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Sergey Khomitsky says the only place Adam Etches will stop him is in his dreams, and he’ll give the young Brit a rude awakening when they clash at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield on Saturday night, March 28.
In a career spanning 16 years, Khomitsky has only been legitimately halted by Kazak superstar Gennady Golovkin, with his other two stoppages coming as a result from a retirement against Avtandil Khurtsidze and a mix up with the taping on his gloves against former world champ Robert Stieglitz.
His record against British fighters is also superb, with victories over Jamie Moore and Frank Buglioni as well as a disputable draw against Nick Blackwell.
Despite this, Etches has predicted that his punching power will be enough to take the Belarusian visitor out inside the distance.
“It’s very easy to dream about knocking me out, but very difficult to do,” Khomitsky said. “As soon as the bell rings Etches will realise he’s let his imagination get the better of him.
“I know he is very young and talented with a big punch. He’ll need more than that against me, though. I do not like to make predictions, but I am very motivated for this fight and I have people waiting for me to return to Belarus with a resounding victory.”
Etches is one of British boxing’s biggest ticket sellers and will certainly have the crowd behind him come fight night. Khomitsky, however, isn’t fazed by that and is planning on converting some of Adam’s supporters to his own cause.
“The fans are expecting Etches to beat me and I’m happy to be the underdog, but I like to beat the home favourites, I like to beat the champions and I want to return to the top of the world rankings,” he said.
“UK fans know me very well and I like the atmosphere they create. When I start to beat Etches, I think they will start to support me instead of him.”
Etches v Khomitsky features on a huge night of boxing in Sheffield as Kell Brook defends his IBF Welterweight Title against Romania’s Jo Jo Dan and Gavin McDonnell continues his fairy tale story challenging Ukrainian Oleksander Yegorov for the vacant European Super-Bantamweight Title.
Frankie Gavin makes his Sky Sports return as he prepares for his crunch clash with Chris van Heerden on May 9 in Birmingham and former world bantamweight king Anselmo Moreno makes his UK debut against Wales’ Robbie Turley. Kal Yafai continues his march towards a world title and GB Podium squad member Charlie Edwards fights for the second time in the paid ranks on the bill.
Tickets are on sale priced £40, £60, £80, £100 and £150 available from the Motorpoint Arena on 0114 2565656 and at www.motorpointarenasheffield.co.uk . VIP tickets at £250 are exclusively available from Matchroom Boxing at www.matchroomboxing.com.
