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The largely avoided champion looks set to finally get a challenger.
British heavyweight Craig Richards has announced that he will challenge Dmitry Bivol for his WBA lightweight lightweight title in the spring.
Bivol has been labeled as one of boxing’s most avoided fighters, and the undefeated Russian hasn’t competed since October 2019 when he made a unanimous decision over Gilbert Lenin Castillo in Chicago.
Richards, however, has been over three years since his only professional loss to Frank Buglioni and has just completed an impressive ninth round from Shakan Pitters just before Christmas to become British champion at 175 lbs.
He told Sky Sports that talks are underway and he has no fear of Bivol.
“There have been negotiations for this fight over the past few weeks, back and forth,” Richards said. It looks like it’s going in the right direction.
“This is the fight I wanted. Exactly when I wanted it.
“You don’t get much bigger than Dmitry Bivol at my weight,” Richards said. “I think he’s a good boxer. He has a lot of things that he does well. He’s very experienced. I can see that there are flaws in him too.”
“This is the kind of fight where I’m of course going to go through all my gears and show what I’m really doing. I feel like stylistically, he’ll bring out the best in me.
“It will be harder than the national fighters that I knocked out, but I believe I have enough IQ, enough skill and enough punching power to earn his respect and break him over time.
“He’s a man, he’s a human, two arms, two legs, just like me. I hit really hard, I have a good boxing brain and I have a good chin myself, and I believe I have the tools to win. “
Asked about a possible date and location, he said: “I know it will be in April, and I think it will be here, from what I’ve heard.”
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