The decade of boxing in the United States beckons to Nicky Holzkin | Other sports

Nieky Holzken was recently invited by an American boxing promoter to show his skills in Miami. During the sparring session, he immediately showed the Ukrainian every corner of the ring. “Not just a cookie cutter, but a tough boxer. They were impressed immediately, and now we're talking about a contract.” NaturalWho will play a professional match at his home stadium, Helmond, on Saturday. He does so at a professional boxing party at his father-in-law and trainer Sev Weber's gym on Icarusstraat.

Holzken is a seven-time kickboxing world champion, but last year was a disappointment athletically. “I no longer have any real goals to achieve in kickboxing. Yes, I could become world champion for the eighth, ninth, tenth time, but that's not exciting anymore. There is still an open world to me in boxing.”

On Saturday evening, Holzken will face Ukrainian Viktor Polyakov, his strongest opponent so far. Polyakov is ranked 45th in the world in the so-called super middleweight category (-77kg), and Holzken is 37. De Helmonder sees the fight as a great opportunity to move up the world rankings further. “Good times are coming,” Holzken says.