Kiwi boxer Jerome Pampellone is one fight away from a potential world title bout after agreeing to meet undefeated Libyan Malik Zinad in a Sydney ring in three weeks' time.
Pampellone, a light heavyweight ranked fourth in the world by the IBF, will fight Zinad, who has a 21-0 record as a professional, in a world title eliminator on April 24. Zinad is ranked 14th by the IBF.
Pampellone has an 18-0 record as a professional.
Should Pampellone win he could fight the winner of the Dmitry Bivol v Artur Beterbiev clash which will be held in Saudi Arabia on June 2 NZT.
Pampellone, 27, has stopped his last three opponents in the first round, and trainer Isaac Peach believes he is ready for his next step.
“This is a huge fight in one of the hottest divisions in the world,” Peach said. “I think we win comfortably - he’s ready for the world title fight."
Pampellone, a qualified plumber employed by Peach, has been described as the “world’s toughest tradie”.
"It’s not overly convenient for me as an employer but the goal was always to use plumbing to support his journey to becoming world champion,” Peach said.
“We're very nearly there now, and he's levelled up again with this new lifestyle. This fight is a big deal, and we're excited for this opportunity."
Meanwhile, fellow Kiwi boxer, cruiserweight David Nyika, will fight on the undercard of the Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk fight in Riyadh on May 19 NZT.
The undefeated Nyika, who also has world title ambitions, will fight the unbeaten German Michael Seitz on a stacked card also featuring Australian Jai Opetaia, the undefeated IBF cruiserweight world champion.
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