Kiwi ‘frustrated’ fight is off
Kiwi middleweight contender Andrei Mikhailovich has been left ‘‘frustrated’’ after having his grudge match with Australian rival Issac Hardman pushed back until next year.
Mikhailovich, 24, (19-0, 11 KOs) was set to challenge Hardman (13-1, 11 KOs) at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena on December 16 in a battle of hard-hitting 160-pound prospects.
The highly anticipated encounter had originally been slated to appear on the undercard of a bill headlined by rising Australian heavyweight Justis Huni (7-0, 4 KOs) and Kazakh puncher Zhan Kossobutskiy (19-0, 18 KOs).
But Huni sustained a hand injury in his brutal 10-round battle with New Zealander Kiki Toa Leutele (8-2-2, 7 KOs) earlier this month and won’t be ready to fight again this year.
Mikahilovich’s promoter, Dean Lonergan, then explored the possibility of bumping the bout up to the main event, only for Hardman’s team to pull the plug until 2023 when the Queenslander’s partner gave birth to his first child.
‘‘Issac had a baby about three or four days ago.
‘‘I got a phone call from his trainer saying ‘look, Issac’s not
great at saying no. I don’t think he can handle having a baby and fighting sort of three weeks apart’.
‘‘I’ve got to be honest, I fully understand that,’’ Lonergan said.
Lonergan admitted the post
ponement had come as a major disappointment to Mikhailovich as the Russian-born Kiwi was desperate to get back in the ring having been idle since July, when he claimed a unanimous decision over tricky southpaw Francis
Waitai on the Fight For Life card in Auckland.
The delay could work in his favour with Lonergan now looking at bringing the fight to New Zealand.
Ranked in the top 15 by both the IBF and WBO, Mikhailovich is seen as one of the country’s top prospects. He has fought three times this year, stopping experienced duo King Davidson and Ernesto Espana before that points win over Waitai that snapped a five-fight knockout streak.
There is no love lost between Mikhailovich and Hardman, the pair trading insults over the years as they seek supremacy in the lively Australasian middleweight scene.
Hardman suffered his first setback in April when he was halted in the second round by Michael Zerafa (31-4, 19 KOs), rebounding to blast out Beau Hartas inside three minutes in early July.
The 26-year-old packs a punch, boasting a 78% knockout rate, and would arguably represent the biggest scalp of Mikhailovich’s career as he aims to force himself into the world title picture.
Mikhailovich recently described Hardman as a ‘‘clown’’ and a ‘‘bogan’’ but respects the Brisbane native’s fighting abilities.
However, he predicted a knockout ‘‘in four or five rounds’’ when they eventually meet.