Explosive Kazakh bantamweight Zhanat Zhakiyanov cannot wait to get back in the ring and do what he does best – knock people out.
The 31-year-old returns to action after six months out in Vratsa, Bulgaria this Saturday when he takes on unbeaten Argentinian Hector Rolando Guzman for the vacant WBA International crown.
It’s a fight that will potentially be watched by a huge global audience as the entire show will be streamed live and for free on HattonBoxing.com plus a number of sites in Eastern Europe and Asia.
And Zhakiyanov is keen to impress.
“Since my last fight (against Robert Lerio), I have been in Manchester working with Ricky Hatton and I feel better than ever,” Zhanat, who is rated in the top ten of all four major sanctioning bodies, said.
“The ring is my place of work and I always go in there to show people the best of me and to knock my opponent out.
“My fight with Guzman being on the internet means a lot to me because it means people in my country can watch me. I have a lot of support in Kazakhstan, but they do not get see many of my bouts. I want to put on a show for my countrymen.”
Saturday evening’s bill also sees Hatton Promotions’ highly touted Belarussian light-welterweight Kiryl Relikh take on Brazil’s Lazaro Santos de Jesus for the WBA Intercontinental title, while former European and WBC Silver light-middleweight champion Sergey Rabchenko returns against touch veteran Walter Osvaldo Gaston Calvo.
Bulgaria’s Galina Koleva Ivanova will challenge Csilla Nemedi for the vacant female WBA world interim championship, unbeaten prospect Dzmitry Atrokhau meets Samet Hyuseinov, and Martin Avramski and Fedir Cherkashyn will make their professional debuts against Aleksandar Chukaleiski and Yanko Marinov respectively.
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