Notebook: Alalshikh not done yet; eyes more big cards this year
Top Rank signs WBC 140 mandatory challenger Martin; Collazo's 1st defense, rest of Munguia-Ryder card set; Quick hits; Show and tell
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The main focus of the news conference was, of course, the impending heavyweight showdown between former two-time unified titleholder Anthony Joshua and former UFC champion Francis Ngannou, who came face to face this week to promote their 10-round main event on March 8 (DAZN PPV) in another in a string of blockbuster fights at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
But they were not the only news of the day.
Before the formal news conference on Monday in London, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, who as the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, has the latitude to decide which events to bankroll, addressed the room from the balcony and during his remarks spoke about two more events he wants to put on this year in addition to Joshua-Ngannou and the mega fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title on Feb. 17.
“I want to talk about two cards I want to do in ’24. The first card is Frank (Warren) against Eddie (Hearn),” Alalshikh said, drawing laughter about a match between the rival British promoters, who have come together to work with each other on the cards in Saudi Arabia, including March 8.
But then Alalshikh added, “Each one of them will chose five fighters and do a night against each other.”
Hearn and Warren, who were seated next to each other on the dais, immediately shook hands, smiled and said, “Done.”
That could be an intriguing card give the depth of the roster of fighters Warren has with his Queensberry Promotions and Hearn’s at his Matchroom Boxing. Finding five interesting fights to make between their fighters doesn’t figure to be too difficult.
Then Alalshikh mentioned a big one that most expect will soon be made.
“And I want to see Artur (Beterbiev)-(Dmitry) Bivol, and I want to see it in June, and I will speak with Top Rank,” Alalshikh said. “All the fans want to see it. In the end I hope to have the big fight.”
Beterbiev against Bivol would be for the undisputed light heavyweight championship and match undefeated pound-for-pound elites.
Lineal champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs), 38, a Montreal-based Russian, retained his three belts in his eighth overall title defense on Saturday night in Quebec City, Canada, with a one-sided, two-knockdown, seventh-round destruction of WBC mandatory challenger Callum Smith. After the fight, Beterbiev and Top Rank chairman Bob Arum spoke of their desire to get a deal done for the showdown against Bivol.
“Yes, of course,” Beterbiev said when asked about his desire to face Bivol in a fight both men have talked about for years. “I need a fourth belt. It would mean a lot to me. It means in this category I have done work. World champion, unification; it means I’m at the top.”
Arum said he planned to talk to Alalshikh soon to hammer out a deal.
“It’s not done yet, but absolutely we want to do it,” Arum said. “I’ll be talking to my friend, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh. I know he wants to do it, but Ramadan (which Beterbiev, a devout Muslim, will observe) is coming. So, Ramadan ends sometime in the middle of April. So, about three months after the end Ramadan we’ll be ready to fight Bivol, probably in Riyadh.”
That would seem to make the prospect of having the bout as soon as June unlikely, but both fighters, their teams and Alalshikh want to get it done.
Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs), 33, of Russia, retained the WBA 175-pound title for the 11th time by dropping Lyndon Arthur in the 11th round en route to a 120-107 shutout decision on the “Day of Reckoning” card that Joshua headlined against Otto Wallin on Dec. 23 in Riyadh in the first bout of a multi-fight agreement with the Saudis. Bivol has already signed to fight Beterbiev next.
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Top Rank signs Martin
Junior welterweight Sandor Martin, who is the mandatory challenger for WBC titlist Devin Haney, has signed a multi-fight co-promotional deal with Top Rank, which will now promote him along with Italy’s OPI Since 82.
“Devin Haney calls himself ‘The Dream,’ but I am his worst nightmare,” Martin said. “I will be the next WBC junior welterweight world champion. Whether he wants to lose his title to me in the ring or run up the scales to welterweight, the choice is his. I am excited for the next chapter of my career with OPI Since 82 and Top Rank in my corner.”
Former European junior welterweight champion Martin (42-3, 15 KOs), 30, a southpaw from Spain, scored his biggest win in October 2021, when he traveled to Fresno, California, and won a majority 10-round decision in a major upset against Mikey Garcia, sending the former four-division titlist into retirement.
Two fights later, Martin dropped Teofimo Lopez in the second round but lost a debatable 10-round split decision in December 2022 in New York. Martin has won two fights since, both by knockout.
“We are glad to have the support of Top Rank for Sandor’s next fights. He already proved his worth with Mikey Garcia and Teofimo Lopez,” said Christian Cherchi of OPI Since 82. “Next step will be the green (WBC) belt.”
Top Rank chairman Bob Arum promoted the Lopez-Martin fight and was impressed by Martin’s performance.
“We’ve had a front-row seat to Sandor Martin’s immense talent, and Top Rank is thrilled to be partnering with OPI Since 82 to help Sandor receive his well-deserved world title opportunity,” Arum said.
Collazo defense set
WBO strawweight titlist Oscar Collazo (8-0, 6 KOs), 27, of Puerto Rico, will make his second defense against Nicaraguan contender Reyneris Gutierrez (10-1, 2 KOs) in the Jaime Munguia-John Ryder co-feature on Jan. 27 (DAZN, 8 p.m. ET) at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, Golden Boy announced.
“With less than a week away for my second world title defense, I feel great and at my best moment,” Collazo said. “As always, we are very prepared and focused on what we are going to do and leave the ring with our hand raised. We have a good plan in place like all our previous fights, and we are ready to entertain in front of the people of Arizona, Puerto Rico, and on DAZN.”
Collazo, who is promoted by Hall of Fame former four-division champion Miguel Cotto, knocked out Melvin Jerusalem in the seventh round to win the 105-pound belt in May and made his first defense via sixth-round knockout of Garen Diagen in August in a homecoming defense in Puerto Rico.
Also on the main card:
Super middleweight prospect Darius Fulghum (9-0, 9 KOs), 27, of Houston, will face Alantez Fox (28-5-1, 13 KOs), 31, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, in a 10-rounder.
IBF women’s flyweight titleholder Gabriela “Sweet Poison” Fundora (12-0, 5 KOs), 21, of Coachella, California, who has signed a co-promotional deal with Golden Boy, will make her first defense against Christina Cruz (6-0, 0 KOs), 41, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Junior featherweight David Picasso Romero (26-0-1, 15 KOs), 23, of Mexico, will face Erik Ruiz (17-9-1, 7 KOs) 31, of Oxnard, California, in a 10-rounder.
Quick hits
Due to what was termed a “minor illness” lightweight prospect Emiliano Vargas, the son of former two-time junior middleweight titleholder Fernando Vargas, is off the Teofimo Lopez-Jamaine Ortiz Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card on Feb. 8 at Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Top Rank told Fight Freaks Unite. Vargas (8-0, 7 KOs), 19, of Las Vegas, who was due to face Tomas Ornelas (7-3, 5 KOs), 26, of Denver, in a six-rounder on the ESPN+ stream of preliminaries, will be rescheduled for one of Top Rank’s cards in March, the company said.
Germany’s Abass Baraou (14-1, 9 KOs), 29, and Sam Eggington (34-8, 20 KOs), 30, of England, will fight for the vacant European junior middleweight title March 1 (Channel 5 in U.K.) at the Telford International Centre in Telford, England, Wasserman Boxing announced. “I can promise you that I won't let this chance slip through my fingers. Winning the prestigious European title will be a major step on my mission to becoming a world champion,” Baraou said. Eggington is something of a cult figure in British boxing because of usually exciting fights. “March 1 in Telford is the night I write the next chapter in my crazy boxing story. My fans will pack out the arena and roar me on to become a two-weight European champion,” said Eggington, who is a former European welterweight champion.
Show and tell
Muhammad Ali, “The Greatest,” may very well be the most famous athlete in the history of sports. The late three-time heavyweight champion became a global icon for his boxing achievements as well as all he did as a humanitarian outside of the ring. During his life, and even in death, photos of Ali have adorned thousands of magazine covers. So, in honor of what would have been Ali’s 82nd birthday on Wednesday, here is his first appearance on the cover of The Ring magazine in my collection. It is the issue from October 1962, which was when he was still known as Cassius Clay, and 16 months before he stopped Sonny Liston to win the title for the first time and then changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
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Photo: Alalshikh and Joshua: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
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As a Brit I’m looking forward to the Eggington fight in March. He always brings it.
Tremendous fight. But It's gonna be interesting how the Beterbiev/Bivol card is put together and broadcast.