Yonatan Landman to Fight in June

Flyweight Yonatan Landman is scheduled to fight Habib Lartey on June 15 at Bukum Boxing Arena in Accra, Ghana. BoxRec lists the fight as a bantamweight contest.

A native of Kiryat, Israel, Landman turned pro in January and is 2-0 with two KOs. A skilled boxer trained by his father, Yonatan is still getting his feet wet in the pro game. The ginger-haired warrior last fought in March at Bukom where he scored a second round KO against Simon Tackie.

Habib Lartey lost his only pro fight back in November. On the positive side, he has fast hands and fleet feet. Lartey's defeat came at the hands of Olympian Sulemanu Tetteh, a skilled and poised fighter. On the negative side, Lartey exhibits atrocious punch technique, particularly when he throws the right. Instead of punching with the right, it looks as if he's swatting at flies. Against Tetteh, Lartey inexplicably quit after the second round and then paraded around the ring congratulating himself.

The Ghanaian has a wild and awkward style. His awkwardness is offensively ineffective, but it could actually stymie the attack of Landman, who has sparred technicians such as David Alaverdian. Lartey keeps his hands down on the outside, a move more out of bravado than an attempt to set up counters. He rushes in face first while he throws wild shots. Tetteh, who was used to fighting world class amateurs, controlled the fight but did seem unsettled by Lartey's unorthodox technique.

Landman-Lartey is scheduled for six rounds.