Artur Beterbiev to return June 12 in Chicago

Rising light heavyweight contender Artur Beterbiev's next fight is set, as the 30-year-old Russian will be in action on the June 12 PBC on Spike show from Chicago, facing veteran Doudou Ngumbu in a 10-round bout.

Beterbiev (8-0, 8 KO) has impressed with dominant wins over former titleholders Tavoris Cloud and Gabriel Campillo in two of his last three bouts, the win over Campillo coming on the April 4 PBC on CBS card from Montreal. Ngumbu (34-6, 13 KO) is a 33-year-old fighter originally from Congo, and has been fighting out of France. He won his last bout against a tune-up opponent on January 30, a couple of months after a decision loss on Showtime to Andrzej Fonfara.

The ultimate purpose of Ngumbu in this matchup is to hopefully survive rounds with Beterbiev, or to prove that Beterbiev's power is really something special. Either way, he's getting this because he's very durable, having only been stopped once, against Nadjib Mohammedi in 2012. He's also incredibly unlikely to seriously challenge Beterbiev, who is being built into a contender, and thus far has displayed the goods to be a real one.

The night's main event will see Erislandy Lara face Delvin Rodriguez in a junior middleweight fight.