Andrii Novytskyi’s journey as a professional boxer has taken him to many places.
He was born and grew up in Ukraine. He lives in Los Angeles with his family. He’s fought in California, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
On Saturday, July 27, he’ll be in Melrose, facing Keith Rydell Mayes for the vacant World Boxing Council International heavyweight title at Memorial Hall.
“I’m lucky to be here,” said Novytskyi, who is 11-0 with nine knockouts and turned 29 on July 4. “It’s my first fight for a belt. It’s a big step for me but I’m confident and my team has confidence in me.”
The fight is Novytskyi’s second in Melrose. On Feb. 16 he stopped Bobby O’Bannon in two rounds at Memorial Hall. He’s also fought twice in Windham, New Hampshire and twice in Maine, once in Skowhegan and once in Portland.
The reason the Ukrainian-born California resident has fought half of his professional fights in New England is because that’s where his promoter, Boston Boxing Promotions, is based.
“I’m good friends with his trainer, Anatoliy Dudchenko,” said Peter Czymbor, Boston Boxing Promotions’ president. “I was in San Diego and Anatoliy told me about him. He’s improved by leaps and bounds since then. He’s very dedicated to his craft.”
Standing 6 feet, 6 inches and weighing 245 pounds, Novytskyi is trying to follow in the footsteps of other Ukrainian heavyweights, such as former world champions Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko and the current undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
“He looks a lot like Klitscko and he’s the same size,” said Dudchenko.
Said Czymbor, “He’s a very fundamentally sound boxer. He’s very intelligent and very precise in the ring. Heavyweights from Ukraine have a particular style that’s very cerebral.”
Novytskyi also has the same manager as Usyk, Egis Klimas, who also manages former three-division world champion Vasily Lomochenko and light heavyweight champion Dimitri Bivol.
Before he began boxing, Novytskyi was a volleyball player. He fought on Ukraine’s national team as an amateur and came to the United States two years ago to turn professional.
Dudchenko is also a native of Ukraine who settled in Los Angeles. He was a professional light heavyweight with a 19-4 (13 KOs) record in a career that started in 2002 and lasted until 2015. Along the way he won IBF Intercontinental, WBA-NABA USA and WBF Intercontinental titles.
“I always wanted to come to the United States and become a champion,” he said.
In his 10th pro fight, he made an appearance on one of the highest profile shows of the year, on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua vs Francis Nganou fight in Ryadh, Saudi Arabia. In a scheduled eight-round bout, he stopped Juan Torres in the third round.
“Before the fight, he was sleeping and watching cartoons,” said Dudchenko.
The fight against Mayes (15-2, 14 knockouts) will be Novytskyi’s first scheduled 10-round bout. In his last fight, on June 15, he went the eight-round distance for the first time, winning a unanimous decision against Jackson Dos Santos in Shelbyville, Kentucky. He dropped Dos Santos in the second and eighth rounds.
“Klitschko had 22 fights before he fought eight rounds,” Dudchenko said.
Novytskyi and his team hope a win over Mayes and the WBC International belt will lead to bigger fights, perhaps a return to Saudi Arabia, where many of the biggest fights in recent years have been taking place. The fighters they hope to see him face include former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, who recently knocked out former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.
“Anyone in the top 10,” Novytskyi said.
“By 2026, he could be there,” Czymbor said.
