Notebook: Andy Ruiz ending 23-month layoff against Jarrell Miller
Fight is on Crawford-Madrimov card with Cruz-Valenzuela; Billam-Smith vs. Riakporhe set; Ennis-Crowley purse bid; WBO makes Fundora ruling; Quick hits; Show and tell
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One of the hallmarks of the major boxing events being put on in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is that in addition to top-flight main events there have been deep undercards.
Now that Turki Alalshikh, the head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and a big boxing fan, is bringing a Riyadh Season event to the United States for the first time it too will have a strong undercard.
The main event of the show planned for Aug. 3 in Los Angeles will be pound-for-pound king and unified welterweight champion Terence Crawford challenging WBA junior middleweight titlist Israil Madrimov, who will make his first defense as Crawford seeks to win a world title in a fourth weight class.
The fight will be announced at a news conference in New York on Wednesday afternoon, where it is expected that Alalshikh will also unveil at least some of the undercard bouts for the show that Matchroom Boxing will also promote. And now that Alalshikh has begun doing business with Al Haymon, it will also feature Premier Boxing Champions fighters as the various boxing worlds collide.
Two of the bouts that will be on the card, sources involved in the event told Fight Freaks Unite, are:
Former unified heavyweight titlist Andy Ruiz Jr., who will end a nearly two-year layoff, against Jarrell Miller, whose felony carjacking and burglary with assault or battery charges stemming from a January incident at a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, car dealership were dropped on Tuesday.
Newly-crowned WBA junior welterweight titleholder Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz making his first defense against Jose Valenzuela.
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Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs), 34, of Imperial, California, famously knocked out Anthony Joshua in the seventh round of a gargantuan upset as a short-notice opponent to win the unified title in 2019 in New York. Since Joshua outpointed him in their rematch later in 2019, in Saudi Arabia, Ruiz has boxed only twice.
He outpointed Chris Arreola in May 2021 and last fought in September 2022, when he outpointed Luis Ortiz.
Miller (26-1-1, 22 KOs), 35, of Brooklyn, New York, who is best known for his multitude of drug test failures for a variety of performance-enhancing drugs and subsequent suspensions, was the fighter Ruiz replaced against Joshua. Miller had been booted from the fight because he failed multiple drug tests.
Because of the drug test issues, Miller did not fight from late 2018 until mid-2022. He won three low-level fights and in December, on one of the big shows in Riyadh, Daniel Dubois dominated and knocked him out in the 10th round.
Fan-favorite Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs), 25, of Mexico, knocked out Rolando Romero on March 30 to take his 140-pound world title.
Valenzuela (13-2, 9 KOs), 24, a Mexican southpaw, is coming off a dominating sixth-round knockout of Chris Colbert in December in an immediate rematch to avenge a tremendously controversial decision loss in March 2023.
Another bout that is under discussion for the card would match former WBO junior middleweight titlist Tim Tszyu against top contender Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Those discussions are “very preliminary,” one source involved told Fight Freaks Unite. If that fight is finalized it is a significant one for the division.
On March 30, Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs), 29, of Australia, suffered a horrendous gash on top of his head from an errant elbow from Sebastian Fundora late in the second round. Fundora suffered a broken nose in the first round and when one of the bloodiest fights in recent ring history was over, Tszyu lost a split decision.
He has the right to a rematch but with Fundora sidelined until at least November, Tszyu has the option to take an interim bout.
Besides whatever negotiating remains to be done, Ortiz (20-0, 20 KOs), 26, of Grand Prairie, Texas, who is with Golden Boy, has to win his fight against heavy underdog Thomas Dulorme on Saturday night in Fresno, California.
There also have been rumors circulating about another possible fight for the card: a third meeting between Mexican countrymen and Los Angeles rivals Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares, who are both well past their best fighting days.
Santa Cruz (38-2-1, 19 KOs), 35, has won world titles in four divisions from bantamweight to junior lightweight and Mares (31-3-2, 15 KOs), 38, has won titles in three divisions: bantamweight, junior featherweight and featherweight.
Santa Cruz outpointed Mares in both of their fights, both at Staples Center in Los Angles. In their action-packed 2015 showdown, Santa Cruz won the vacant WBA featherweight title by majority decision. He retained the title by unanimous decision in the 2018 rematch.
Both have been inactive. Since suffering a massive sixth-round knockout to Gervonta Davis in October 2020 in a dual lightweight and junior lightweight title fight, Santa Cruz has boxed once, winning a 10-round decision over Keenan Carbajal in February 2022.
Since the second loss to Santa Cruz, Mares has fought once, a majority draw with Miguel Flores in September 2022.
Billam-Smith vs. Riakporhe set
WBO cruiserweight titlist Chris Billam-Smith will make his second defense against mandatory challenger and British countryman Richard Riakporhe on June 15 (Peacock in the U.S., Sky Sports in the U.K.) at Selhurst Park in London, Boxxer announced on Tuesday, making official what Fight Freaks Unite recently reported.
The fight will be rematch from when they met in July 2019 and Riakporhe (17-0, 13 KOs), 34, dropped Billam-Smith (19-1, 13 KOs), 33, in the seventh round of a regional title bout and won a 10-round split decision to hand him his only loss.
“I’m looking forward to giving (my hometown) Bournemouth fans an away day to remember with an explosive performance,” Billam-Smith said. “Richard is a good fighter, but I’ve improved hugely since we last met and he’s going to be in for a terrible night at Selhurst Park. The WBO belt is coming back with me to Bournemouth.”
After the loss, Billam-Smith went on to outpoint Lawrence Okolie to win the WBO title in May 2023 and then defended it for the first time via eighth-round knockout of Mateusz Masternak in December.
“My time has come. The countdown is on. I’m the runaway ‘Midnight Train’ that you cannot stop and it’s the end of the line for Chris Billam-Smith,” Riakporhe said. “I can’t wait to knock Chris out and take his title. I’ve beaten him once and I’m ready to do it again. This time it’s not going to the judges. He’s going to be out cold on the canvas and the world title is going to be staying in South London.
“It’s going to be an incredible feeling to fight at Selhurst Park in front of the (Crystal) Palace (Football Club) fans and to be part of a special moment for the club celebrating 100 years since the stadium opened. I’m proud to be from South London and be affiliated with a club like Crystal Palace. The support of the club and the fans means everything to me. I’m going to repay that support with a devastating performance.”
On the weekend recap podcast we did a deep dive into all things Haney-Garcia. You don’t want to miss it. We also discussed the undercard, news of the week and recalled the anniversaries of three important fights. Give it a listen, a review, and also subscribe to get an alert when the next episode is available. New shows every Thursday and Sunday night.
Ennis-Crowley purse bid
Promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing won Tuesday’s IBF purse bid for the fight between newly signed welterweight titlist Jaron “Boots” Ennis and mandatory challenger Cody Crowley (22-0, 9 KOs), 31, a Canadian southpaw.
Matchroom Boxing bid $3,910,000 to beat the only other bid, which was $2 million by Crowley promoter TGB Promotions, which puts on all the PBC events. Matchroom has 90 days to put on the fight, per IBF rules.
The purse split is 85-15 in Ennis’ favor, meaning he is entitled to $3,323,500 and Crowley would get $586,500. However, it would not at all be a surprise if Hearn and Ennis had a pre-arranged deal for him to take less than that amount with such a high bid meant to offer enough to entice Crowley to accept the bout.
“Delighted to win the purse bid,” Hearn posted to social media. “Boots is coming home! Philadelphia get ready.”
Hearn signed Ennis earlier this month and has been planning to bring him home for a fight, probably at the Wells Fargo Center, in July on DAZN with the mandatory bout the likely match.
Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs), 26, who was appearing regularly on PBC cards through his deal with Showtime, was in talks with TGB after Showtime exited boxing at the end of last year. The purse bid last month was canceled when the sides notified the IBF they had a deal.
But when discussions between Ennis and TGB broke down, he signed with Matchroom, which led to a new purse bid being scheduled.
Ennis will be making his first title defense after being elevated to the full titleholder in November when undisputed champion Terence Crawford was stripped by the organization for declining to enter negotiations for the mandatory defense against Ennis, citing a contractual obligation to a rematch with Errol Spence Jr. The rematch didn’t happen before the window for it to take place expired.
WBO’s Fundora ruling
The WBO issued a resolution on Monday announcing that because newly-crowned titlist Sebastian Fundora suffered a significant nose injury when he outpointed Tim Tszyu on March 30 to win the belt (and the vacant WBC title) and will be sidelined, the organization will order a fight for the interim belt with Fundora obligated to face the winner upon his return, but no later than Dec. 31.
“Failure to comply with this condition will result in the WBO junior middleweight championship being declared vacant,” the WBO wrote in the resolution.
The WBO further stated that if Fundora “is unavailable for whatever reasons and/or circumstances to fight the WBO interim champion within the period stated herein,” the title will be vacated and the interim titlist will be elevated to full titleholder.
Based on the agreement for the March fight, Fundora owes Tszyu a rematch. Based on the WBO resolution it appears he would not be able to fulfill that contract without vacating or being stripped by the WBO, although he would still have the WBC title.
Fundora was medically suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission until Sept. 27 unless he is cleared by a doctor before that. However, Fundora will not fight again until at least November, according to promoter Sampson Lewkowicz.
Quick hits
Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz of Sampson Boxing has signed junior featherweight Bryan Acosta (20-0, 8 KOs), 25, of Mexico, to a multi-year promotional contract. Acosta, who spent many years of his childhood living in the United States, scored his most notable win earlier this month when he stopped out fellow prospect Alberto Melian in the eighth round. However, it does not appear on their official records because it was part of an IBA event, which are not globally recognized due to it being run by AIBA, which has a controversial history. “I knew that knocking out Melian would open doors for me and now I’m signing with Sampson,” Acosta said. “He will take me on the right path and get me the necessary fights to become world champion.”
Los Angeles-based Irish junior middleweight Callum Walsh (10-0, 8 KOs), 23, who is trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach and was on the Fight Freaks Unite top 15 prospects list for 2023, will defend his regional title against Carlos Ortiz (14-5, 14 KOs), 39, of Mexico, in a 10-rounder on June 7 (UFC Fight Pass) at Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California, 360 Promotions’ Tom Loeffler announced. Los Angeles featherweight Omar Trinidad (15-0-1, 12 KOs), 28, will face an opponent to be determined in the 10-round co-feature.
Show and tell
Wladimir Klitschko was the 1996 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist and despite some rough losses, went on to become one of the greatest heavyweight champions in boxing history and a 2021 International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee. Klitschko (64-5, 53 KOs) had two title reigns during his 1996 to 2017 pro career and compiled some historic statistics. He appeared in more heavyweight championship fights than anyone ever (29); was 25-4 (19 KOs) overall in world title fights; his 25 wins in heavyweight title fights are second-most behind only Joe Louis (27); during his second title reign he made 18 defenses (third-most ever behind Louis at 25 and Larry Holmes at 20); unified the IBF, WBO and WBA titles; held the lineal title; held a title for 9 years, 7 months, 7 days (second-longest reign in heavyweight history behind Louis, who was champion for 11 years, 8 months, 8 days or 4,270 days); and if you combine Klitschko’s two title reigns he held a world title for 12 years or 4,382 days, longer than anyone ever.
Among the Klitschko fights I was ringside to cover was his final victory. It was when he returned to fight in the United States for the first time in seven years and handily outpointed then-undefeated contender Bryant Jennings to retain the title. Klitschko would lose the title to Tyson Fury in his next fight and to Anthony Joshua after that in a unified title challenge. But Klitschko’s final win against Jennings, which took place at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden, was on April 25, 2015 — nine years ago on Thursday. Here is a scarce thin heavy stock site poster in my collection.
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Photos: Ruiz: Ryan Hafey/PBC; Tszyu-Fundora: Esther Lin/PBC
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Everyone remember when Haymon and his 500 million dollar war chest was going to transform boxing? Then he ran into the ali act and it all went to shambles. Turns out to get promoters to work together and "fix" boxing you need billions and not delusions that you're going to create the boxing equivalent of the UFC. We're starting to see the benefits of the Saudis putting on big fights. They're working with both ESPN and DAZN to distribute the PPVs keeping the broadcasters happy and since they're using their money to pay the fighters the budgets at ESPN/DAZN aren't being hit. Matchroom had the money to overpay to get Boots mandatory and put it on DAZN. We'll see how long this lasts.
Andy Ruiz was the lovable fat guy but he like Miller also had legal stuff resolved recently. The accusations were heinous even for boxing standards and the judges order backs up the claims. I'm hoping both he and Miller lose somehow.
I heard that super card may take place at LAFC Stadium. Great venue. I went to a GBP/Zurdo card there a few years ago. Definitely plan on getting tickets, hopefully. Bud/Madrimov starting to feel like the "Walk Out Bout" lol.