The development of 2016 Olympics silver medalist and super middleweight prospect Bektemir Melikuziev will next be tested by Alantez Fox.
The pair are set to square off October 7 on the Golden Boy Promotions card headlined by the cruiserweight contest between Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and Joe Smith Jr.
The event will stream on DAZN and take place at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
Melikuziev (12-1, 9 KOs) last graced the ring in a showcase spot on the undercard of the Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia fight in April, easily outpointing Gabriel Rosado via unanimous decision. In the process, the 27-year-old avenged his stunning knockout loss to Rosado from 2021.
Melikuziev will have to live up to his nickname of being the “Bully” and bring the action forward toward Fox because of a significant size disparity. The Uzbekistani southpaw will have to overcome a near seven inch height disadvantage and near nine inch reach disadvantage over the slick-boxing and rangy Fox.
“I feel good after my great win against Gabriel Rosado. I am excited to finally be back. We’re ready for all the big fights in the division. Gabe was a very principal fight for me. I am now in my hunting mode for the world titles,” Melikuziev said.
“My team have done their homework on my opponent. It doesn’t matter to me who I fight. I know he is very tall for our weight class, he is very awkward, tough, and always in good fights. I am not looking past my opponent, it’s going to be a very interesting fight.”
Fox (28-4-1, 13 KOs), meanwhile, will again be matched tough against a rising upstart.
The 31-year-old from Upper Marlboro, Maryland has lost his last two fights.
Earlier this year he gave 168-pound prospect Erik Bazinyan everything he could handle and wound up on the wrong side of a majority decision. In 2021, David Morrell stopped Fox inside four rounds.
Fox’s other two losses have come against Liam Williams in 2019 and Demetrius Andrade in 2017.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.