Tag Archives: Dejan Zlaticanin

Dejan Zlaticanin means business, and Mikey Garcia seems aware of that

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Dejan Zlaticanin

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.

“I’m not overlooking Zlaticanin, but everybody else seems to be,” said the 29-year-old Garcia, who has won titles at featherweight and super featherweight. “People ask me about what I’d want for future fights, but I know how dangerous this guy is. Anything could happen. But I know that I have what it takes to beat him. He has power, but I also have power.”

 

 

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Former two-champion Mikey Garcia eyeing big accomplishments in 2017

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ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE After a lengthy legal battle with Top Rank, Oxnard's Mikey Garcia is free to sign with another promotional company and hopes to get back into the ring in the near future.

Mikey Garcia will fight for a title in a third weight class Jan. 28 in Las Vegas/Associated Press file photo

 

Mikey Garcia has big goals for 2017. He will start trying to accomplishing them Jan. 28 when he challenges Dejan Zlaticanin of Montenegro for his lightweight title at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (on Showtime).

“I’m really happy to have been given this opportunity to claim a world title in a third division,” said Garcia, who has won titles at featherweight and super featherweight. “This is going to be an amazing fight. He’s a hungry world champion, he’s very dangerous. These are the kind of fights I want. This is what I need to prove myself.

“This is only the beginning. This is going to be a huge year for me. I want to win multiple titles and maybe conquer multiple divisions this year.”

Garcia, of Oxnard, did not fight for 2 1/2 years because of a contract dispute with his former promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank Inc. After a settlement, Garcia got back into the ring this past July 30 and stopped Elio Rojas in the fifth round at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Garcia, 28, is 35-0 with 29 knockouts. Zlaticanin, 32, is 22-0 with 15 knockouts. They will tangle underneath the featherweight championship rematch between Leo Santa Cruz of Lincoln Heights and Carl Frampton of Northern Ireland.

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Dejan Zlaticanin predicts knockout of Mikey Garcia on Dec. 10 at Galen Center

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Dejan Zlaticanin

Dejan Zlaticanin/Photo courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions

 

Dejan Zlaticanin of Montenegro won the lightweight world title with a third-round stoppage of Franklin Mamani of Bolivia in June in Verona, N.Y. It made him kind of a big deal in his homeland.

“To be the first world champion from Montenegro is historic,”  Zlaticanin said. “I think it’s made me a national hero in the country and I’m honored. The people in my country love me and I love them back.”

Zlaticanin (22-0, 15 KOs)  wants them to love him even more and he figures a successful title defense over someone like Mikey Garcia will do just that. The two square off Dec. 10 at Galen Center (on Showtime) underneath the main event between Abner Mares of Hawaiian Gardens and featherweight champion  Jesus Cuellar of Argentina.

“When I beat Mikey Garcia, that will make me an even bigger star,” Zlaticanin said at Thursday’s news conference in Los Angeles. “I think Mikey is a good puncher, and he has good timing, but I can hit him easily and I’m planning to knock him out.”
Garcia (35-0, 29 KOs), of Oxnard, has won world titles at featherweight and super featherweight. He relishes the chance to win one in a third.
“I’m really happy to have been given this opportunity to claim a world title in a third division,” Garcia said. “This is going to be an amazing fight. He’s a hungry world champion. He’s very dangerous. These are the kind of fights that I want. This is what I need to prove myself.”
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