Still undefeated and only 30 years old, Mariusz Ksiazkiewicz is looking to pick up right where he left off last summer.

Ksiazkiewicz (7-0) will take on Guilherme Miranda (18-8) in a middleweight contest at Teofista: Fight For The Troops on Saturday night in Brandon, MB.

Although he holds an impressive record, Ksiazkiewicz has had just one fight in the past three years, a drought he said needs to change in order to re-open the doors to bigger and better opportunities.

“I’ve been approached by several promotions and they keep telling me ‘a couple more wins, a couple more wins.’ But if you’re not fighting regularly, they kind of forget about you,” said Ksiazkiewicz in an interview.

“I’m not looking past Guilherme and I’m not expecting anything magical to happen when I beat him, but I’ll just take it one fight at a time and explore my options after this one.”

Not only has Ksiazkiewicz fought just once in the past three years, he’s also only stepped in the cage just three times in the past six years.

Between his own injuries, opponents injuries, and fight cards being canceled, Ksiazkiewicz said it’s been a frustrating run that he’s hoping is coming to an end.

“Every possible outcome for not having a fight has happened in the last three years,” said Ksiazkiewicz.

“I’m just hoping after this one things start to pick up and I can get a couple fights back-to-back.”

Homecoming

Calling Winnipeg home, Ksiazkiewicz has the luxury of competing in his home province, just two hours from his hometown, for the first time in over six years.

He said he’s looking forward to the opportunity to fight close to home, and plans to take in every moment of it.

“I’m excited because I’ve always been kind of a road warrior, always being the bad guy in someone else’s hometown,” said Ksiazkiewicz.

“I’m telling all my friends and family the same thing; the last time I fought in Manitoba was six and a half years ago, so you better watch this one because it might be another six and a half years before I fight here again.”

Considering himself primarily a middleweight, Ksiazkiewicz is set to hold a significant size advantage over Miranda come fight night, with the latter having fought the majority of his career at lightweight.

Ksiazkiewicz said his size advantage is going to play a major factor in this contest, and said he believes Miranda made a mistake making this significant of a jump up in weight.

“Going up 30 pounds is never a good idea,” said Ksiazkiewicz.

“Just because you can take a punch at 155 doesn’t mean you’ll be able to take a punch from a 185er. I think my size is going to tire him out, and I’ll be able to capitalize later in the fight.”

Ksiazkiewicz’s Shoutouts

“I’d like to thank my friends and family, everyone that supports me, training partners, my coaches (Curtis Brigham, Vitaliy Romankov, Craig Penniston, Dave Zuniga), and my sponsors (The Baltic Brothers, Gorilla Jack Supplements, United Therapies STRIVE, South Winnipeg Physiotherapy).” Follow Ksiazkiewicz on social media: INSTAGRAM