Dmitry Bivol fights Lenin Castillo this Saturday in Chicago

Fighting in the Windy City for the first time in his career, WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol will enter the ring this Saturday a heavy favorite against little known Lenin Castillo.

“I’m very excited to be in Chicago, this is my first time here and I like it here very much,” said the 28-year-old, a native of St. Petersburg, Russia. “Big beautiful buildings, very nice people and it’s a very clean city. I’m glad that I’m fighting here on Saturday night. I’m very happy that there are a lot of Kyrgyzstan, Russian and Ukrainian fans in addition to so many local fans coming to the fight.”

Bivol (16-0, 12 KOs) who holds victories over Sullivan Barrera, Issac Chilemba, Jean Pascal, and most recently, Joe Smith, will be making the sixth defense of his belt.

Loser of two his last seven fights, Castillo will be looking to strike lightening in the bottle. The Dominican Republic native has iced 15 of his 20 opponents.

"It’s a dream come true,” Castillo said. “I consider Dmitry Bivol in the top 20 on the pound-for-pound list, but I know that a have the tools to upset him."

Bivol feels he’s ready for whatever Castillo will bring to the ring.

“I know for Castillo this a big opportunity but we’ve prepared very well in Los Angeles and I look forward to putting on a great performance for those in attendance and watching on DAZN.”

The championship fight is the co-feature of former cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk’s heavyweight debut against late replacement Chazz Weatherspoon.