Wilkens Mathieu is moving fast to find out how close he is to the top of the super middleweight division. The 21-year-old will defend his NABF belt against former world title challenger Vladimir Shishkin on October 8 at Théâtre Capitole in Quebec City.
Mathieu (16-0, 11 KOs) comes off an eighth-round stoppage of Olympic silver medalist Esquiva Falcao in June. Falcao had some success early before Mathieu took over, making Shishkin a considerably tougher next test rather than another developmental bout.
Shishkin (17-2, 11 KOs) has already competed at the level Mathieu aims to reach. His two defeats came aga
