by David P. Greisman

Two undefeated middleweights will face each other on the Jan. 14 undercard of James DeGale vs. Badou Jack — and Ievgen Khytrov’s trainer of course insists that his fighter will be the one who remains undefeated once their bout with Immanuwel Aleem is over.

 “Khytrov is going to be his typical, destructive, brawler-mauler attacking mechanism,” said Ande Rozier, co-trainer to Khytrov alongside Gary Stark Sr.

“I think it’s going to prove too much for Aleem. He’ll be stopping him in the distance. Aleem is a good boxer. He’s sharp. I don’t think he’s a big puncher. Ievgen can take a shot. It’s hard to keep him off of you. I think he’s going to be breathing fire on Aleem on Jan. 14.”

Khytrov, 28, is 14-0 with 12 KOs. He’s coming off a ninth-round stoppage of Paul Mendez last July. That propelled him into this fight, and a victory over Aleem will push them forward even more, according to Rozier.

“I see him as being in the Top 15 right now. When he wins this fight, he’ll have to be considered with the contender status,” Rozier said. “He is here and he’s for real. He’s a solid middleweight. And with a few more bouts he’s going to be in title contention.”

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