Notebook: 'Bam' Rodriguez set for title defense in co-feature of Canelo-GGG III

Bivol ordered to face Zurdo; Teofimo Lopez return set; Broner-Figueroa card official; Garcia-Benavidez undercard details; Quick hits; Show and tell

Jul 12, 2022

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Jesse Rodriguez will aim to maintain his enormous momentum with this third fight of the year on Sept. 17.

Rodriguez will defend his WBC junior bantamweight title against Israel Gonzalez in the co-feature of undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez’s third fight against Gennadiy Golovkin at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (DAZN PPV), Matchroom Boxing announced on Monday.

“Jesse is the hottest property in the sport right now after his electric performances in the first half of 2022, and he’s looking to build on that on the biggest possible platform,” Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said. “Israel is sure to give it everything he has got on Mexican Independence Day weekend, but I believe you are going to see another special performance from a seriously talented young fighter in Jesse.”

The 22-year-old Rodriguez (16-0, 11 KOs) became boxing’s youngest active titleholder when he won the vacant 115-pound belt on Feb. 5 in Phoenix via clear decision over former titlist Carlos Cuadras, whom he knocked down in the third round, after moving up in weight and stepping into replace the ill Srisaket Sor Rungvisai on six days’ notice.

On June 25 in his hometown of San Antonio, Rodriguez made his first defense against former two-time champion Sor Rungvisai, knocking him down in the seventh round and knocking him out in the eighth round of an even more impressive performance than his victory over Cuadras.

Rodriguez then signed a contract extension with Matchroom Boxing and will make defense No. 2 in the co-feature of one of the year’s biggest fights.

“Sept. 17, we are back,” Rodriguez said. “It’s an honor to be a part of this card and I want to thank Matchroom and (co-promoter) Teiken for giving me this opportunity. Having the chance to fight on Mexican Independence Day weekend, as the co-main to Canelo-GGG, is truly special and I plan on putting on another spectacular performance and continuing to build my legacy.

“Each fight now is more important than the last. It’s not about just winning; it’s how you win. That’s mine and my coach Robert Garcia’s job now — to look sensational each and every time we step in the ring and continue to show the world that I am one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.”

Said Garcia: “Fighting on Canelo-GGG III card is a dream come true for Bam to showcase his talent to the whole world. We will take this chance to show the boxing world that Bam is one of the most talented fighters in the world.”

The fight will be the fourth shot at a junior bantamweight world title for Gonzalez (28-4-1, 11 KOs), 25, of Mexico. In his previous three attempts he was stopped in the 10th round by Jerwin Ancajas in 2018, dropped a majority decision to Kal Yafai later in 2018 and lost a wide unanimous decision to Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez in 2020. Since then, he is 3-0-1.

“I want to thank the champ Jesse Rodriguez for the opportunity. I know I’ll take full advantage of this and make my dream come true of becoming a world champion on Sept. 17,” Gonzalez said.

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WBA orders Bivol-Ramirez

Light heavyweight contender Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez got his wish on Monday when the WBA ordered his mandatory fight against world titlist Dmitry Bivol.

Ramirez has been campaigning hard for more than a year to get a shot against Bivol and has won two consecutive title elimination bouts to earn the opportunity, although the Bivol camp has not been too interested in the fight despite past discussions with Team Ramirez.

But now it appears that Bivol will have no choice but to face Ramirez next or risk being stripped of his 175-pound crown.

The WBA notified both camps on Monday that they have 30 days — until Aug. 10 — to make a deal or it will order a purse bid.

“We are very pleased,” Eric Gomez, the president of Ramirez promoter Golden Boy Promotions, said. “This is the fight Zurdo wanted and deserves. We intend to make it.”

Check out my full story on Big Fight weekend here: https://bigfightweekend.com/news/wba-orders-dmitry-bivol-to-fight-mandatory-ramirez/

Teofimo Lopez returns

Former unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez is moving up to junior welterweight and will return to face Pedro Campa in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card on Aug. 13 (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET) at Resorts World Las Vegas, Top Rank announced Monday, confirming a Fight Freaks Unite report from a month ago.

The fight will be the first for Lopez (16-1, 12 KOs), 24, since losing his unified 135-pound belts to mandatory challenger George Kambosos Jr. by split decision in a fight of the year contender on Nov. 27 in New York.

“I’m thankful to be back Aug. 13. I’ve been looking forward to this since my last fight,” Lopez said. “I’ve had a lot of complications, but we’re looking towards the future and are on to bigger and better things. I’m here to take over the 140-pound division just like I did at 135. Like always, I’m going to bring excitement to the sport of boxing. ‘The Takeover’ is still in full effect.”

Following the loss, Lopez had arthroscopic surgery on his wrist and elbow earlier this year and has also had treatment for the asthma condition he has boxed his whole career with.

“Teofimo Lopez has a clean bill of health and is ready to make noise at 140 pounds. It all starts with a difficult test in Pedro Campa,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said.

Campa (34-1-1, 22 KOs), 30, of Mexico, has won four fights in a row and is 7-0-1 since a seventh-round knockout loss to journeyman Carlos Jimenez in 2017. Campa, who is now being trained by Manny Robles, will be taking a major step up in opposition.

“I am excited and thankful to Top Rank and Teofimo Lopez for this opportunity. He is a tremendous fighter,” Campa said. “I am coming to Resorts World Las Vegas ready to implement everything I have learned with my incredible trainer, Manny Robles. We’ve been in Southern California working hard and preparing for the best version of Teofimo Lopez. I believe I can be a force at 140 pounds, and it’s up to me to show that.”

In the eight-round co-feature, junior middleweight prospect Xander Zayas (13-0, 9 KOs), a 19-year-old Puerto Rican from Sunrise, Florida, will face Elias Espadas (22-4, 15 KOs), 31, of Mexico, who has won four fights in a row.

Zayas was scheduled to fight on the Edgar Berlanga-Roamer Alexis Angulo undercard on June 11 in New York but was forced to withdraw due to a viral infection.

“I can't wait to get back in the ring after what happened in June,” Zayas said. “That is all in the past, and I am 100 percent recovered. I want to thank all the fans for the support. That meant a lot and motivated me even more to train harder. On Aug. 13, there will be a lot of fireworks between Puerto Rico and Mexico. You can count on that.”

Among the preliminary bouts available only on ESPN+, 2020 U.S. Olympic teammates Duke Ragan and Troy Isley will be in action in six-rounders. Ragan (6-0, 1 KOs), 24, of Cincinnati, who won a silver medal in Tokyo, will face D’Angelo Fuentes (7-0, 4 KOs), 23, of Coconut Creek, Florida, and Isley (6-0, 4 KOs), 23, of Alexandria, Virginia, will face Victor Toney (6-1-1, 5 KOs), 34, of Canton, Ohio.

Broner-Figueroa card official

PBC and Showtime on Monday formally announced a tripleheader set for Aug. 20 (9 p.m. ET) at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, and headlined by a 12-rounder between four-division titlist Adrien Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs), 32, of Cincinnati, and former lightweight titlist Omar Figueroa Jr. (28-2-1, 19 KOs), 32, of Weslaco, Texas.

The fight between faded fighters coming off long layoffs was announced as a junior welterweight bout although both fighters have had issues making weight and neither has fought at 140 pounds in their most recent fights. Broner’s last three fights (and four of his last five) have been at welterweight. Figueroa’s last five fights have been at welterweight or above.

Albert Puello (20-0, 10 KOs), 27, a southpaw from the Dominican Republic, and Batyr Akhmedov (9-1, 8 KOs), 31, a southpaw from Ukraine, will fight for the vacant WBA junior welterweight title in the co-feature and WBA junior lightweight titlist Roger Gutierrez (26-3-1, 20 KOs), 27, of Venezuela, will face mandatory challenger Hector Garcia (15-0, 10 KOs), 30, a southpaw from the Dominican Republic, in the opener.

Here is what everyone had to say in Monday’s official announcement:

Broner-Figueroa

Broner: “I’m going in there to try to stop Figueroa. I’m going to take the fight to him and go ahead and get him out of there. What I expect from him is the same gruesome Figueroa that we always see. He’ll try to make it a rough fight. Every fighter is different, but I don’t think he’ll be hard to hit. So, I’ll see ya’ll on Aug. 20.’’
Figueroa: “I'm excited to move on to the next phase of my life and career, especially now that my mental health is at the forefront of everything I do. Having a clear mind has been the best thing to happen to me. Now I'm able to focus 100 percent on my boxing career and I can’t wait to be back in the ring.”

Puello-Akhmedov

Puello: “I’m very committed to winning this fight for my team and my country. I am more than prepared to make the most of this opportunity. My only focus is on earning this victory, becoming world champion and taking on all the challenges that come my way after that.”
Akhmedov: “I’m excited that I’m finally getting my shot at the world title again. I have worked very hard to reach my goal of becoming world champion. This time, I’m going to do everything possible to make sure that I take full advantage of this opportunity.”

Gutierrez-Garcia

Gutierrez: “I am excited to return to the ring and defend my title for the second time. This is going to be a difficult fight, but I am confident in my abilities and my preparation, and I know I will be victorious. I am ready to show the world again that I am the best in this division.”
Garcia: “This is a very important fight for me because I have worked for so long to win a world title. This fight is for all of the people in the Dominican Republic. I can’t wait to display my skills for them once again on Showtime. It’s also a very special night because me and my friend Alberto Puello will both be fighting for world titles, the first time two Dominicans will do so on the same night. We grew up together and had the same amateur coaches and now we have a chance to make history together.”

Garcia-Benavidez undercard

Former three-time middleweight title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko will return on the Danny Garcia-Jose Benavidez Jr. undercard on July 30 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Premier Boxing Champions announced on Monday.

Derevyanchenko’s 10-rounder against Joshua Conley was one of several bouts PBC announced that are on the card but not part of Showtime tripleheader broadcast.

Derevyanchenko (13-4, 10 KOs), 36, a 2008 Olympian from Ukraine now living in Brooklyn, is seeking to end a three-fight losing streak. He lost a debatable decision to Gennadiy Golovkin for a vacant world title in October 2019 followed by a more convincing decision loss challenging Jermall Charlo for his world title in September 2020 and, most recently, a majority decision to Carlo Adames in December. In 2018, Derevyanchenko lost a split decision to Daniel Jacobs for a vacant world title.

Conley (17-3-1, 11 KOs), 30, of San Bernardino, California, has won three fights in a row since back-to-back knockout losses to Adames and former junior middleweight titlist Julian Williams. Conley returned from a 2½-year layoff to score a six-round decision win over former contender Curtis Stevens in March.

Among the other bouts on the card will be will be welterweight Vito Mielnicki Jr. (11-1, 7 KOs), 20, of Roseland, New Jersey, versus Jimmy Williams (18-8-2, 6 KOs), 35, of New Haven, Connecticut, in an eight-rounder and former unified junior middleweight titlist Williams (27-3-1, 16 KOs), 32, of Philadelphia, against an opponent to be named in a 10-round middleweight fight.

Williams has lost two in a row, a fifth-round knockout in his hometown to Jeison Rosario that cost him his belts in January 2020 and a 10-round split decision to Vladimir Hernandez in a major upset in October on the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder III undercard.

Quick hits

If Donnie Nietes defeats Kazuto Ioka to take his WBO junior bantamweight title in their rematch Wednesday in Tokyo, Probellum president Richard Schaefer hopes to line up a unification fight for four-division titleholder Nietes (43-1-6, 23 KOs), 40, of the Philippines. “Boxing is like an addiction and it’s very difficult for fighters to let go,” Schaefer said. “”And when you do become world champion again at age 40, who is going to stop you? Who is going to tell you that you cannot go and try to pursue a unification fight? I would not be surprised if Donnie, once he’s world champion again, says, ‘Hey, I might as well add a few more titles.’” Nietes retired for 2½ years after beating Japan’s Ioka (28-2, 15 KOs), 33, by split decision to claim the vacant WBO belt in December 2018 and is 1-0-1 since returning in April 2021.

Mexico’s Antonio Moran (27-5-1, 19 KOs) will face Midland, Texas, native Michael Dutchover (16-2, 10 KOs) and Kendo Castaneda (18-5, 9 KOs), of San Antonio, will meet Joseph Fernandez (15-4-3, 5 KOs), of St. Petersburg, Florida, in the 10-round semifinal bouts of ProBox TV’s “Last Chance Tournament” on Aug. 5 (ProBox TV) at the ProBox Events Center in Plant City, Florida. The eight-man tournament began with May quarterfinals in which Moran outpointed Jeffrey Torres, Dutchover beat Clarence Booth by split decision, Castaneda scored a first-round knockout of Sonny Frederickson and Fernandez outpointed Zhiming Wang.

Canela Media, which touts itself as “a leading, minority-owned technology driven company committed to redefining digital media experiences for the Hispanic community,” is launching a monthly boxing series in conjunction with World Cup Boxing to produce “Canela Box Nights.” The series kicks off July 22 at the Arena Sonora in Hermosillo, Mexico and will air on the third Friday of each month. The fights on the debut card were not announced. Three other dates at sites in Mexico were announced: Aug. 19 in Los Mochis, Sept. 16 in Obregon and Oct. 21 in San Carlos. Canela TV is available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, as well as through linear channels on Samsung TV Plus, LG, Vizio, Plex, Distro TV and through iTunes and Google Play.

Panya Pradabsri (38-1, 23 KOs), 31, of Thailand, will make his third WBC strawweight title defense when he faces Tsubasa Koura (15-2, 10 KOs), 27, of Japan, on Aug. 30 in Korat, Thailand. Pradabsri narrowly outpointed countryman Wanheng Menayothin in November 2020 to end his long title reign at 14 successful defenses and is coming off a unanimous decision against him to retain the title in a March 29 rematch. Koura will be boxing outside of Japan for the first time and taking a major step up in opposition.

Show and tell

After the late Vernon Forrest outpointed Shane Mosley for the second time in their immediate rematch and retained the WBC welterweight title he took from the then-pound-for-pound king in their first encounter, he signed a lucrative multi-fight contract with HBO — the first major boxing deal negotiated by Al Haymon (back when he and I often talked multiple times per week). Forrest wanted to unify titles and for the first fight of the deal he was matched with WBA titlist Ricardo Mayorga, who was relatively unknown and a big underdog. Stunningly, Mayorga knocked Forrest out in the third round of a brawl to unify belts. Forrest exercised his right to an immediate rematch and they met again on a card that also included Zab Judah’s split decision over DeMarcus Corley to take his WBO junior welterweight title and Vivian Harris’ unanimous decision over Souleymane M’baye to retain the WBA junior welterweight title. Most figured Forrest would not allow himself to get caught in a firefight again and that as the taller, longer, more experienced fighter, who also had an outstanding jab, he would outbox Mayorga.

While the rematch, which I covered at ringside at The Orleans in Las Vegas (where the frozen margaritas were like $2 at the hotel bar!), was indeed far more of a boxing match than slugfest, Mayorga constantly went after Forrest. But Mayorga also boxed well in the best performance of his career and won a well-deserved majority decision (116-112, 115-114, 114-114) to retain the belts. My most vivid memory of that fight week came when the bout was over. As ring announcer Jimmy Lennon began to read the scorecards, Forrest climbed the ring ropes on the media side of the ring just above where I was seated and raised his arms in victory believing he had won. But I already knew that he had lost. I was seated next to one of the guys running CompuBox and he had heard the scores that were given to the folks in the HBO production truck over his headset before they were read aloud (so the truck could very quickly prepare a graphic) and told me the result. The fight was on July 12, 2003 — 19 years ago on Tuesday. Here is a rare site poster in my collection.