Dejan Zlaticanin, who beat Ricky Burns in Glasgow last June, has joined Al Haymon's ever-growing stable of fighters, according to RingTV.com, giving the 30-year-old southpaw from Montenegro a chance to get into the race in a wide-open 135-pound division.
Zlaticanin (20-0, 13 KO) was a relative unknown heading into his bout with Burns, a former titleholder who was looking to get back on track. Pulling the upset on Burns' home turf in Glasgow, on Burns' promoter's show, was a surprise to most, and showed the quality of Zlaticanin, whose best win before then had come against Petr Petrov in 2013.
Zlaticanin has fought just once since beating Burns, when he returned home to Montenegro in October to beat Alex Bone, a sub-.500 opponent. He's currently ranked No. 2 by the WBC, but is unranked with the WBA, WBO, and IBF. That could change, of course, but Zlaticanin told BoxingScene.com that he's hoping to face Ivan Redkach in a WBC eliminator by the end of May. Redkach (18-0, 14 KO) currently has a tentative Showtime date set for April 10, but does not have an opponent named.
Do you see Zlaticanin becoming a real factor in a division that lacks a true standout fighter at the moment, or was his win over Burns purely a case where Burns didn't have it anymore?