WBC mandatory cruiserweight title challenger Ryan Rozicki (20-1, 19 KOs) from Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, is fresh off of his first round knockout of Olanrewaju Durodola last month. That victory now sets the stage for his showdown with current WBC cruiserweight world champion Norair Mikaeljan (27-2, 12 KOs). Fightnews.com® spoke with both Rozicki and his promoter Dan Otter (Three Lions Promotions) with regards to his last fight and having earned the right to be next in line to face Mikaelian.
Congratulations on winning your WBC eliminator in your last fight. How surprised were you that you scored the knockout so early into the fight?
Thank you. It could have been King Kong across from me that night and I was getting the knockout. Anyone who steps in the ring with me is a walking dead man as far as I’m concerned and Durodola is lucky the ref stopped when he did because I was ready to fight in there until the death. So no, not surprised, just gave me some reassurance.
What did it mean for you to have the local crowd who came out to you to support you for such an important fight in your career?
Fighting in front of my hometown is so special to me, my family and friends I grew up with were all there to support me. With the fans behind me, there’s nothing like it. The energy in there that night was unbelievable.
What do you know about the WBC cruiserweight world champion?
I know everything that I could possibly know. From the first cruiserweight champion to the last. Holyfield, Bellew and Usyk were all boxing greats that held the WBC cruiserweight world title. The green belt (WBC) is the most prestigious belt in boxing and I’m honored to be on the level with these boxing greats I just mentioned.
What kind of fight should fans expect when you both meet in the ring?
I ain’t coming for just a boxing match, this is going to be an all-out war. There will be blood and a knockout that I can guarantee. Norair better be training as much as he can, he has never been in there with anyone like me. Some people Know that I believe Jack Dempsey is my boxing god, so anyone can go back and watch Jack in his glory days, that’s what the fans can expect from me in every fight. It’s kill or be killed when Noel or anyone gets in there with me. May the best man win.
What is the status of negotiations for the fight?
We have just begun negotiations with Don King and we are hoping to come to an agreement before the deadline – which was issued by WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman. We have until the end of January, if not, the world title bout will go to purse bid.
Is there a possibility that you can host the fight locally with the fight being televised or on an application platform?
We are exploring all options and it is definitely a possibility that we will be hosting the world title bout in Canada. We are in talks with industry leaders on a national and global level and are confident that we will have the right platform to showcase the fight.
This guy is the real deal I have been following him he is going to be the world champion and great if his team can pull it off in there own back yard.
I haven’t see both men fight, but an honest opinion is, they better stay away of a man named Jai Opetaia, and I have seen this one fight, he is awesome
You gotta watch highlights of Rozicki’s first Bridgerweight title fight!
At cruiser, getting Rozicki in the Opetaia is gonna be the biggest fight you could make. Both are exciting fighters that mix it up and bring the heat. Rozicki needs another couple wins to make that a major fight. I’m sure Opetaia will wait that out understanding it would be a monster payday. I’d take Opetaia as a favorite, but Rozicki might be the best chance of someone in the division pulling an upset.
I agree.
Op. was indeed impressive the other night.
I been following the pride of Cape Breton for some time now also, this kid is the real deal, a street fighter who turned his life around but never forgot his roots and how he got there, he will prove to the world this year what he deserves with his heart and fists
I think Jia will out box rozicki ! Rozicki can take the shots but that won’t win you the fight because jia is the most skilled boxer as a cruiser weight! It will be a replay of Oscar vs ryan 100%
I believe rozicki is the only cruiser who can give Jai a proper fight. Excited for that one.
The win over a Durodola 43 years old who has long since passed his prime is a victory but not something to hang on the Christmas tree to brag with.
In addition to that fight Ryan Rozicki has been up against two fighters with decent ranking. Those two fights were both problematic.
He did win against Yamil Alberto Peralta, but the victory was controversial and a WBC panel reviewed the fight and overturned the result to a no contest.
He then lost to Oscar Rivas on points after barely surviving the first round.
Ryan Rozicki has much more to prove before he can even think about comparing himself to Holyfield, Bellew and Usyk.
He has the size, the will and the talk but is neither particularly creative nor technical and is too easy to hit.
At least I’m not convinced that he will take a title and keep it over the years.
The fight with peralta wasn’t turned into a no contest. They just made the WBC belt (north american or soemthing) that they were fighting for kept vacancy due to the controversy.
Thanks for the clarification
Yah ur right he did barely survive the first round but Oscar was lucky to finish the twelve round. Ryan won a lot of fans that night including me. That was 6 fights ago too for Ryan. Ryan retired Oscar who never fought again, that was a real fight and ryan was probably under 40 pounds once they got in ring. He does need some more tactics but still think he the only one to give Jai some competition
We’ll see, you might be right, but I think he has more to prove against qualified opposition before he can convince me he’s among the absolute top, and it takes a lot more than that before I’ll compare him to the greatest, which I never think will happen.
Either way, it’s a colorful boxer that captures interest and that goes a long way.
Rozicki stepped up on 2 weeks notice to fight the much bigger Rivas who has never fought again. Durd9la thought he could trade with him and found out quickly it was a very bad idea. As for Peralta, he did outbox Ryan that night but he also ran from him the entire fight. I would guarantee a rematch does not go 6 rounds. Rozicki has gotten better with every fight. I would not underestimate him nor would I bet much against him.
Ryan is champion in all respects has a heart of a lion he will be world champion
Rozicki can be out boxed but he has one punch knockout power in both hands and is tough as nails. And he keeps coming until the final bell. Whoever he fights best not get tired.
it looks like his head teleported from 1899 through a time machine just to take this picture
Rozicki is still a little rough around the edges, but staying busy will iron that out, he’s got a great chin a good motor and most of all he can bang. he feels the spirit of Jack Dempesy is in him, who am i to say any different.