It's Showtime Lyon: 'Braddock' Silva In, Slowinski Out Against Daniel Ghita

It's official. Daniel Ghita will have a new opponent when he steps into the ring for It's Showtime in Lyon, France on May 14th. Ghita's original opponent, Paul Slowinski, has been forced out of the bout due to injury and will be replaced by Anderson 'Braddock' Silva.

This will mark the second scheduled bout that Paul Slowinski has had to recently step away from because of injury. The Polish-born Australian heavyweight was scheduled to face K-1 veteran Peter Graham last weekend on the Kings of Kombat 3 card in Melbourne. Prior to his injury, Slowinski hit a pretty good stride, capping off a streak of domestic wins with a first round knockout of Boonchu Gym prospect Thor Hoopman.

It's Showtime has announced that Brazilian standout Anderson 'Braddock' Silva will be the man to replace Paul Slowinski in Lyon. Silva has shown real promise despite posting mixed results over the past year, including back-to-back losses against Mourad Bouzidi. The Chakuriki Gym fighter gained a bit of notoriety with a highlight reel knockout against Freddy Kemayo at the most recent It's Showtime event at The Sand on December 28th. The young fighter holds career victories over the likes of Stefan Leko, Hesdy Gerges, and Danyo Ilunga.

No matter who his opponent, it is certain that Daniel Ghita will be aiming to bounce back from losses against Gokhan Saki in last year's K-1 World Grand Prix Final quarterfinals and Hesdy Gerges at the It's Showtime event on March 6th. Both losses came in competitive bouts and Ghita remains one of the top heavyweights in the world.

The new bout between Daniel Ghita and Anderson 'Braddock' Silva will also alter the fight card for It's Showtime's return to The Sand in Amsterdam on May 21st. It was announced earlier this week that Silva would be squaring off against Jamal Ben Saddik. With Ben Saddik's bout against Silva scrapped, it is unclear how the Belgian fighter who trains out of Champions Gym will follow up his surprise knockout victory over Rico Verhoeven at It's Showtime Sporthallen Zuid Amsterdam on March 6th.