Dejan Zlaticanin/Photo courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions
Unless you’re a real fanatic of the sweet science, chances are you’ve never heard of Dejan Zlaticanin. He is a lightweight champion from Montenegro who has fought his past two bouts in the United States after fighting his first 20 in his homeland and various other countries.
Americans will get to know him much better when he defends his title against Mikey Garcia of Oxnard on Jan. 28 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. They will tangle underneath the featherweight championship between Carl Frampton of Northern Ireland and Leo Santa Cruz of Lincoln Heights (on Showtime).
One thing’s certain, Zlaticanin (22-0, 15 KOs) is not shy about saying what he plans on doing to Garcia. That was clear Tuesday at Fortune Gym in Hollywood.
“If Garcia tries to go toe-to-toe or stay in the center of the ring, I will knock him out,” said Zlaticanin, 32. “If he tries to jab and move, then I will have to find my way to his head and break him down.”
While some of us may wonder how good Zlaticanin really is, Garcia (35-0, 29 KOs) intimated he needs no convincing.