Polish middleweight Kamil Szeremeta had been all set to defend his European title when he was offered the opportunity to fight on the Gennadiy Golovkin-Sergey Derevyanchenko undercard in New York, in early October.

Szeremeta, who is rated No. 8 by The Ring Magazine at 160 pounds, knew that if he beat Oscar Cortes he would be primed for an IBF title opportunity with the winner of the main event, which was won by Golovkin. Things have recently moved forward in that regard.

“We are ready,” Andrew Wasilewski, who promotes Szeremeta, told The Ring. “Kamil Szeremeta is a very ambitious sportsman. He dreams about fighting against a legend like ‘GGG.’ It is his goal.”

The working date, according to Wasilewski, is either February 8 or 29 at the Wintrust Arena, in Chicago, where a large Polish community resides.

Szeremeta (20-0, 5 knockouts) didn’t hastily vacate his EBU belt with but knew that was the natural progression to make the step up to the world stage.

“It was an honor for me to have the EBU belt but life goes on and I dream of bigger things,” the 30-year-old said. “I believe they will come sooner or later. I want to fight for a world title.”

He enjoyed the opportunity to fight on such a big card and feels that will serve him well going forward.

“It was a great experience for me to box in the legendary [Madison Square Garden] and to be part of the GGG’s ‘Big Drama Show,'” he explained. “When I was young, I watched Andrew Golota fight Riddick Bowe, John Ruiz and Chris Byrd at MSG on TV.

“It was like a dream come true but, at the same time, I was trying to convince myself that it’s just a regular arena – not to put too much pressure on myself.

“The fight [against Oscar Cortes] was short but I did what I was supposed to do. I caught him early and finished the job. It was my American debut so I wanted to do it in spectacular way. The main goal was to win but I also wanted to win by KO.”

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected] and you can follow him on Twitter @AnsonWainwright.

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