By Ryan Burton

BoxingScene.com recently caught up with IBF featherweight champion Evgeny Gradovich (16-0). The undefeated fighter won his title in March when he scored  an upset win over Billy Dib (35-2) of Australia.  Gradovich talked about taking the fight on short notice. 

"I had a good performance. I didn't have a lot of time for sparring or preparation.  I had (a total of) 4 weeks, 3 weeks for sparring but as you saw it was enough," Gradovich explained.

Next up for the 26-year-old is a mandatory defense against Mauricio Javier Muñoz (26-3) of Argentina. Gradovich praised his opponent and feels that the two will put on a great show in Macau, China where the fight takes place on July 27th. 

"I began my training camp last week and we are working hard. I will have a better performance with the full camp.  Muñoz is a good fighter. He's the #1 contender and he has already fought for the title versus (Toshiaki) Nishioka. I think it is going to be a good fight for me, for him and for everybody that watches it," Gradovich stated. 

"It is interesting for me, because before it was my first time fighting in America and now it will be my first time in China so is it very special for me," he continued.

Gradovich finished our conversation by explaining how his nickname the "Mexican-Russian" came about. 

"People call me the Mexican-Russian because I am from Russia and my team is Mexican.  People from the gym gave me the nickname and I think it is cool so it stuck," Gradovich told BoxingScene.com.

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