Roc Nation Sports today announced that light heavyweight boxer Meng Fanlong (14-0, 9 KOs) will take on Adam Deines (17-0, 8 KOs) of Germany in the IBF Light Heavyweight World Title Mandatory Eliminator bout taking place at the annual IBF Convention ‘s special boxing event in Macao, China on June 1, 2019.
This fight will be Fanlong’s most significant bout to date as with a win, Fanlong becomes the #1 mandatory challenger of IBF World Champion Artur Beterbiev (14-0, 14 KOs).
“I’m beyond excited to be fighting again for the IBF Intercontinental Title, again in Macau, against a very tough opponent and most importantly, for the IBF World Title Eliminator,” said Fanlong. “If I win, I become the challenger to the current world title holder. However, I am not looking past Deines. He is a very strong opponent and I have a lot of respect to him for taking this fight. I will do my thing one step at a time. My training camp has been a fantastic. I’m in great shape and skill level. I can’t wait for June 1st so everyone can see me shine once again.”
When Fanlong returns to the ring, it will mark his first bout since he toppled Frank Buglioni on November 24, 2018 via technical knockout to capture the IBF Inter-Continental Light Heavyweight title. In this next fight on June 1, Fanlong looks to remain undefeated and continue his journey to the top with hopes of a world title fight by the end of 2019.
“I’m elated that Fanlong is getting this opportunity to prove he is an elite Light Heavyweight, which is one of the hottest divisions in boxing,” said Roc Nation Sports boxing promoter Dino Duva. “I’ve been working with Meng since I first met him on the Chinese national team over 10 years ago. He has a very tough opponent in Deines, but he has worked very hard and I’m confident we will prevail. Then, he has the chance of a lifetime to fight for and become the first Chinese world light heavyweight champion. However, first things first, Fanlong has great respect for Deines as a very tough opponent in June and is not looking past him. I want to thank the IBF, IBF / China and Longjoy Sports for staging this great event at the IBF Convention and giving us this opportunity, along with my friends Ulf Steinforth and his team at SES Promotions. This will be a great event and match!”
