News reached The Ring that heavyweight contender Arslanbek Makhmudov will face former world title challenger Carlos Takam at the Montreal Casino on September 16.
Makhmudov-Takam will headline an Eye of the Tiger event which will be broadcast live on punchinggrace.com.
The 33-year-old Makhmudov was a top amateur. He was the Russian national champion in his age group (19-22) in 2010 and the No. 1-rated super heavyweight in the World Series of Boxing in 2014-2015.
Makhmudov (14-0, 14 KOs) turned pro in 2017. He stopped 10 opponents in the opening round and owns wins over former WBC heavyweight titleholder Samuel Peter (TKO 1) and former heavyweight title challenger Mariusz Wach (KO 6).
Takam (39-6-1, 28 KOs) represented his homeland of Cameroon at the 2002 Olympics and turned pro in France three years later. He won his first 18 bouts before losing to Gregory Tony (UD 8). On his return, Takam bested three former world title challengers: Frans Botha (TKO 11), Michael Grant (TKO 8) and Tony Thompson (UD 12).
However, Takam suffered setbacks to Alexander Povetkin (KO 10) and Joseph Parker (UD 12). And after stepping in at 12 days’ notice to face then-IBF/ WBA titleholder Anthony Joshua, the aggressive veteran was stopped in 10. A defeat to Derek Chisora (TKO 8) was followed by four straight wins, but he lost again to Joe Joyce (TKO 6).
Big-punching middleweight Steven Butler will defend his NABF title for the first time against experienced Mark DeLuca in the co-feature.
Butler, 26, won 18 of his first 19 fights, with the lone blemish being a draw. He was upset by Brandon Cook (TKO 7), but rebounded strongly with 10 consecutive wins, including a stoppage over wily veteran Carson Jones (TKO 7). Those wins set up a fight against Ryota Murata in Japan in December 2019. Although Butler put up a solid effort, he was ultimately stopped in five rounds.
He returned a year later, but was beaten by Jose de Macias (TKO 5). After some soul searching, Butler won two fights, including a decision victory over the sturdy Brandon Brewer (UD 10). His record is 30-3-1 (25 KOs).
DeLuca (28-3, 16 KOs) turned professional in 2007. The Massachusetts native won his first 21 fights before narrowly losing to The Contender contestant Walter Wright (SD 10). He bounced back to beat Wright (UD 10) in a rematch and widely outboxed the aforementioned Brewer (UD 10). The 34-year-old southpaw was rewarded with a fight against former welterweight titleholder Kell Brook. That proved to be a bridge too far and DeLuca was stopped in seven rounds. DeLuca won his next four fights before surprisingly dropping a decision to Edward Ulloa Diaz (UD 8).
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