Notebook: After long negotiation, DAZN and Golden Boy finalize 3-year extension

Alimkhanuly, Dignum meet for interim belt; Taylor-Zepeda on tap; Garcia-Cruz no go; Buatsi-Richards in all-London showdown; Munguia fight set; Quick hits; Show and tell

May 20, 2022

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Golden Boy Promotions’ boxing events will remain on DAZN after the sports streaming service and Oscar De La Hoya’s company on Thursday announced that they have finalized a new multi-year deal.

Terms were not disclosed, but the deal is for three years, through 2024, a source with knowledge of the agreement said.

“We are delighted to extend our partnership with Golden Boy,” DAZN executive vice president Ed Breeze said in a statement. “Golden Boy has an excellent stable including some of the hottest prospects in boxing, and their shows always feature non-stop action from the first bell to the last.”

The new deal has been a long time coming. Golden Boy has been with DAZN since late 2018, where it went after HBO ended its boxing coverage after 45 years. They have been working on the new agreement since November.

Please read my full story with more details, including on a new Golden Boy series on DAZN, at Big Fight Weekend here: https://bigfightweekend.com/news/dazn-reaches-three-year-deal-with-golden-boy/

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Alimkhanuly, Dignum opportunity

Middleweight titlist Demetrius Andrade had no interest in defending against WBO mandatory challenger Janibek Alimkhanuly, so he moved up to super middleweight for an interim title bout before getting injured and having it called off.

Kazakhstan's Alimkhanuly brought little to the table in terms of money or glory but he did bring a tremendous amount of danger. Now, he will get to fight for the vacant interim WBO belt against Danny Dignum in the main event of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card on Saturday (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET) at Resorts World Las Vegas. Andrade will face the decision of either facing the winner or vacating when he returns from his injury.

Alimkhanuly (11-0, 7 KOs), 29, a 2016 Olympian, who owns knockout wins over former titleholders Rob Brant and Hassan N'Dam, is pleased fellow southpaw Dignum (14-0-1, 8 KOs), 30, of England, agreed to fight him.

“I am very happy that this young man took this fight. We’re going deliver a very good fight for the audience,” Alimkhanuly said through an interpreter at Thursday’s news conference. “I think I’m one of the most avoided fighters. And I think in the future, many are going to continue to step aside. Many will not want to face me in the ring.

“I respect him very much for taking this fight. He is a good fighter. He has a good record. He is 14-0. He has a good amateur career. But when we steps in the ring, all the respect is going to go away.”

Dignum will be fighting outside of England for the first time in by far his most notable bout.

“This is what I’ve dreamed of since I was nine years old when I first started boxing,” Dignum said. “I’m so pleased that the other fighters didn’t fight him because now it’s going to be my opportunity to fight him. He’s a very good fighter. I’ve prepared well. I’ve done everything possible to give myself every opportunity, and I’m ready to take it.

“I’m pleased the other fighters didn’t take this fight because otherwise I wouldn’t be sitting here now with the opportunity to box for the interim world title. The opportunity came up, and I just said yes straight away. I’ve boxed to try to prove myself, and now I’ve got the opportunity, and I’ve grabbed it with both hands.”

In the 10-round co-feature, former junior lightweight titlist Jamel Herring (23-3, 11 KOs), 36, of Coram, New York, returns from losing his title by 10th-round knockout to Shakur Stevenson in October by moving up to lightweight to face Jamaine Ortiz (15-0-1, 8 KOs), 26, of Worcester, Massachusetts.

The fight will be Herring’s first with trainer Manny Robles after splitting from Brian McIntyre.

“I’m just happy to be back in the ring,” Herring said. “Jamaine is basically the only one that stepped up. You got to give him that respect. I’ve got nothing against anyone else. Richard Commey was a name that was thrown at us. But he’s moving up in weight. Robson Conceicao was another name thrown at me. We were supposed to set up a match against Miguel Berchelt as well, but you see how that played out.

“But I don’t complain. I don’t fuss. I really don’t give Top Rank or anyone an issue about who I match up with as long as it’s a fight that people want to see and it makes sense, then I’m all for it.”

Ortiz will be facing by far his most notable opponent and is happy for the opportunity.

“I wanted to fight a former world champion just to get myself up there and prove to myself that I can beat a former world champion and beat a current world champion, so this is the road that’s ahead of me,” Ortiz said.

In the opener, 2020 Olympian Tiger Johnson (3-0, 2 KOs), 23, of Cleveland, will face Agustin Kucharski (8-4-1, 3 KOs), 25, of Argentina, in a six-round welterweight bout.

Taylor-Zepeda in works

Unified junior welterweight world champion Josh Taylor, who saw his status as undisputed champion erased recently when he was stripped by the WBA for failing to finalize a mandatory defense against Albert Puello, plans to remain at junior welterweight and make his WBC mandatory defense against fellow southpaw Jose Zepeda next.

Taylor (19-0, 13 KO), 31, had talked about moving up to welterweight immediately following his controversial split decision win against WBO mandatory challenger Jack Catterall on Feb. 26, but has instead decided to remain at 140 pounds.

“Josh wants to pursue the Zepeda fight, so we are pursuing the Zepeda fight, which was mandated by the WBC,” Top Rank president Todd duBoef, who promotes Taylor and co-promotes Zepeda with Zanfer Promotions, told Fight Freaks Unite.

When and where the fight will take place is unclear as duBoef said Top Rank still needs to make deals with both fighters, figure out if the fight will be in the United States or in Taylor’s home country of Scotland, and match up available dates with venues and their broadcast partners, ESPN in the United States and Sky Sports in the United Kingdom.

Zepeda (35-2, 27 KOs), 32, of La Puente, California, a former lightweight and junior welterweight title challenger, has proven to be a worthy top contender.

In a 2015 lightweight title shot against Terry Flanagan, Zepeda was stopped in the second round due to a shoulder injury. But since a debatable majority decision loss in 2019 challenging then-WBC junior welterweight titlist Jose Ramirez (who would later lose a decision to Taylor in an undisputed unification fight), Zepeda is 5-0 with a no contest, including a decision over former two-division titlist Jose Pedraza, a fifth-round knockout of former junior welterweight titlist Ivan Baranchyk in the wildly dramatic 2020 consensus fight of the year and a stunning first-round destruction of Josue Vargas in a regional title bout in October.

“Zepeda is coming off a fight of the year with Baranchyk and a one-round knockout of Vargas and is now in the mandatory position, so we are working with both teams to put this fight on next,” duBoef said.

No Garcia-Cruz

The lightweight elimination bout between Ryan Garcia and Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, which was recently ordered by the WBC, will not take place.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman announced on Thursday that “after consulting with the camps it was confirmed that both fighters had previously scheduled fights, so the WBC-mandated process was cancelled.”

In reality, neither fighter has a set fight. While Garcia (22-0, 18 KOs), 23, of Victorville, California, and promoter Golden Boy said they were OK with the 50-50 split of a potential purse bid — a surprise given how much bigger of a draw Garcia is — the Cruz camp (Premier Boxing Champions) simply did not want the fight and did not even try to win the rights to a bout for which there has been heavy public interest.

Garcia, who been calling Cruz out for months, is penciled in for July 16 in a DAZN main event but has no set deal for an opponent. Cruz (23-2-1, 16 KOs), 23, of Mexico, is headed to a possible fight in August but has no set date or opponent, his team told Fight Freaks Unite.

Has Garcia-Cruz taken place the winner would have become the WBC mandatory challenger for the winner of next month’s undisputed championship fight between three-belt champion George Kambosos Jr. and WBC titlist Devin Haney.

Garcia ended a 15-month layoff on April 9 with a near-shutout decision over Emmanuel Tagoe and Cruz knocked out faded 40-year-old Yuriorkis Gamboa in the fifth round on April 16.

London bragging rights

Light heavyweight contender Joshua Buatsi (15-0, 13 KOs), 29, is closing in on a world title opportunity and Craig “Spider” Richards (17-2-1, 10 KOs), 32, has had one and would like another.

It is to that backdrop the London rivals will meet in a 12-rounder for what amounts to the unofficial title as England’s best 175-pounder in the main event of a Matchroom Boxing card at The O2 in their hometown on Saturday (DAZN, 2 p.m. ET).

“I am the best in the country,” said Buatsi, who has scored 10 knockouts in a row. “The truth is though we haven’t fought each other. ‘Spider’ is the first light heavyweight in Britain that I am boxing, so from there I can make a point of it. Everyone can say they are the best, but until someone gets a world title to separate themselves, then everyone has a point to make, and we are the first to really fight.

“He is saying I haven’t proved myself, but I don’t think that’s true. We were both amateurs, he fought, I fought, we entered the same tournaments, and I went on and did what I did. So, he cannot say that I’ve had an easier route, just because I went to the Olympics and did well (by earning a bronze medal). I killed myself for that medal, gave everything for it, so the narrative people have said and that he’s said too, I don’t think it’s true.”

Last May, Richards got a shot at WBA light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol and lost a unanimous decision in a fight more competitive that most thought it would be. He believes he will get the job done versus Buatsi.

“I do believe that I’ll be victorious otherwise I would it be here today,” Richards said. “I believe all the fights that I’ve taken have put me in good stead. It’s not personal to Josh. I just believe that I’m the best in the division. I’m very good at adapting to fighters. I’ve got a very good IQ and it just depends on what I want to bring and what I’ve got in the toolbox that night. And I believe I’ve got the tools to get the job done. It’s not personal to him it’s just that I believe I have the ability to beat anyone. I’ve got to keep proving the doubters wrong.”

Munguia vs. Kelly

Middleweight contender and former junior middleweight titlist Jaime Munguia will face yet another lesser opponent in Jimmy “Kilrain” Kelly when they headline a Golden Boy card on DAZN on June 11 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Munguia, who has been heavily criticized for not facing a top opponent in any of his five fights since moving up to middleweight, won’t even be fighting at middleweight against Kelly. Instead, the fight is in the super middleweight division at a 165-pound contract weight.

Golden Boy, DAZN and Mungia settled on the little-known Kelly after negotiations to fight Daniel Jacobs and then Shane Mosley Jr. failed.

“It won't be an easy night, but we are preparing very hard,” Munguia said. “This new edition of Mexico versus England will be very exciting for all fight fans, and I am convinced that I will pass this test and be on my way to a world title soon.”

Munguia, of course, could have challenged for a world title at any time since moving up to middleweight but never sought to face WBO titlist Demetrius Andrade, which he was entitled to do after vacating the WBO 154-pound title to move up.

Kelly (26-2, 10 KOs), 29, of England, will be fighting outside of his home country for the third time. He lost to Dennis Hogan in Australia in 2018. His other career loss was by seventh-round knockout challenging then-junior middleweight titlist Liam Smith in 2015. He is coming off an upset 10-round majority decision against Kanat Islam in February.

“As a child, I dreamt of fighting in America. That dream came true when I beat the undefeated Kanat Islam,” Kelly said of a fight that took place in Plant City, Florida. “To be the best, you need to beat the top fighters in the world. June 11 can’t come quick enough. Munguia is in for the fight of his life.”

Quick hits

Featherweight contender Michael Conlan (16-1, 8 KOs), 30, announced via social media that he will return in his hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland on Aug. 6 during the city’s annual Feile an Phobail festival. His opponent and the site were not announced. The fight will be Conlan’s first his his epic battle challenging WBA “regular” titlist Leigh Wood on March 12 in Wood’s hometown of Nottingham, England. Wood was down in the first round, Conlan in the 11th and then the fight concluded with Conlan, who was narrowly ahead on all three scorecards, getting knocked clear out of the ring in a 12th-round knockout loss.

Mayerlin Rivas (16-4-2, 10 KOs), 34, of Venezuela, will defend her WBA women’s junior featherweight title for the first time when she faces Isis Vargas Perez (8-5, 3 KOs), 24, of Mexico, in a fight Matchroom Boxing has added to its card on June 10 (DAZN) at the Domo Alcalde in Guadalajara, Mexico. The card, which is headlined by Hiroto Kyoguchi defending his WBA junior flyweight belt against secondary titlist and mandatory challenger Esteban Bermudez, was originally scheduled for Mexico City but moved.

Show and tell

Mike Tyson, who was still six months and eight fights away from winning the WBC heavyweight title from Trevor Berbick, was a fast-rising 20-0 sensation when he made his HBO debut against Mitch “Blood” Green at Madison Square Garden in New York. Although Tyson did not score one of his highlight-reel knockouts and was forced to go the 10-round distance for the second fight in a row, he dominated Green in a one-sided decision. Green took many big shots to the head and body and had his mouthpiece knocked out multiple times, but survived to the final bell. Two years later, Tyson and Green famously got into a street fight in front of a Harlem clothing store in the wee hours of an August morning, during which Green wound up needing stitches to close a wound on his nose and Tyson broke his hand, forcing his first fight with Frank Bruno to be postponed. The official Tyson-Green fight was on May 20, 1986 — 36 years ago on Friday. Here is a scarce program from the fight in my collection.

Hopkins, Ramirez, De La Hoya photo: Tom Hogan/Golden Boy; Alimkhanuly-Dignum and Zepeda photos: Mikey Williams/Top Rank; Garcia photo: Golden Boy; Buatsi-Richards photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing

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