Boxing: Karim Mayfield Steps in to Fight Dmitry Mikhaylenko in Kovalev-Pascal 2 Co-Feature

The past week has been a long one for unbeaten welterweight contender Dmitry Mikhaylenko, who has been gearing up for the biggest fight of his career, though he was without an opponent. Now he has one and his chance to fight on HBO in front of millions of viewers will carry on.

Original opponent Ray Robinson was forced to withdraw from the contest last week when he was injured in a car accident. After almost a week of searching, promoters were able to secure an opponent for Mikhaylenko: Karim Mayfield.

After soaring to an impressive 17-0-1 record with wins over notable fighter Steve Forbes, Mauricio Herrera and Raymund Serrano, Mayfield suffered back-to-back losses. The San Francisco native dropped 10-round decisions to Thomas Dulorme and Emmanuel Taylor, but “Hard Hitta” bounced back with a win over Michael Balasi. However, Mayfield (19-2-1, 11 KOs) hasn’t fought since November 2014.

Mikhaylenko (20-0, 9 KOs) has looked impressive since fighting outside of his native Russia. He scored wins over veterans Sechew Powell and Ronald Cruz and most recently, he stopped Johan Perez inside eight rounds last August.

The Mikhaylenko-Mayfield tussle will be the co-feature of the massive light heavyweight world championship rematch between titlist Sergey Kovalev and former champ Jean Pascal. The card will be held at the Bell Centre in Montreal and will be televised live on HBO Jan. 30. The telecast will begin at 9:45 p.m. ET/6:45 p.m. PT.