On the fight card between Shakur Stevenson and Shuichiro Yoshino, which will take place at The Prudential Center near Newark on Saturday night, there’s going to be three undefeated heavyweights competing. The fight between George Arias (18-0-7) and Jared Anderson (13-0) will take place first, and afterward, the Polish contender Damian Knyba will go up against Curtis Harper.
Knyba, a towering heavyweight who is 6 feet 7 inches tall, signed a multi-year agreement with Highest Rank previously this year, and Bob Arum expressed his excitement about the 27-year-old at the time of the signing. Knyba, who has a record of 10-0 with six knockouts, has stated that he wants to make history in the sport of boxing by becoming the very first Polish boxer to achieve the world heavyweight championship.
Fight fans are fairly familiar with Harper, who has a record of 14-9(6), but “The Hurt” is probably most known for reasons that aren’t particularly flattering. In August of 2018, Harper made a U-turn and left the ring a mere second just after the inaugural bell had rung to announce the beginning of his fight with Efe Ajagba. This occurred right after the bell had rung to signal the start of the fight.
The battle, which resulted in a disqualification in favor of the previously unbeaten Ajagba, gave Harper plenty of opportunities to make headlines. Since that strange night, 34-year-old Harper had earned a victory, but he is recovering from being defeated via knockout at the hands of Bakhodir Jalolov, who knocked out Terry Harper in 4 rounds in November of last year.
Who knows what kind of mental state Harper is going to be in when he goes up against Knyba? It is possible that Harper will put Knyba to the test in order to see if he is prepared to rock and roll. Early in 2015, Harper gave Chris Arreola a good battle, but Harper ultimately lost by a narrow decision. This fight is considered to be Harper’s second most notable bout.
But, a lot is demanded of Knyba, and the fans will be watching to see how strong he can be and whether or not he can beat Harper. Tomasz Adamek, Andrew Golota, and also most currently, Adam Kownacki are all Polish heavyweights who have made significant contributions to our sport. However, none of them were successful in winning the major prize. Knyba asserts that he will exceed his fellow citizens by achieving the title of global champion.
There is never a shortage of room for new stars or attractions in the heavyweight class. Let’s check out Knyba’s performance versus Harper on Saturday, shall we? Let’s also keep our fingers crossed that Harper will actually turn up ready to battle.
