Towering 6′ 9″ Kazakhstani heavyweight Ivan Dychko will return to the ring this Friday, July 6, at Hard Rock Event Center at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

 

 

 

Dychko, the two-time Olympic super-heavyweight bronze medallist (6-0, 6 KOs), will face long-time heavyweight gate keeper Maurice “Mo Bettah” Harris (26-21-3, 11 KOs) of East Orange, New Jersey, in an eight-round showdown on Heavyweight Factory Boxing’s “Hometown Throwdown” event.

 

 

 

In the 10-round main event, undefeated Miami-based welterweight Harold “King” Calderon (16-0, 10 KOs) takes on John David “Pretty Boy” Martinez (10-0, 8 KOs) in a crosstown battle. In the 10-round super lightweight co-main event, undefeated 19-year-old WBO-NABO Youth Super Lightweight Champion Logan “The Korican Kid” Yoon (11-0, 10 KOs) of Honolulu will face Colombian veteran Luis E. Flores (24-9, 20 KOs).

 

 

 

Tickets for “Hometown Throwdown” cost $60, $100, $150, $250 and $500 VIP. Tickets are available through ticketmaster.com.

 

 

 

“My training went well,” said Dychko. “It’s sometimes hard to find sparring partners at a level that will benefit me, but I feel good. I’m in great shape. My fights last one, two, sometimes three rounds. I’ve never been tested over the distance. I hope some of these veterans can give me some rounds and let me test myself against them and maybe teach me a few things.”

 

 

 

The power-punching Dychko, who medalled at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics and went 181-18 as an amateur, is on the fast-track to join his former rivals at the top of the professional side of the sport.

 

 

 

“I’m happy with my progress. I’m in the building stage right now, so everything is fine. I’m waiting to join all my former amateur rivals at the top of the division,” he said. “I want to be unified champion of the world and fight the best. Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and some of the guys I already fought as an amateur, I would like to see them again. I think it will take me about another year and then I’ll be ready for the best in the world. One more year to get used to the professional part of the sport.”

 

 

 

Expected special guests that evening include Heavyweight Factory regulars, former heavyweight champions Riddick “Big Daddy” Bowe and Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield. On fight night, the action starts at 7:15 p.m. Doors open one hour prior to start time. Hard Rock Event Center at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is located at 1 Seminole Way in Hollywood, Fla.