Carlos Takam to make Feb. 28 return in New York

Former heavyweight title challenger Carlos Takam will make a return to the ring on Feb. 28 in Huntington, New York, fighting on a Star Boxing card in a 10-round bout against an opponent to be named.

ESPN reports that Takam (37-5-1, 28 KO) was originally hoping to fight Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller on the Wilder-Fury 2 undercard on Feb. 22, but with Miller still not yet finalized on a Top Rank deal, that isn’t going to happen. The 39-year-old Takam, born in Cameroon, formerly a resident of France, and now living in the United States, doesn’t want to sit idle, so he’ll take some sort of stay-busy fight.

Takam was scheduled to face Oleksandr Usyk in Usyk’s move up to heavyweight last year, but after Usyk pulled out due to injury, Takam chose to go in a different direction, first signing a deal with Star Boxing, followed by a co-promotional agreement with Top Rank. He fought just once last year due to the cancellation of the May bout with Usyk, returning on Sept. 14 for a decision win over club fighter Craig Lewis in Catskill, New York.

Takam’s association with Top Rank puts him in the pool with Tyson Fury, Kubrat Pulev, soon Jarrell Miller (or at least so we think), former European champ Agit Kabayel, and Bryant Jennings. The company also have some top prospects in Jared Anderson, Sonny Conto, and Guido Vianello, and they’ve also shown a willingness to work with other promoters for heavyweight fights especially, including PBC and Matchroom, plus they have a good relationship with Frank Warren.