Liakhovich and Palacios Added to Valuev – Haye Card

Posted by Michael Payne on 11.05.2009

Former WBO heavyweight champion Sergei Liakhovich and undefeated cruiserweight
Francisco Palacios will both be in action on the under card of Valuev/Haye on Saturday night in Nuremberg, Germany.


Former WBO heavyweight champion Sergei "White Wolf" Liakhovich (23-3, 14 KOs) will face the dangerous veteran Jeremy "The Beast" Bates (22-16-1, 18 KOs), while the undefeated cruiserweight Francisco "The Wizard" Palacios (18-0, 11 KOs) will meet DeLeon Tinsley (9-4-1, 5 KOs). Both of the bouts are scheduled for eight rounds.

Liakhovich won the WBO crown when he beat Lamon Brewster in 2006. In his next match he was looking like defending the title against Shannon Briggs. Going in to the final round he had a healthy lead but traded shots with Briggs and came off second best, being put down twice before the fight was stopped. Liakhovich's last fight was in 2008 when he lost by unanimous decision against Nikolai Valuev.

Puerto Rican Palacios is an undefeated and fast-rising cruiserweight with knockout power. He is currently ranked No. 3 by both the WBC and WBA.