Plania faces Aleem in Texas

“MAGIC” Mike Plania faces one of the stiffest tests of his career as he takes on fellow world-ranked super bantamweight Ra’eese Aleem in a 10-rounder on June 18 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

Plania is on the brink of a world title shot and a win over unbeaten Aleem should boost his chances.

The 25-year-old Plania is currently rated No. 4 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), No. 5 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF), No. 8 by the World Boxing Association (WBA) and No. 13 by the World Boxing Council (WBC).

Plania won his last 11 fights since suffering his only career defeat in 2018 against Juan Carlos Payano.

Plania breakthrough fight was his majority decision win over highly touted Joshua Greer Jr. in 2020.

Plania hasn’t fought for six months and last fought on Nov. 20, 2021, wherein he stopped former world title challenger Ricardo Nuñez in Miami, Florida.

Just like Plania, Aleem is also one of the contenders in the super bantamweight division. He’s a former interim WBA super bantamweight champion after winning the belt with an 11th round technical knockout of Vic Pasillas last year in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Aleem is currently rated No. 9 by the WBC, No. 10 by the WBO and No. 8 by the IBF.

The 31-year-old Aleem is coming off a majority decision victory over Eduardo Baez on Nov. 27, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Plania, who’s based in Miami, is 26-1 with 13 knockouts, while Aleem is 19-0 with 12 knockouts.