Masternak remains in the running for the WBA title. Fight with Kalenga will go ahead as planned

“The date, venue and, above all, the stakes of Mateusz Masternak’s fight remain unchanged. On June 21 in Monte Carlo, he will face Youri Kalenga for the WBA interim cruiserweight world title,” Kalle Sauerland, Mateusz Masternak’s promoter from the German Sauerland Event group, told us. As recently as Tuesday, following Ilunga Makabu’s withdrawal, the fighter himself did not believe he would not have to change his plans. “Masternak should no longer doubt the abilities of his promoter,” Sauerland jokes.

How did it come about that not only Rodney Berman, the organizer of the event in Monaco, but also WBA officials agreed to the Masternak–Kalenga bout?

“It is the result of many hours of work and sleepless nights. Seriously, though, we had been lobbying the WBA on Mateusz’s behalf for a long time, and it finally paid off. Our plans were complicated by last year’s loss to Grigory Drozd, but many people appreciated that Masternak agreed to go to Russia. It was also acknowledged that the circumstances were not favorable to him. It was a difficult night, but Mateusz learned a great deal from it,” Sauerland insists.

The 26-year-old, born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo like Makabu but representing France, could not be found in the rankings even on Thursday.

“Not long ago he was ranked fifth, but after a strange fight in Riga he dropped out of the rankings. In September 2013, he lost there on points to Arturs Kulikauskis, whom the Pole had stopped two years earlier – ed. note. We remember him from Berlin, where he knocked out in the second round a fighter we wanted to sign. That was the bout against Iago Kiladze – ed. note. In my opinion, Kalenga is even more dangerous than Makabu. We knew the federation would accommodate us,” the promoter explains.

After Makabu withdrew, 27-year-old Masternak announced that he would continue training until the end of the week while awaiting a favorable resolution. As it turned out, he made the right decision. However, he will have to find quality sparring partners again. His previous opponent was a southpaw, while Kalenga fights from an orthodox stance.

Denis Lebedev remains the full WBA champion. In practice, the winner of the Masternak–Kalenga fight will become the “vice champion,” but will receive the rights of the mandatory challenger.

“I have heard that Denis will enter the ring on May 30 in Moscow. In the main event, Alexander Povetkin is expected to face Manuel Charr – ed. note. If Mateusz beats Kalenga, we should be able to make his bout with Lebedev happen before the end of the year. Where could the fight take place? The purse split favoring the champion means it would most likely be in Russia. Naturally, we would prefer Poland or Germany. For now, however, Mateusz must focus on the June clash, because it will already be a very serious challenge for him,” Sauerland concludes.

Przemysław Osiak, przegladsportowy.pl