Britain’s most destructive heavyweight prospect will be in action this Friday, January 23, as Larry Olubamiwo has been added to the Chris Edwards vs. Wayne Bloy British and Commonwealth flyweight title bill at Fenton Manor Sports Complex in Stoke-On-Trent, England.
Standing 6 feet 4 inches and weighing in at a solid 260 pounds, Olubamiwo, 2-0 (2), has earned his “War Machine” nickname by obliterating both opponents put before him since turning professional in October of last year.
The 30 year old Hackney based bomber impressively dispatched seasoned heavyweights Vlado Szabo and David Ingelby in the first and second rounds respectively, despite neither man having been stopped in their previous 16 contests.
But Olubamiwo will face a tougher test on Friday as he will meet a trickier adversary in Romania’s Mihai Iftode, 3-25-1 (0).
Iftode has campaigned as a heavyweight since 2003 but turned pro as a super middle, winning his country’s domestic title earlier in his career and flooring current IBF cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek in a losing effort that went the distance in 2002.
The 29 year old from Lasi has also finished on his feet in competitive but unsuccessful losing bids against recent WBA cruiserwight champion Firat Arslan, ex-WBA light heavyweight titlist Stipe Drews and three time world title challenger at cruiserweight and light heavy, Christophe Girard.
Olubamiwo will be confronted with superior boxing skills from Iftode and must show that he can cut off the ring and force the quicker Romanian to trade in close quarters if he is to win a far different contest than he has yet to experience.
Frank Maloney Promotions presents “Stoking The Fire”, featuring Chris Edwards vs. Wayne Bloy for the vacant British and Commonwealth flyweight championships along with full undercard support on Friday, January 23, 2009 at Fenton Manor Sports Complex in Stoke, England.
Tickets are priced at £70 and £35 and are available by logging onto www.frankmaloney.com or by calling the Box Office at 0871 226 1508.
Sky Sports will televise the action live on SS1 starting at 10PM.