Michalczewski has two goals left: Reach 50-0 and fight Roy Jones

26.03 - Hamburg – At age 34, with a record of 47-0 and 40 KO’s, and after winning 24 world titles fights in two divisions, the undefeated knockout artist Dariusz Michalczewski still has two great visions. A new one and an old one.

The new vision: Michalczewski wants to set new records. He wants to reach the professional record of 50-0 and a record of 25 world title defenses. This would pass the record of the great Rocky Marciano who was undefeated in 49 fights when he retired in 1955. And it would reach the record for number of world title defenses set by the great Joe Louis who defended the world heavyweight title 25 times.

The old vision: Michalcezwski still wants to fight Roy Jones Jr. And he doesn’t care to which weight class Jones has moved. Michalczewski is ready to fight him at light heavy, cruiser or at heavyweight.

However, the next step for the 34-year-old professional world champion will be his 48th victory on Saturday against Derrick Harmon who will challenge Michalczewski for the WBO light heavyweight title.

It will be Michalczewski’s 23rd defense of the crown he won in September of 1994. He later added the WBO cruiserweight belt and the WBA and IBF light heavyweight titles to his collection.

“I want to write boxing history. I want to run undefeated in 50 fights with 25 world title defenses. This would make me the most successful professional boxer”, Michalczewski said. “With each fight the preparation becomes harder and harder. But I force myself to work out even stronger. I want to run faster than all my stable mates who are ten years younger.”

Derrick Harmon, at age 33 one year younger than Michalczewski, is rated #9 by WBO and WBA and #5 by the IBF. Promoter Klaus-Peter Kohl considers the American as a dangerous stepping stone for Michalczewski to reach the goals that he set for himself.

“Harmon is a great boxer”, the boss of Universum Box-Promotion said. “It’s going to be a great fight on Saturday.”

The 15,000 seats of Color Line Arena in Germany’s second biggest city Hamburg are sold out.

Michalczewski considered his rival as being “very awkward”. “He is southpaw and he throws his right hand very often and very quick.”

Harmon described Michalczewski as being a “great champion”.

The WBO title holder is not concerned that he could surprisingly lose his title the way it happened to his stable mate Wladimir Klitschko three weeks ago when South African Corrie Sanders knocked him out.

“Wladimir was looking past his next fight”, Michalczewski said. “That was his problem. I just take one step at a time. I don’t think about defeat. I’m in great shape.”

Harmon is 23-3 with 11 knockouts. Two of his losses came against former WBC champion Montell Griffin and against Roy Jones Jr., currently world champion at light heavyweight and at heavyweight.

Michalczewski faced Griffin in 1999 and knocked him out in round 4. Michalcewski also tried to get a fight against Jones for many years but failed.

As usual coach Fritz Sdunek and his German-Polish charge intensively studied their opponent on video to prepare their game plan. Harmon, however, wants to thwart their plans.

“On Saturday you won’t see the Derrick Harmon who fought Montell Griffin nor the Harmon who fought Roy Jones”, the man from Las Vegas stated. “I don’t have the style of Richard Hall either. Hall was just a standing target for Michalczewski. I will fight a smart fight. It will be a highly tactical match.”

One of Harmon’s victories came against Glencoffe Johnson, the man who beat Michalczewski’s stable mate Thomas Ulrich.

“I agree that Michalcezwski will go down in boxing history”, Harmon said. “But he won’t go down in history being undefeated. Because I will be the first one to beat him.”

On Saturday Harmon will come into the ring wearing a coat with the American flag on the front and a peace symbol on the back. Harmon said he wants to show that he loves his country but does not agree with every political decision made.

A new security service partner of Univesum Box-Promotion will take more restrictive precautions at the huge Color Line Arena than usual because of the current worldwide political situation.

Beside his meaningful coat Harmon will wear a photo of a missed girl around his neck when he enters the ring. Since a while the 33-year-old actively supports institutions for finding missed children. One week after carrying a picture of a child into the ring for his fight against Roy Jones, the kid was found.

Harmon is convinced that he will be treated fair in Germany by the promoter and by the judges.

“I’ve heard rumors about foreign substances on gloves in Germany and things like that”, Harmon said. “But I don’t believe in that. Promoter Klaus-Peter Kohl is a gentleman and he would never allow such things to happen.”

Beside reaching the 50-0 record mark Dariusz Michalcezwski is still eager to fight against Roy Jones Jr. And he leaves it open to Jones at which of the three highest weight classes in boxing this fight would take place.

“I’m hunting for Roy Jones for many many years”, Michalczewski stated. “The fight never took place. But the chance isn’t over yet. I’m willing to fight Roy Jones in every weight class between light heavyweight and heavyweight. Jones is now the WBA heavyweight champion, and of course the heavyweight title is also very interesting to me. I’ve already been cruiserweight world champion. To gain weight will be much easier for me than it was for Jones. It doesn’t matter to me to which weight class Jones moves. I want to fight him.”

If Michalczwski wins his 23rd title defense on Saturday he is also two victories away from reaching the record in number of world title defenses in boxing. This record was set by the great Joe Louis who from 1937 to 1948 defended the world heavyweight title 25 times successfully.

The previous record for number of world title defenses at light heavyweight was held by Bob Foster who from 1969 to 1974 defended the 175 pound titles 15 times. Michalczewski broke that record already in August of 1999 when he knocked out Montell Griffin to defend his WBO belt for the 16th time. Since that time he retained his crown six more times.

In two more title fights on the undercard at Color Line Arena Hungarian light heavyweight Zsol Erdei, 14-0, will defend his WBO intercontinental title against Jose Hilton Santos from Brazil, whereas cruiserweight contender Alexander Petkovic, 26-0-3, will contest for the vacant WBC international title against Frenchman Alain Simon.

Also in action: Former WBO middleweight champion Bert Schenk, 31-1, who won his last seven fights by knockout and currently ranks WBA #2, WBO #1 and IBF #7, will take on Andile Tshongolo from South Africa. At heavyweight 6 foot 7 Russian prospect Alexander Dimitrenko, 6-0, will fight Mark Bradley from the US.

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