Oleksandr Gvozdyk was part of the famed 2012 Ukrainian Olympics team that featured seven fighters, five of whom medaled.
Gvozdyk pulled in bronze, while teammates Vasiliy Lomachenko and Oleksandr Usyk won gold, Denys Berinchyk won silver and Taras Shelestyuk took home gold.
Ukrainian boxing is coming off one of its biggest-ever stretches over the last month, highlighted by Lomachenko and Berinchyk winning their respective lightweight title bouts and Usyk beating Tyson Fury via split decision to become the world’s undisputed heavyweight champion.
Former WBC and lineal light heavyweight champion Gvozdyk is looking to carry the incredible momentum established by his countrymen into his fight against David Benavidez on Saturday.
“It’s super-cool and motivating, and it gives me extra power,” said Gvozdyk.
Gvozdyk (20-1, 16 KOs) will fight as the underdog against Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs).
Usyk, meanwhile, is favored to win his rematch against Fury, which will take place Dec. 21 in Saudi Arabia.
Gvozdyk doesn’t like Fury’s chances in the sequel.
“I think it will be even worse for Fury in the rematch,” said Gvozdyk. “I know Usyk – once he catches you, he won’t let you go. Usyk is going to be even more confident in the next fight. Fury is better off fighting Anthony Joshua.
“The first fight was just a brilliant performance. He beat Fury everywhere, in and out of the ring. Fury likes to play mind games; in this case, it was the complete opposite. I think Usyk got in his head. I didn’t see Fury as confident as before, when he was a killer and super-confident. With Usyk, he was trying to do the same, but you can see in his eyes and by his mimics that he’s different and nervous. He was nervous in the ring. Usyk is the well-deserved No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.”
According to DraftKings, Usyk is listed as a -175 betting favorite against Fury, who is a +140 betting underdog.
Gvozdyk, meanwhile, is a +450 underdog against the -650 favorite Benavidez.
Benavidez vs. Gvozdyk will be the co-main event for the PBC card headlined by Gervonta Davis vs. Frank Martin. The event will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and will be broadcast on Prime Video and PPV.com.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
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