Already this coming Saturday (March 20) the vacant World Boxing Federation cruiserweight championship will find a new, and presumably worthy, holder when hometown favourite Pawel Kolodziej and former English heavyweight champion Mark Krence will clash over 12 rounds in Strzelce Opolskie, Poland.
The 25-year-old Kolodziej comes into the title fight with an unblemished professional record at 24-0 (13) and sports a very respectable # 13 boxrec world rating. The tall (1,95 m) Pole already has experience over the championship distance, having previously held WBC Youth and IBC belts.
In his last outing, Kolodziej scored an impressive inside-the-distance win over former WBF world heavyweight champion Rob Calloway, but while Mark Krence may be viewed as the underdog, a closer look reveals he shall also be in good form, being on a run of three consecutive wins. Not just that: In fact, Krence is actually even slightly taller than Kolodziej and has a few more years of pro experience on the younger man.
At 33 years of age, Krence turned pro in 2000 and all his losses in his 24-6 (6) ledger have come at heavyweight. Amongst his conquerors are such well-known names as ex-WBA heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev, former European champ Matt Skelton or former Olympic gold medalist Audley Harrison (who himself later won the WBF heavyweight title). Hardly a disgrace for a man who is now comfortable at cruiserweight.
The Kolodziej vs Krence battle is staged by Bullit KnockOut Promotion and both promoter Andrew Wasilewski and WBFed president Howard Goldberg have expressed their desire to form a strong relationship.
