#1 ranked cruiserweight Ola Afolabi gets his first IBO world title opportunity amid the bright lights in Manhattan on Novenber 2, when he faces once-beaten Polish export Lukasz Janik in the final undercard feature to the Gennady Golovkin middleweight championship bout at Madison Square Garden.
A 33-year-old London native who now lives in Los Angeles, Afolabi is 19-3-4 in 11 years as a professional, which have included two narrow losses and a draw against WBO title-holder Marco Huck since 2009.
Against opponents not named Huck, Afolabi is unbeaten since 2003, with the only loss coming to imminent IBO light heavyweight challenger Allan Green. Afolabi has beaten a list of familiar names, including former world championship claimants Orlin Norris (TKO 7), Enzo Maccarinelli (KO 9) and Valery Brudov (TKO 5). Janik enters the bout with a single loss in 27 fights since turning pro in 2006.
He’s won 11 straight fights since 2009 while scoring six wins inside the distance and fighting an average of 4.5 rounds per outing.
Unbeaten Australian star Blake Caparello will meet his toughest professional opponent and vie for his first career world title on the same Oct. 17 night, when he meets veteran slugger Allan Green for the vacant IBO light heavyweight championship at the Melbourne Pavilion in Flemington, Australia. The 27-year-old Aussie turned pro in 2009 and has since gone 17-0-1 in 18 fights, while claiming the Australian title and other regional title belts along the way.
He defeated former IBO middleweight title challenger Aaron Pryor Jr. in October 2012 and has won three more fights since. The 33-year-old Green is perhaps best known for his participation in the 168-pound “Super Six” tournament put on by Showtime. He lost a 12-round decision to the ultimate winner of the event, Andre Ward. Green’s last fight was Nov. 3, 2012 and ended with him winning by seven-round stoppage over Canadian star Renan St. Juste in Montreal.
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