Last week, Kalle Sauerland revealed his intention to pit Olympic bronze medalist Filip Hrgovic against once-beaten Martin Bakole after attempts to face Michael Hunter fell through. Two days ago, Bakole’s trailer, Billy Nelson, claimed the fight was “in the making.” Now, Dan Rafael reports that the two are “finalizing a deal” to meet this upcoming
Fighting
WBA, IBF, and WBO lightweight titlist Teofimo Lopez has a mandatory order from the IBF to face George Kambosos Jr next, and while talks for the bout — possibly in Australia — are going on, Lopez manager David McWater told our Michael Woods that the fight isn’t close to being done yet, with respect to
David Morrell’s super middleweight title may not be particularly legit, but his next challenge certainly will be. The WBA today elevated the 23-year-old Cuban from “interim” to “world” champion, a largely meaningless distinction that nonetheless comes with orders to fight John Ryder. As always, the pair have 30 days to negotiate. Morrell (4-0, 3 KO)
Claressa Shields’ undisputed super welterweight title fight with Marie-Eve Dicaire, first scheduled for last May and ultimately torpedoed by the coronavirus, is back on. The two are set to fight in the main event of a March 5th FITE PPV in Shields’ native Flint, Michigan. The event will run you a cool $29.95, and those
Top welterweight prospect Jaron Ennis missed out on a step-up fight last month, but he’s apparently already got eyes on another one. Steve Kim reports that a clash between “Boots” and former super lightweight champion Sergey Lipinets “is being discussed for April.” Ennis (26-0, 24 KO) was supposed to face Thomas Dulorme on Showtime’s December
A month to the day after securing the biggest win of his professional career, undefeated super middleweight and two-time Ecuadorian Olympian Carlos Gongora has joined forces with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing. ✍️ Welcome to the team IBO Super-Middleweight champion, Carlos Gongora! Some fights to be made at 168lbs! Read more ⬇️ — Matchroom Boxing
Caleb Truax laughs. It’s not a nervous laugh, nor one of derision to my ignorance – I mean, I have just asked him to walk me through the relatively straightforward process of ice fishing. It’s wholesome and genuine; relaxed and welcoming. There is an aura of calm exuding from the former IBF super middleweight champion
During a conversation with Marcos Villegas of Fight Hub TV, the legendary Bernard Hopkins gives his take on the talk of a potential fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Gennadiy Golovkin. Hopkins and De La Hoya obviously work together at Golden Boy, and although they haven’t specifically discussed a Golovkin fight, Hopkins wouldn’t be
SHO, 9:00 pm ET, ShoBox: The New Generation. This was originally meant to be a quadrupleheader, but a lot of ShoBox cards are meant to be quadrupleheaders, and rarely make it all the way there. The original main event between Patrick Cora and Hurshidbek Normatov is off, and neither of them are on the card
According to Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn, nearly all negotiation points to stage an heavyweight showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have been agreed, with Hearn saying the fight is a done deal although still formally unsigned. “The deal is done, really — without being signed. The financial elements of the deal are done. We’re
With UK boxing back on the menu, Matchroom has unveiled its full lineup for the coming months. There’s a whole lot going on here, so let’s just stick with the highlights. Warrington (30-0, 7 KO) had been targeting a unification match with WBA “world” champ Xu Can, but that’s now reportedly planned for later this
According to Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn, nearly all negotiation points to stage an heavyweight showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have been agreed, with Hearn saying the fight is a done deal although still formally unsigned. “The deal is done, really — without being signed. The financial elements of the deal are done. We’re
The Jan. 30 fight between Sergey Kovalev and Bektemir Melikuziev has officially been canceled, which is probably news you expected after it was reported that Kovalev failed a drug test for synthetic testosterone. “Upon learning of Kovalev’s adverse finding, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) determined that they must cancel the event,” Golden Boy Promotions
WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr.’s annual title defense looks to feature an unexpected challenger. Mauricio Sulaiman tells Behind the Gloves that he’s ordered Russell to face former super bantamweight champion Rey Vargas, who’s moved up in weight and exercised his right to be named mandatory challenger. Sulaiman claims “negotiation has begun.” Vargas (34-0, 22
In addition to ordering former super middleweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez to face serial domestic abuser Marcus Browne for their interim light heavyweight title, the WBC decreed that flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez and women’s featherweight champion Jelena Mrdjenovich face mandatory challenger McWilliams Arroyo and interim champion Amanda Serrano, respectively. All parties have until February
Keith Thurman must know he’s been out of the limelight for too long because he’s coming back by talking up a storm. During another part of Thurman’s live stream on Instagram, Thurman goes off on Top Rank promoter Bob Arum for offering far less than he would consider for a bout against Terence Crawford. Check
Sergey Kovalev’s proclivity for self-destruction truly knows no bounds. Dan Rafael reports that “The Krusher” has tested positive for synthetic testosterone ahead of his January 30th DAZN main event against Bektemir Melikuziev. DAZN has yet to comment on the fight’s status; Melikuziev (6-0, 5 KO), for his part, still wants a piece of the former
Stephen Fulton Jr is ready to take his first crack at a world title on Jan. 23, when he faces WBO junior featherweight titlist Angelo Leo in a Showtime main event from Uncasville, Conn. Fulton, 26, was meant to face Leo (20-0, 9 KO) for the vacant WBO belt last August, but a positive COVID