Mike Plania will have his hands full when he slugs it out with undefeated American Ra'eese Aleem underneath the Hispanic heavyweight war between Andy Ruiz and Luis Ortiz tomorrow at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Plania, who fights out of Miami, Florida, by way of General Santos City, enters the scheduled 10-rounder armed with a 26-1 record with 13 knockouts.
Nicknamed "The Beast," Aleem, a Michigan native, parades a 19-0 slate with 12 stoppages.
Speaking to Anson Wainwright of RingTV.com, Aleem knows what he is up against.
"He's very tough and I'm expecting an explosive fight, but I'm going to steal the show," Aleem, 32, said.
"It's going to be a very entertaining fight because we both like to let our hands go and throw hard punches. He does a lot of things well, that's why he's fighting at the top level," Aleem added.
Plania will have top tactician Osmiri Fernandez, who used to train in Cuba, as the most important voice in his corner against Aleem.
"He is in great shape and he will shock everyone and beat Aleem," Mananquil said from Los Angeles yesterday.