:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49323121/weigh_in-0007_-_Artur_Beterbiev.0.0.jpg)
Artur Beterbiev (9-0, 9 KOs), a light heavyweight contender, will be headlining the first PBC on ESPN card of this year on June 4th, according to promoter Yvon Michel. Beterbiev's opponent has not yet been announced but he'll fight at the Bell Centre in Montreal with Erickson Lubin (14-0, 10 KOs) on the co-feature.
Beterbiev has been on the shelf since last June nursing a shoulder injury, when he made his last appearance in a stoppage win over Alexander Johnson in seven rounds. He was scheduled to appear in a world title eliminator bout last November, but his injury forced him out.
That was rather unfortunate because Beterbiev, who was negotiating a fight with Igor Mikhalkin at the time, was favored to win -- and a win would have made him the mandatory challenger for light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev. That's definitely a fight boxing fans would love to see, with Beterbiev having already beaten Kovalev in the amateurs and expressing his desire to do so again in the professional ranks.
As far as PBC on ESPN goes, there's been some rough waters in the ocean. The first card of the year was supposed to take place in January, then got pushed back to April, then got pushed again to May, before finally settling on the June 4th date. Hopefully the series picks up steam in the second half of the year.