Oleksandr Gvozdyk will make his return to the ring this Saturday night, trainer Marcos Contreras confirmed to The Ring Wednesday.
Gvozdyk will face Jorge Miranda in a six-round bout at the Derby Room on the premises of the Fairplex in Pomona, California. The fight will be part of a MarvNation Promotions card.
The last time Gvozdyk (17-1, 14 knockouts) stepped inside a ring was in October 2019 against Artur Beterviev in a unification fight. He was ahead on two judges’ scorecards entering round 10 before Beterbiev dropped him three times, prompting an immediate stoppage in the fight.
The 35-year-old Ukraine-born fighter stepped away from the ring, prompting some boxing insiders and fans to think he was retired. Contreras stated that was never the case with Gvozdyk.
“He has always been in the gym,” Contreras told The Ring. “Oleksandr looks strong. He looks like he never retired, supposedly what people were saying. He had very good sparring for this fight on Saturday.”
Contreras stated Gvozdyk was utilized as a sparring partner for Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez, both for their recent fights against Dmitry Bivol. Gvozdyk trained for Saturday’s fight at Extreme Boxing Gym in Santa Paula, not far from his adopted hometown of Oxnard. He will remain and fight at 175 pounds.
Gvozdyk won the WBC world light heavyweight title in December 2018, knocking out longtime titleholder Adonis Stevenson in the 11th round in a fight he was losing on two scorecards. He made one successful defense of the WBC title about four months later, stopping Doudou Ngumbu in the fifth round.
Miranda (58-21, 22 KOs), who resides in Adelia Maria, Argentina, last fought on October 15, defeating Cesar Velez by unanimous decision. The 39-year-old has won his last two of his last three fights after losing four of his previous five, including losses to Esquiva Falcao (twice) and Yamaguchi Falcao.
In the main event of the MarvNations Promotions card, Fernando Vargas, Jr. (7-0, 7 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada will square off against Argentina’s Geronimo Nahuel Sacco (10-6-1, 2 KOs) in a six-round middleweight bout.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]
