CHRIS Kongo has agreed a deal to fight nemesis Florian Marku in a welterweight clash.
It will be Bermondsey fighter Kongo’s first bout since January 2023 when he lost a majority decision to Nottingham’s Ekow Essuman in a British, European and Commonwealth title clash at the Manchester Arena, his second professional defeat in sixteen contests.
‘2Slick’ Kongo, 31, and Albanian Marku, also 31 and with a professional record of thirteen wins and one draw, clashed at a press conference last August.
Kongo said on Sky Sports: “Him being a hothead how he is, he ended up pushing me. It could have been an altercation but security’s there.
“I’m excited now. The fight is here. This is what we want, this is what the supporters are asking and we’re going to give it to them. It’s a good one.
“Now I believe he’s been backed into a corner, he can’t go nowhere now. He’s got to fight the likes of me or any of the top 10 in the UK now.
“It’s only right for him to fight me because we’ve built up a rapport now.”
There is sure to be plenty of jibes back and forth before the fight, which is expected to take place in March.
Marku said: “He’s going to regret it. He’s going to regret it for sure that he chose to fight me.
“His wish came true. I know that he will be training too much for this fight because that is his most important fight of his life til now.
“But I have always been training as if it is the most important fight of my life and when we’re in the ring he will understand that.”
BOXXER promoter Ben Shalom added that for Kongo it is “a chance to really bounce back in a big way, especially after what happened with Ekow Essuman. He should have won that fight, I think.
“It’s a must-win for both.”
