By Przemek Garczarczyk

Of course, the WBO International heavyweight bout (with very interesting implications for 2018) between Alexander Povetkin (32-1, 23 KO) and Christian Hammer (22-4, 12 KO) is the highlight of Friday’s World of Boxing and RCC Boxing Promotions event in Ekaterinburg, Russia, but the card is full of interesting bouts.

Minnesota-based, Haitian-born cruiserweight Al Sands (20-2, 18 KO) takes on undefeated Yuri Kashinsky (14-0, 13 KO) from Russia for the WBO Oriental belt.

The “Haitian Temptation,” who has been in training camp learning from WBO champ Oleksandr Usyk, is determined to be part of the new cruiserweight explosion and the great winning streak of Minnesota fighters (i.e. Caleb Truax).

Other title bouts include Pavel Malikov (12-0, 5 KO) vs. Deiner Berrio (20-0, 11 KO) for the WBO lightweight Intercontinental belt, and Magomed Kurbanov (12-0, 9 KO) vs. Akinori Watanabe (35-6, 30 KOs) for the WBO International super welterweight title.