Armando Casamonica is set to replace Corey Marksman in his upcoming bout with Lucas Bahdi, which forms part of the undercard for Mike Tyson’s clash with Jake Paul next week.
Marksman has had to pull out of the scheduled fight due to injury, which was set to take place at the AT&T Stadium in Texas next Friday. Now, Bahdi and Casamonica will go head-to-head, each risking their unbeaten records in front of a potential crowd of 80,000 spectators before Tyson’s contentious match with YouTuber Paul.
Bahdi gained recognition after he knocked out Ashton Sylve in July, brutally ending the fight against Paul’s stablemate, while Casamonica holds the title of Italian light-welterweight champion. “It’s an immense honour to represent my family and our legacy on the biggest stage in boxing,” he expressed about stepping in at short notice.
“Boxers dream of nights like this – fighting under the lights at AT&T Stadium, in front of millions of fans around the world, including my fans at home in Italy, on Netflix. Thank you to MVP for this opportunity, I’m bringing everything I’ve got to this fight, and Lucas Bahdi better be ready because history meets destiny on Friday, November 15.”
Reacting to the late change in opponent, Bahdi commented: “Undefeated fighters always fight hard to protect their records and I expect that Armando Casamonica will do that. But I’m also undefeated and will fight even harder than him. I can’t wait to put on a show on November 15.”
Tyson is set to step back into the ring for the first time in four years, taking on YouTuber Paul at the age of 58. The former undisputed heavyweight champion last fought in a lacklustre draw with Roy Jones Jr in a behind-closed-doors match in 2020, marking his first appearance since retiring mid-fight against Kevin McBride in 2005.
Paul, on the other hand, boasts a professional record of 11 fights, with 10 wins and a single defeat at the hands of Tommy Fury last year. The social media sensation has built up his record with victories over several ex-MMA fighters including Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva and Nate Diaz.
His most recent triumph was over bare-knuckle boxer and former UFC star Mike Perry.
Perry had stepped in as a replacement for Tyson after the veteran fighter withdrew from his initial fight date with Paul due to an ulcer flare-up during a flight. The rescheduled bout, which will be streamed on Netflix, is set for next week, with Tyson asserting he is ready to go toe-to-toe for eight two-minute rounds.
