Tonight at Palais des Sports Porte de Versailles in Paris, France, Yunier Dorticos (20-0, 19 KOs), from Miami by way of Havana, Cuba, puts his unbeaten record on the line when he gets it on with Kayembre “El Toro” Kalenga (22-2, 15 KOs), from Gravelines, Nord, France, by way of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, for the vacant WBA World interim cruiserweight title.
Dorticos turned pro in 2009 and has stopped all but one of the men he has faced. Veteran Edison Miranda managed to go the distance in 2014, but the Cuban won every round on two of three scorecards, and all but one on the other.
Ranked #2 by the WBA, in his last fight Dorticos stopped Fulgencio Zuniga in the second round. He’ll be looking to knockout the swaggering Kalenga who, not coincidentally, will be looking to KO the 30-year-old powerhouse from the “Pearl of the Antilles.”
Twenty-eight-year-old Kalenga, ranked #3 by the WBA, turned pro in 2010. In his last fight, “El Toro” knocked out Roberto Feliciano Bolonti in the ninth round last November to set up this title shot. Prior to his win over Bolonti, Kalenga lost a competitive unanimous decision to Denis Lebedev in April 2015.
“I am excited and grateful to be given this opportunity to fight in Paris, France with my team,” Dorticos told BoxingScene.com. “I will come out just like my past fights with excitement, aggressiveness, and power and I will be crowned the new WBA cruiserweight world champion.
“I will only say this about the fight, come Friday night Paris will tremble with my performance and all the fans will know that the new face of the cruiserweight division is here and his name is Yuniel ‘The KO Doctor’ Dorticos.”
Just to keep things interesting, on Saturday, May 21, at Khodynka Ice Palace, Moscow, Russia, WBA Super World cruiserweight champion Dennis Lebedev (28-2, 21 KOs), the southpaw from Chekhov, Russia, will face IBF World champion Victor Emilio Ramírez (22-2-1, 17 KOs), aka “El Tyson del Abasto,” from Buenos Aires, Argentina, in a much anticipated unification bout.
This article was penned by the author who is not related to the WBA and the statements, expressions or opinions referenced herein are that of the author alone and not the WBA.
