Oleksandr Gvozdyk vs Ricards Bolotniks Set For May 6 Canelo vs Ryder Undercard
Oleksandr Gvozdyk vs Ricards Bolotniks Confirmed As Craig Richards Pulls Out Of April 1 Fight
Boxing’s bona fide superstar Canelo Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) will defend his Undisputed Super-Middleweight title against his WBO mandatory challenger, Britain’s John Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) at the 50,000-capacity Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico on Saturday, May 6, live on DAZN PPV in the US and Canada and as part of the DAZN subscription in 190 territories.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed in an interview with Boxing Social that Former WBC Light Heavyweight champion Ukraine’s Oleksandr Gvozdyk (18-1, 14 KOs) will face Latvia’s Ricards Bolotniks (19-6-1) on the Canelo vs Ryder undercard.
Bolotniks was supposed to face Craig Richards on the April 1 Anthony Joshua-Jermaine Franklin undercard in a reschedule of their Nov 26 fight, which fell apart at the 11th hour due to an illness from Richards, but the Londoner has suffered a hand injury ruling him out a fight with Bolotniks for the second time.
‘Lion’ Bolotniks instead gets an opportunity on another major card against Gvozdyk, who was at one point considered a top 3 in the division. Gvozdyk has only laced up the gloves once in a professional ring since his tenth rounds stoppage defeat at the hands of Artur Beterbiev in Oct 2019 – a six-round decision win in February against a journeyman.
Gvozdyk has teamed up with Canelo’s trainer Eddy Reynoso who has assisted him in landing a a slot on the undercard.
Australia’s Stevie Spark, who upset Montana Love in Cleveland last November, and Mexico’s Gabriel Valenzuela could also clash on the show in a Super Lightweight attraction as well as WBC Flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez‘s mandatory title defence against McWilliams Arroyo.