11-25-2022, 10:24 AM
Andrei Mikhailovich 'frustrated' after grudge match postponed
Sam Wilson
05:00, Nov 25 2022
Andrei Mikhailovich won't fight again this year after Issac Hardman pulled out of their December clash.
Kiwi middleweight contender Andrei Mikhailovich has been left "frustrated" after having his grudge match with Australian rival Issac Hardman pushed back until next year.
The 24-year-old Mikhailovich (19-0, 11 KOs) was set to challenge Hardman (13-1, 11 KOs) at Brisbane's Nissan Arena on December 16 in a battle of hard-hitting 160-pound prospects.
The highly anticipated encounter had originally been slated to appear on the undercard of a bill headlined by rising Australian heavyweight Justis Huni (7-0, 4 KOs) and Kazakh puncher Zhan Kossobutskiy (19-0, 18 KOs).
But Huni sustained a hand injury in his brutal 10-round battle with New Zealander Kiki Toa Leutele (8-2-2, 7 KOs) earlier this month and won't be ready to fight again this year.
Mikahilovich's promoter, Dean Lonergan, then explored the possibility of bumping the bout up to the main event, only for Hardman's team to pull the plug entirely until 2023 when the Queenslander's partner gave birth to his first child.
"Issac had a baby about three or four days ago. I got a phone call from his trainer saying 'look, Issac's not great at saying no. I don't think he can handle having a baby and fighting sort of three weeks apart'. I've got to be honest, I fully understand that," Lonergan told Stuff.
"I've had guys pull out of a fight before because they have kids on the way. [Former welterweight world champion] Jeff Horn was a classic. We had a massive world title fight for him in Japan and it was too close to the birth of his baby, so we didn't take the fight.
"So at the moment, the fight is on hold. We're just looking for a date early next year while Issac fulfils his responsibilities of being a dad."
Lonergan admitted the postponement had come as a major disappointment to Mikhailovich as the Russian-born Kiwi was desperate to get back in the ring having been idle since July, when he claimed a unanimous decision over tricky southpaw Francis Waitai on the Fight For Life card in Auckland.
But the delay could potentially work in his favour with Lonergan now looking at bringing the fight over to New Zealand.
"I know it's frustrated Andre, and Andre's got a couple of kids himself and he might have handled things differently. But when it comes to kids – and this is Issac's first kid – everyone handles it differently, " Lonergan said.
"I've got to be honest, I would love to do that fight in New Zealand. Andre and Issac are such fantastic performers in the media, and we're just working out what our dates in New Zealand are going to be next year.
"So I'll speak to Issac and see what he thinks."
Ranked in the top 15 by both the IBF and WBO, Mikhailovich is seen as one of the country's top prospects.
He has fought three times this year, stopping experienced duo King Davidson and Ernesto Espana before that points win over Waitai that snapped a five-fight knockout streak.
There is no love lost between Mikhailovich and Hardman, the pair trading insults over the years as they seek supremacy in the lively Australasian middleweight scene.
Hardman suffered his first setback in April when he was halted in the second round by Michael Zerafa (31-4, 19 KOs), rebounding to blast out Beau Hartas inside three minutes in early July.
The 26-year-old packs a punch, boasting a 78% knockout rate, and would arguably represent the biggest scalp of Mikhailovich's career as he aims to force himself into the world title picture.
Mikhailovich recently described Hardman as a "clown" and a "bogan" but respects the Brisbane native's fighting abilities. However, he predicted a knockout "in four or five rounds" when they eventually meet.
As well as Mikhailovich and Huni, Lonergan also has undefeated Kiwi light heavyweight Jerome Pampellone (15-0, 8 KOs) on his books.
Jerome Pampellone stays unbeaten after a dominant decision victory over Faris Chevalier in Brisbane.
'The Panther' produced a clinical display to outclass the world-ranked Faris Chevalier on November 4, and Lonergan hopes to keep him and his Peach Boxing team-mate Mikhailovich busy as they continue their rapid rise through their respective divisions.
"I would like to [get Pampellone on the Mikhailovich undercard], for sure," Lonergan said.
"It's just a case of finding a date and making it work. We're going to be doing Fight For Life again next year. I'd like to have both boys on that, and I'd like to see them fight here [in New Zealand] more often.
"We only fought once here last year I think, or maybe a couple of times at small venues. I'd like to see them fight here three times a year. So I'm looking to do more here."
Sam Wilson
05:00, Nov 25 2022
Andrei Mikhailovich won't fight again this year after Issac Hardman pulled out of their December clash.
Kiwi middleweight contender Andrei Mikhailovich has been left "frustrated" after having his grudge match with Australian rival Issac Hardman pushed back until next year.
The 24-year-old Mikhailovich (19-0, 11 KOs) was set to challenge Hardman (13-1, 11 KOs) at Brisbane's Nissan Arena on December 16 in a battle of hard-hitting 160-pound prospects.
The highly anticipated encounter had originally been slated to appear on the undercard of a bill headlined by rising Australian heavyweight Justis Huni (7-0, 4 KOs) and Kazakh puncher Zhan Kossobutskiy (19-0, 18 KOs).
But Huni sustained a hand injury in his brutal 10-round battle with New Zealander Kiki Toa Leutele (8-2-2, 7 KOs) earlier this month and won't be ready to fight again this year.
Mikahilovich's promoter, Dean Lonergan, then explored the possibility of bumping the bout up to the main event, only for Hardman's team to pull the plug entirely until 2023 when the Queenslander's partner gave birth to his first child.
"Issac had a baby about three or four days ago. I got a phone call from his trainer saying 'look, Issac's not great at saying no. I don't think he can handle having a baby and fighting sort of three weeks apart'. I've got to be honest, I fully understand that," Lonergan told Stuff.
"I've had guys pull out of a fight before because they have kids on the way. [Former welterweight world champion] Jeff Horn was a classic. We had a massive world title fight for him in Japan and it was too close to the birth of his baby, so we didn't take the fight.
"So at the moment, the fight is on hold. We're just looking for a date early next year while Issac fulfils his responsibilities of being a dad."
Lonergan admitted the postponement had come as a major disappointment to Mikhailovich as the Russian-born Kiwi was desperate to get back in the ring having been idle since July, when he claimed a unanimous decision over tricky southpaw Francis Waitai on the Fight For Life card in Auckland.
But the delay could potentially work in his favour with Lonergan now looking at bringing the fight over to New Zealand.
"I know it's frustrated Andre, and Andre's got a couple of kids himself and he might have handled things differently. But when it comes to kids – and this is Issac's first kid – everyone handles it differently, " Lonergan said.
"I've got to be honest, I would love to do that fight in New Zealand. Andre and Issac are such fantastic performers in the media, and we're just working out what our dates in New Zealand are going to be next year.
"So I'll speak to Issac and see what he thinks."
Ranked in the top 15 by both the IBF and WBO, Mikhailovich is seen as one of the country's top prospects.
He has fought three times this year, stopping experienced duo King Davidson and Ernesto Espana before that points win over Waitai that snapped a five-fight knockout streak.
There is no love lost between Mikhailovich and Hardman, the pair trading insults over the years as they seek supremacy in the lively Australasian middleweight scene.
Hardman suffered his first setback in April when he was halted in the second round by Michael Zerafa (31-4, 19 KOs), rebounding to blast out Beau Hartas inside three minutes in early July.
The 26-year-old packs a punch, boasting a 78% knockout rate, and would arguably represent the biggest scalp of Mikhailovich's career as he aims to force himself into the world title picture.
Mikhailovich recently described Hardman as a "clown" and a "bogan" but respects the Brisbane native's fighting abilities. However, he predicted a knockout "in four or five rounds" when they eventually meet.
As well as Mikhailovich and Huni, Lonergan also has undefeated Kiwi light heavyweight Jerome Pampellone (15-0, 8 KOs) on his books.
Jerome Pampellone stays unbeaten after a dominant decision victory over Faris Chevalier in Brisbane.
'The Panther' produced a clinical display to outclass the world-ranked Faris Chevalier on November 4, and Lonergan hopes to keep him and his Peach Boxing team-mate Mikhailovich busy as they continue their rapid rise through their respective divisions.
"I would like to [get Pampellone on the Mikhailovich undercard], for sure," Lonergan said.
"It's just a case of finding a date and making it work. We're going to be doing Fight For Life again next year. I'd like to have both boys on that, and I'd like to see them fight here [in New Zealand] more often.
"We only fought once here last year I think, or maybe a couple of times at small venues. I'd like to see them fight here three times a year. So I'm looking to do more here."