Twenty-eighth of September at Casino Miami Jai Alai, headlining a Don King Promotions card. Airing live on FiteTV. WBC cruiserweight title on the line, 1st defense of Mikaeljan. That's right...DKP is somehow involved with a world title bout in anno domini 2024. Ol' Smokestack-Head just turned 93 yesterday. Like a bad penny, this guy... I've never honestly been too impressed with the Armenian incumbent - and that's even with trying my damnedest to judge him fairly and not impose any "sins of the father" (or in this case stepfather, as I utterly despise Khoren Gevor). He's just very...mediocre, in every category, and his true level was shown in the losses to Mairis Briedis and the raging-against-the-dying-of-the-light Diablo Włodarczyk. He sort of failed upwards in the last couple of years by ingratiating himself with the WBC and playing ball within their ranking system - first beating a Midwestern no-mark by the name of Jesse Bryan to become the organization's "international champion" and then defeating a pair of very battle-worn Congolese brawlers. First was Youri Kalenga to claim the vacant Silver title and further embellish his rank, and then Kalenga's better (in their primes) if more shot countryman Makabu for the big one. Różicki meanwhile popped on my radar in 2021 putting on maybe the best dark horse rookie performance versus a world rated guy I've seen in a long time. He was an unknown 4/1 underdog but looked absolutely fantastic running Óscar Andrés "Kaboom" Rivas Torres close in their battle for the inaugural Brigerweight title. Since then he's been quietly staying busy and biding his time for another big shot by smashing up a motley assortment ranging from Mexican cab drivers to decent international fringe contenders - including most recently Nigerian glass cannon Ola Durodola, meaning Mikaeljan's monopoly on the "thumping up big-bame but faded fighters from Africa" honors is busted in this match-up. Boxer vs. puncher match-up, where the U.S. based Armenian-German boxer has a good deal more world class experience but is facing a huge puncher in the Polish-Canadian, and isn't exactly the most elusive.
Mikaeljan should outpoint him over 12 rounds. Rozicki can land a knockout blow at any time with his power, but Mikealjan probably won't allow that with his style and will box a lot from a distance.
