Callum Johnson vs Igor Mikhalkin official for May 2 Whyte-Povetkin card

Badlefthook.com

The European light heavyweight title vacancy will be filled on May 2 in London, as Callum Johnson and Igor Mikhalkin are officially set to vie for the belt on the Whyte-Povetkin undercard in London.

Johnson-Mikhalkin joins Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano on the undercard.

The 34-year-old Johnson (18-1, 13 KO) is a banger and a solid fighter at 175 pounds. He challenged Artur Beterbiev for a world title in Oct. 2018, and it was a real firefight, with both fighters hitting the canvas before Beterbiev stopped Johnson in the fourth round. Johnson has held the British and Commonwealth titles in the past.

Mikhalkin (23-2, 10 KO) is a 34-year-old veteran from Russia, now based in Germany. He also fought for a world title in 2018, stopped in seven by Sergey Kovalev. He’s won two straight since and is a former European champion.

“He’s a good tough fighter,” said Johnson. “It’s a tough fight for me, he’s a solid southpaw, he’s been European champion before and he lost to Kovalev when Kovalev was still top of his game. I’m expecting a very hard fight but it’s a fight that I’m looking forward to and I’m confident I can win.”

“I’m happy that I can showcase my skills against a tough opponent in the UK,” said Mikhalkin. “I know that Callum will come into our fight in very good shape and he has already shown he can trouble the best fighters in the world. I believe that I have what it takes to beat Callum, I’ve held the European title before and made a number of successful defences, this is my belt and I’ll be taking it back to Russia after May 2.”