Northern Ireland's Padraig McCrory will undertake the toughest assignment of his professional career when he tackles the ferocious Imam Khataev in Canada in the early hours of Friday morning.
Russian-born Khataev knows victory will propel him right into the light-heavyweight world title picture, and having flexed his muscle in what was a contentious split decision loss against former WBC 'interim' champion David Morrell last year, he enters the bout as the overwhelming 1/20 favourite.
Khataev has responded to his sole professional loss at the hands of the talented Cuban by destroying Adam Deines to capture the North American Boxing Federation strap in just three rounds, before making his first title defence with an even more comprehensive first round stoppage of Mickael Diallo in June.
Now, he faces the former IBO 175lbs ruler McCrory, and 35/4 betting outsider, in a bout that few would have envisaged after he was left in a heap on the canvas by Craig Richards in March last year
McCrory had hinted at retirement following that loss -- his second in three fights after being knocked out by Edgar Berlanga 12 months earlier -- but he has opted to stage a courageous return.
A second round beat down of the unheralded Ondrej Budera may have provided the Belfast man with some much needed confidence, but make no mistake about it, he will be facing a different beast entirely when he trades leather with a man known as 'The Destroyer' in Quebec.
Eleven of Khataev's 12 successes within the paid ranks have come via explosive stoppages, with nine of those occurring during the first half of fights; a trait many boxing insiders expect to continue this time around too.
Imam Khataev vs Padraig McCrory Betting Odds
(Odds will display when the market is available)
All odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.
