Interim WBA cruiserweight titleholder Youri “El Toro” Kalenga (20-1, 13 KOs) will defend his title November 15 against undefeated “Dangerous” Denton Daley (12-0, 6 KOs) at Hersey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Kalenga-Daley will headline “World Championship Boxing,” promoted by United Boxing Promotions (UBP). It will mark the first world title fight ever held in Mississauga, as well the first in the province of Ontario in 4 1/2 years, since Mississauga-native Steve “The Canadian Kid” Molitor defeated Takalani Ndlovu in Rama by 12-round decision for the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) super bantamweight championship. Kalenga-Daley will also be the first major world championship fight held in the Toronto market since March 29, 1966, when hometown hero George Chuvalo lost a 15-round unanimous decision at Maple Leaf Gardens to world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali.
The Kalenga-Daley winner will become the mandatory challenger for the winner of a September 27th WBA World “regular” cruiserweight championship match in Moscow between defending champion Denis Lebedev (25-2, 19 KOs) and unbeaten challenger Pawel Kododziej (33-0, 18 KOs).
“United Boxing Promotions is proud to present this fight at the Mississauga Hershey Centre,” UBP promoter Don MacDonald commented. The 6,000 fight fans that will ram the facility will witness what will be a war between two great fighters.
“Youri is a true warrior! Instead of hiding and fighting bums in the cruiserweight division, he is willing to come to Canada and put his title on the line in his first defense. This in itself defines his character as a true champion.”
Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the 26-year-old Kalenga fights out of France, where 16 of his 20 professional fights have been held. His initial title defense against Daley will mark the African’s first pro fight outside of Europe.
Kalenga captured the Interim WBA crown in his last fight this past June 21 in Monte Carlo, winning a 12-round split decision (116-112, 115-113, 113-115) over Mateusz Masternak (32-1).
“I am very excited to be defending my WBA interim world title for the first time in Canada against Denton Daley,” Kalenga said. “Daley is a good technical fighter with some decent skills. He has never faced any opponent like me and once he feels my big punch power he will lose touch of all his skills.”
The 32-year-old Daley has lost only one round in his 12 professional fights to date. Under the guidance of his head trainer, two-time world title challenger Syd Vanderpool, Daley is a former college basketball player in Canada, as well as a college graduate with a degree in business, whose professional boxing career didn’t start until 2010.
After pitching a complete shutout against former world champion Richard Hall (30-11) in 2013, winning all 10 rounds on each of the three judges’ scorecards, Daley faced Faisal Ibnel Arrami (15-4) on June 1, 2013 for the vacant North American Boxing Association (NABA) cruiserweight title. Daley won the title when Arrami was unable to continue after four rounds due to a shoulder injury. In a pair of NABA title defenses, Daley has won 10 and 12-round unanimous decisions, respectively, versus Jean Marc Monrose (26-6) and Andres Taylor (21-5-2).
“I’m very excited that Kalenga accepted to take the fight in my hometown as it means a lot to me and, more importantly, my fans,” Daley remarked. “Ontario has been waiting for something like this to happen for a while now and I’m the perfect person to deliver because I don’t shy away from hard work. Getting this victory will be huge for me and the people of Ontario.”
Tickets for the Nov. 15 event, starting at only $20.00, are on sale and available to purchase at the Hershey Centre box office (Gate A entrance), online at www.ticketmaster.ca, or by calling TicketMaster at 1.85.985.5000.
