A pair of childhood friends and now promotional stablemates will both be in the fights of their lives tonight, in two of the marquee matchups of the stacked Andrey Ryabinsky/World Boxing Promotions boxing show at the Basket-Hall Arena in Kazan, Russia.
Lateef “Power” Kayode (21-0, 16 KOs) will face WBA World Cruiserweight Champion Denis Lebedev (27-2, 20 KOs) in the 12-round co-main event and fellow Nigerian Larry “God’s Power” Durodola (21-2, 19 KOs) will face Russian KO artist Dmitry “The Russian Hammer” Kudryashov (18-0, 18 KOs) over 12 rounds for the WBC Silver Cruiserweight Championship.
Kayode and Olanrewaju have known each other since childhood in Lagos, Nigeria, and as amateur boxers, they were on several national teams together.
“Try to figure out the odds of two Nigerians growing up together, both ending up with me as their American promoter and both in the most important fights of the careers on the same show in Russia,” said Greg Cohen of Greg Cohen Promotions. “It makes you think this was meant to be for all these variables to come together like this to make this happen.”
Cohen, who is in Russia with his fighters, says he thinks these incredible coincidences are a good sign of big things to come.
“It’s got to be fate that these guys are here and I expect them both to come out victorious,” Cohen continued. “For Lateef, it’ll be his first world championship after a long and distinguished career and for Larry, a victory over this guy who has KO’d all his opponents before him will establish him as the WBC’s top rated contender. It’s going to be a very special night.”
Also scheduled for war are top European heavyweights Alexander Povetkin and Mariusz Wach, as well as cruiserweight contenders Rakhim Chakhkiev (23-1, 18 KOs) and Ola Afolabi (21-2-2, 10 KOs), who will do battle for the IBO Championship.
It’s a sensational night for boxing tonight and it’s looking like it’ll be one of the more special nights in my company’s history as well. I’m very excited to get this thing started,” said Cohen.
About Greg Cohen Promotions
One of boxing’s premier promotional outfits, Greg Cohen Promotions (GCP) is a well-respected name for staging world-class professional boxing events and promoting elite professional fighters throughout the world.
Founder and CEO Greg Cohen has been involved with professional boxing in various capacities since the late 1980s, honing his craft and establishing himself as a shrewd international boxing businessman.
Distinguished by his ability to spot and develop raw talent, Cohen first made promotional headlines for his expert guidance of, among many others, former WBA Junior Middleweight Champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout, who Cohen helped guide from unknown New Mexico prospect to elite pay-per-view level superstar.
In addition to Trout, Greg Cohen Promotions has worked with established names such as former unified and two-time heavyweight champion Hasim “The Rock” Rahman and all-time-great multiple-weight class world champion James “Lights Out” Toney.
Cohen currently promotes multiple world champion and boxing superstar Zab Judah, women’s boxing superstar Amanda Serrano, and former world champion Kendall Holt, as well as current world-rated contenders including top undefeated cruiserweight Lateef Kayode, long-time elite middleweight “Mean” Joe Greene, lightweight KO artist Ismael Barroso, top super featherweight Arash Usmanee, Canadian lightweight and TV action hero Tony Luis; WBA and five-time Irish National Amateur Champion, Dennis Hogan; and Australian lightweight prospect Josh King.
Greg Cohen Promotions has hosted world-class boxing events in the finest venues throughout the United States and the world and has also proudly provided talent and/or content for several television networks including CBS Sports Network, HBO, Showtime, ESPN, NBC Sports Network, CBS Sports Network, MSG and FOX Sports Net.
For more information, visit gcpboxing.com. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GCPBoxing. Twitter: @GCPBoxing.
