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Taras Shelestyuk travels north of the U.S. border for his biggest pro fight to date as a greater battle continues in his home country.
The unbeaten Ukrainian southpaw—who now lives and trains in Los Angeles–is set for a showdown with fellow undefeated welterweight Gabriel Maestre. Both boxers weighed right at the 147-pound divisional limit for their scheduled 12-round main event Friday evening at Montreal Casino in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The bout is sanctioned by the WBA as a semifinal eliminator in an already logjammed welterweight division.
Shelestyuk (19-0, 11KOs) spent his first 18 pro fights exclusively in the U.S, beginning with his March 2013 pro debut in Verona, New York. The 36-year-old contender traveled to Mexico for his most recent start, a tenth-round stoppage of Ernesto Espana last October in Cancun.
Shelestyuk claimed a Bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics as part of the same team from Ukraine that boasted Gold medalists Vasiliy Lomachenko and Oleksandr Usyk and bronze medalist Oleksandr Gvozdyk. All three went on to become world champions in the pro ranks.
Lomachenko and Usyk have been forced to put their immediate boxing plans on hold to take up arms for Ukraine in defense against the ongoing Russian invasion. Shelestyuk—who moved to Los Angeles shortly after 2012 London—has repeatedly spoken out against the war, calling for peace while training for Friday’s main event.
Venezuela’s Maestre (4-0, 3KOs)—who is now based out of Barranquilla, Colombia—enters the fight on the heels of a highly questionable win that saw immediate change in the sport, particularly the manner in which the WBA has since sanctioned fights. The two-time Venezuelan Olympian actually passed on a chance to represent his home country in last summer’s Tokyo Olympics to instead proceed with his pro career.
That decision led to his most recent bout, a widely disputed unanimous decision victory over Mykal Fox in their WBA interim welterweight title fight last August in Minneapolis. The controversial outcome prompted industry-wide outrage, including the WBA being put on notice by the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) who called for the sanctioning body to curb its practice of doling out multiple titles per division.
The WBA immediately responded by stripping Maestre of the belt and ordering an immediate rematch. WBA interim titles were removed from circulation soon thereafter, a development that prompted Fox’s handlers to pull the boxer from negotiations which allowed Maestre to maintain a lofty position in the WBA welterweight ratings.
Despite the fight carrying title eliminator status, the winner is not automatically granted a clear shot at the title. WBA “Super” welterweight titlist Yordenis Ugas (27-4, 12KOs) is presently on course to face WBC/IBF welterweight champ Errol Spence (27-0, 21KOs) in a three-belt unification bout atop an April 16 Showtime Pay-Per-View event from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Radzhab Butaev (14-0, 11KOs) presently holds the WBA “World” welterweight title, which he is due to defend against mandatory challenger Eimantas Stanionis (13-0, 9KOs; 1ND). The bout is reportedly set to also take place on the April 16 Showtime PPV event, though not yet formally announced. The winners of Spence-Ugas and Butaev-Stanionis are mandated to next meet, as per an agreement reached between Ugas and Stanionis in lieu of their own previously ordered title fight.
The winner of Friday’s main event will occupy the number-two slot in the WBA’s next set of rankings which are updated at the end of each month.
Below are the weights for the rest of the undercard.
Kim Clavel (14-0, 2KOs), Montreal, 107.6 pounds vs. Mariela Ribera Valverde (11-6, 8KOs), Trinidad, Bolivia, 106.6 pounds—10 rounds, for Clavel’s WBC “Silver” junior flyweight title
Mathieu Germain (19-2-1, 8KOs), Mascouche, Quebec, 144.2 pounds vs. Eric Inzunza Angulo (8-2, 8KOs), Culiacan, Mexico, 142.4 pounds—8 rounds, welterweight
Louis Jourdain (2-1, 1KO), Saint-Antoine, Quebec, 135 pounds vs. Jorge Castro (3-4-2, 1KO), Guadalajara, 134 pounds–4 rounds, lightweight
Derek Pomerleau (pro debut), Montreal, 162.4 pounds vs. Daniel Beaupre (1-0, 1KO), Halifax, Nova Scotia, 160.8 pounds–4 rounds, middleweight
Samuel Lajoie Dery (1-1, 1KO), Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, 145.4 pounds vs. Jose Atocha Pacheco (1-1, 1KO), Merida, Mexico, 146 pounds—4 rounds, junior welterweight
Alexis Barriere (4-0, 3KOs), Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, 221.4 pounds vs. Israel Nava Lopez (2-0, 2KOs), Durango, Mexico, 206.2 pounds—4 rounds, heavyweight
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox