Ovil McKenzie Lands IBF World Title Shot at Victor Ramirez / Hernandez Stripped of IBF 200 lb Strap

Ovil McKenzie Lands IBF World Title Shot at Victor Ramirez / Hernandez Stripped of IBF 200 lb Strap

Yoann Pablo Hernandez (29-1, 14ko), Cuba’s frequently inactive IBF cruiserweight champion, has been stripped of his title following yet more injury, again ruling him out of October 2nd’s clash with Argentina’s Victor Ramirez, who has now been upgraded to full champion status by the governing body after the fight was already previously postponed.

Ramirez (22-2, 17ko) will still box on the 2nd in Argentina, with British contender and IBF #14, Ovil McKenzie (25-12, 13ko) handed a surprise shot at the new South American champion.

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Hernandez defeats Arslan by split decision

IBF cruiserweight champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez (29-1, 14 KOs) successfully defended his title tonight in defeating 43-year-old former WBA cruiserweight champion Firat Arslan (34-8-2, 21 KOs) by a 12 round split decision at the Messehalle, Erfurt, Thüringen, Germany. The final judges’ scores were 115-113, 116-113 for Hernandez and 115-113 for Arslan.

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Juan Carlos Gomez calls out Yoan Pablo Hernandez

PanteraGomez“The Black Panther” reunited with championship coach Fritz Sdunek

Last year former WBC cruiserweight champion Juan Carlos Gomez successfully returned to his old weight division at 200 lbs. after campaigning at heavyweight for more than 10 years. Now “The Black Panther” is eyeing another world title shot for 2014. “I would love to fight against Marco Huck because I think he is the best cruiserweight in the world right now – at least until I beat him”, states Gomez.

Because Huck is set to defend his WBO championship against Firat Arslan on January 25 in Stuttgart, Gomez is now calling out fellow Cuban defector and IBF titlist Yoan Pablo Hernandez.

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Yoan Pablo Hernandez to fight on March 8th

hernandez34IBF cruiserweight champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez (28-1, 14 KO’s) will be back in action on March 8th against an opponent still to be determined in Stuttgart, Germany, according to Fightnews. Hernandez, 29, is coming off of a 10th round knockout win over Alexander Alekseev last month in Bamberg, Germany. Hernandez knocked Alekseev down three times in the fight before the bout was eventually halted in the 3rd.

The fight showed pretty clearly that the 6’4″ southpaw Hernandez needs to start facing better opposition he’s defended his title three times in beating Steve Cunningham, Troy Ross and now Alekseev, but he’s not been in with anyone really good that could challenge him. It would be nice to see Hernandez against his first quality challenger like Ola Afolabi or Rakhim Chakhkiev, as both of them are worlds better than the guys Hernandez has been fighting.

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