All photos by Marilyn Paulino
Nikolay Potapov Sets Sights on Caballero-Haskins Winner
While the Bantamweight world title clash between champion Randy Caballero and Lee Haskin won’t be -one of the four televised bouts this Saturday night on Canelo Alavarez-Miguel Cotto HBO Pay-Per-View telecast, Nikolay Potapov, the undefeated world-ranked fighter from Podolsk, Russia will be sure to tune in.
Potapov (14-0, 6 KOs) is coming off an impressive US debut last month in Brooklyn, NY where he dominated Mexico’s Pedro Melo to win every round on all three judges’ scorecards en-route to a unanimous 10-round decision.
“I believe he can compete for a world title today,” said promoter Dmitriy Salita who negotiated the contract to bring Potapov to the United States while watching Miguel Cotto defeat Daniel Geale at Barclays Center.
“I heard about the wins he had in Russia and spoke to very good boxing experts out there who all told me he was a special talent,” added Salita. “He fought a high level of competition early in his career and he is still improving.”
Potapov has looked for top-tier competition rather than pad his record with wins against unknown foes. Potapov moved up to 10-round bouts in only his ninth professional bout and had his first 12-round bout in his 12th fight when he defeated Jason Canoy who at the time was ranked No. 10 by the IBF and the No. 1 bantamweight in the Philippines. Potapov handled Canoy easily and the boxing world in Moscow started to take notice.
“He just might be the next world champion to come from Russia,” said Salita. “He had quick hands and feet and can beat his opponent to the punch. His style can give any top fighter trouble.”
Caballero will make the first defense of the title he won last year in Monaco when he defeated Stuart Hall for the vacant IBF 118-pound title. An injury to his ankle sidelined Caballero for a year.
Viewers will be able to watch Caballero vs. Haskins on HBO’s YouTube page, TIDAL.com and www.GoldenBoyPromotions.com before the live PPV telecast.
