Live world championship boxing continues its EPIX run in April and May with two more exciting events featuring big names of the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. Undefeated WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly defends his title against Robin Krasniqi on Saturday, April 20, at London’s Wembley Arena.
The following month, World Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko, making his fourth consecutive appearance on EPIX, defends his world titles against undefeated Francesco Pianeta on Saturday, May 4, at the SAP-Arena in Mannheim, Germany. Both fights will be televised live to the U.S. exclusively on EPIX.
These four gladiators boast a combined record of 151-5-1 (92 KOs) — a winning percentage of 96% and a victory by knockout ratio of 61%.
“We’re excited to present another strong slate of compelling world championship battles,” said Travis Pomposello, Chief Creative Officer for EPIX Sports. “The Cleverly-Krasniqi and Klitschko-Pianeta title rumbles are competitive fights with marquee value that our viewers want to see and have come to expect from EPIX.”
Cleverly (25-0, 12 KOs), of Caerphilly, Wales, was British Commonwealth and European light heavyweight champion before he ascended the throne as world champion. He has since successfully defended the WBO title four times since 2011 against opponents who had a combined record of 81-6-2 when he battled them. In Cleverly’s last fight, which took place at Staples Center in Los Angeles on November 11, he blasted out Shawn Hawk in the eighth round.
Klitschko (59-3, 50 KOs), of Kiev, Ukraine, is a two-time world heavyweight champion. He enters this fight riding a nine-year, 16-bout winning streak. Last year he successfully defended his titles three times — a fourth-round knockout of former two-time world champion Jean Marc Mormeck on March 3, and a sixth-round stoppage of mandatory challenger Tony Thompson on July 7.
He finished the year with a 12-round unanimous decision victory over previously undefeated Mariusz Wach on November 10. All three title defenses were televised live to the U.S. by EPIX.
