Former WBA middleweight champion Rob Brant will return to the fray against Vitaliy Kopylenko in a 10-rounder at ‘The Bubble’ in the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, on August 22.
Brant-Kopylenko will act as the co-feature to the WBO light heavyweight title eliminator between Eleider Alvarez and Joe Smith Jr.
Minnesota’s Bryant (25-2, 17 KOs) hasn’t fought since losing his WBA crown in a rematch against Ryota Murata in two rounds in July 2019. A January comeback was scrapped after the former champion suffered torn biceps, but now he finally returns against Ukrainian Kopylenko (28-2, 16 KOs) with new coach Brian ‘Bomac’ McIntyre, who trains three-weight champion Terence Crawford and WBO 130lbs champion Jamel Herring.
“I have worked extremely hard, even though the current climate through the pandemic has been a bit hectic,” said Brant. “After physical therapy, I stayed focused on my nutrition, thanks to my wonderful wife, Tiffany, and began doing a lot of distance running until I was cleared to start punching again.
“I have been in camp for close to three months now and feel very strong and confident. Kopylenko is talented with a great body attack. I am very confident, but I respect his skill set and will prepare like this is a world title bout. I’m back!”
In other action, Clay Collard (8-2-3, 3 KOs) meets Maurice Williams (7-1, 3 KOs) in a middleweight bout, his third ‘Bubble’ appearance since June 18. Collard is 4-0 in 2020 including three victories over previously undefeated prospects.
Former US amateur star Duke Ragan makes his pro debut at featherweight against Luis Alvarado (1-1, 0 KOs) on the undercard.
