IBF Featherweight Champion, Billy Dib will fight Evgeny Gradovich for every ounce of credibility he owns on March 1, 2013.
The match up will happen at the MGM Grand in Mashantucket, Connecticut. It is a 12-round main event bout for the International Boxing Federation Featherweight Championship.
It will be televised on ESPN's Friday Night Fights.
Dib ”The Kid” has an inspiring connection to boxing. He has endured chronic asthma since birth, and spent the first six months of his life in an incubator battling the illness. He started boxing at the age of 12 in order to try to overcome the illness.
He immediately began to show promise. After starting fighting at the local Police and Community Youth Club, he right away started appearing in amateur fights. He won 98 out of 133 bouts.
Dib is very well-known in the sport of boxing. On three instances, he was the Australian Champion. Throughout this time, he was picked to train at the Australian Institute of Sport. His practice for the 2004 Olympic Games was held back by a motorcycle wreck, and he was therefore not chosen for the Australian team.
He by and by turned down an offer to be a part of Lebanon's Olympic team, claiming that he had been representing Australia and wouldn't feel right if drawn against an Australian in the tournament as Australia was his place of residence.
Dib (35-1, 21 KO) has a strong team behind him. After failing to join the Olympics, Dib moved to Sheffield to train with former WBO and Lineal featherweight champion, Prince Naseem Hamed, who convinced him to become professional.
Dib is currently promoted by American rapper and entrepreneur 50 Cent. After attending ESPN's Friday Night Fights, 50 Cent will be going to Club Sinergee to host the "Friday Night Fights After Party".
Gradovich (15-0, 8 KO) is presently trained by former IBF World Champion fighter Roberto García. Amid his amateur career in Russia, Evgeny held a record of 126-24 and made it on the National Russian boxing team. In April 2011, Gradovich beat undefeated Aalan Martínez at the Cosmopolitan Resort in Paradise, Nevada.
Other long awaited news has erupted on the national sporting scene.
In the 10-round co-feature, North American Boxing Federation Super Welterweight Champion Willie "The Great" Nelson will make his first title defense against Michael "El Magnifico" Medina.
I believe that the sky can grow dim near a fighter with age.
I hold faith in that Dib is still in his prime. I assume the Lord will provide Dib with the strength he needs to win this fight.
