2, 2 KO)
- Cruiserweight Andrey Knyazev (10-1, 5 KO) takes on veteran Shalva Jormadashvili (37-8-2, 28 KO)
- Sergey Lipinets (3-0, 2 KO) faces Daniel Lomeli (22-4, 11 KO) in an eight-round junior welterweight fight
- Alexander Sharonov (2-0, 1 KO) meets Godwin Cudjoe (8-6, 7 KO) in a six-round welterweight bout