Notebook: Benavidez gets new opponent after Uzcategui tests dirty for EPO

James fights Butaev, aims for Ugas rematch; Top Rank returns to New York with Zepeda-Vargas; Quick Hits; Show and tell

David Benavidez has new opponent

Former super middleweight world titlist Jose Uzcategui tested positive for the banned substance recombinant EPO in a random urine test conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association and was been removed on Thursday from a WBC title elimination bout against former two-time world titlist David Benavidez.

The fight was due to headline a Showtime-televised card on Nov. 13 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Benavidez’s hometown.

But the show will go on. Hours after Uzcategui’s removal, Premier Boxing Champions announced that Kyrone Davis had accepted the short-notice assignment to face Benavidez in what will now be a 10-rounder and not a title eliminator.

Recombinant EPO is a synthetic version of EPO, which is a powerful performance-enhancing drug that aids in increasing endurance and oxygen supply. It can only be administered by injection.

Uzcategui’s A sample was positive and he has the right, at his own expense, to have the B sample tested.

Benavidez (24-0, 21 KOs), 24, and Uzcategui (31-4, 26 KOs), 30, a Venezuela native fighting out of Mexico, were originally due to fight on Aug. 28 at the same venue, but the card was postponed two weeks beforehand when Benavidez came down with Covid-19.

Davis (16-2-1, 6 KOs), 26, a of Wilmington, Delaware, is coming off an eight-round decision win on Sept. 5 but in the fight before that he had his most notable performance when he fought to a 12-round split draw with former two-time super middleweight titlist Anthony Dirrell on Feb. 27.

A win by Benavidez would put him in prime position to challenge the winner of the undisputed super middleweight title fight between Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant, who meet on Nov. 6 on Showtime PPV.

In the co-feature of the Nov. 13 card, junior middleweight Jose Benavidez Jr. (27-1, 18 KOs), 29,  David’s older brother, will have his first fight in three years, since a one-sided 12th-round knockout loss challenging welterweight titlist Terence Crawford in October 2018. He will face Francisco Emanuel Torres (17-3, 5 KOs), 31, of Argentina, in a 10-rounder.

James: Butaev, then Ugas rematch

Jamal James’ only loss came to Yordenis Ugas by 10-round unanimous decision in 2016, and he would love nothing more than a rematch with the man who would go on to claim a welterweight world title before sending the great Manny Pacquiao into retirement in August.

James has a path to that possible rematch as both men are part of the WBA’s four-man box-off to get down to the organization having just one titlist at 147 pounds.

Ugas holds the main title, which he cemented with the Aug. 21 decision over Pacquiao. James holds the “regular” belt and will make his first defense against Radzhab Butaev in the main event of a Showtime-televised tripleheader on Saturday (10 p.m. ET) at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

The James-Butaev winner and the winner of Ugas-Eimantas Stanionis, a fight that has not yet been scheduled, would be ordered to fight each other next.

“I’m not overlooking Butaev. I have to get past this fight first, but I want to run that back against Yordenis Ugas,” James said at the final pre-fight news conference on Thursday. “He’s a great fighter. I didn’t have a full camp when I fought against him. I don’t like to make excuses, because he was the better man that night, but I think if we both have full camps, it could definitely be a different story.

“I’m not ducking anybody. I want to win Ugas’ title and make one WBA champion. I definitely would be ready to take on (co-feature fighter and welterweight contender Jaron) Ennis or whoever it is after that.”

James (27-1, 12 KOs), 33, of Minneapolis, has quietly racked up a solid resume that includes seven wins in a row since the loss to Ugas. During that stretch he has beaten Thomas Dulorme, Antonio DeMarco, Abel Ramos, Diego Chaves and Jo Jo Dan.

“We’re not fighting cupcakes,” James said. “Every opponent you get in there with can hurt you. I’ve been in there with guys who hit extremely hard, and I beat them. It’s nothing new to me. We’re here in Las Vegas headlining on Showtime and it’s time for me to let people know that I’ve been at this top level. I want to get those opportunities against the top fighters. The welterweight division is stacked. We have a bunch of great talent and it’s time for some new guys to get their names up there.”

Mandatory challenger Butaev (13-0, 10 KOs), 27, a Brooklyn, New York-based Russia native, also has his eye on winning the box-off and emerging as the lone WBA titlist.

“On Saturday, I’m here to prove that I’m the next world champion in this division,” Butaev said. “I had a long amateur career, but now that I’m working with Joel Diaz as my trainer, we’re working more on the professional style. I’m working on sitting down on my punches and loading up a little bit more.

“We’re going to bring the action to the ring. That’s what the fans love. I’m bringing that Mexican style. Fans love brawls and that’s what we’re working on. I’m ready to bring the war to the ring. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the ring, but I’ll be ready for whatever he brings.”

In the co-feature, Ennis (27-0, 25 KOs), 24, the 2020 prospect of the year from Philadelphia, squares off with former world title challenger Dulorme (25-5-1, 16 KOs), 31, of Puerto Rico, in a 10-rounder. In the opener, lightweight contender Michel Rivera (21-0, 14 KOs), 23, a Dominican Republic native fighting out of Miami, will face Matias Romero (24-1, 8 KOs), 25, of Argentina, in a 10-rounder.

Zepeda-Vargas tops TR card

Top Rank returns to New York, and the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, which forced two shows there to be canceled just as it was beginning in March 2020.

La Puente, California, junior welterweight contender Jose Zepeda will be on the home turf of Bronx, New York-based Puerto Rican Josue Vargas for their 10-rounder that headlines the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+ card on Saturday. The preliminaries begin streaming at 7 p.m. ET with the main card beginning at approximately 10 p.m. ET.

Zepeda won the 2020 fight of the year when he brutally knocked out former junior welterweight titlist Ivan Baranchyk in the fifth round in an all-time slugfest last October that featured eight knockdowns; each man got dropped four times and there were knockdowns in every round.

Zepeda returned to handily outpoint former title challenger Hank Lundy on May 22.

Now, two-time world title challenger Zepeda (34-2, 26 KOs), 32, faces Vargas (19-1, 9 KOs), 23, in an effort to continue working toward another title shot.

“He’s a young fighter. He’s a very energetic fighter, but I've been there,” Zepeda said at Thursday’s final news conference. “I have a lot of experience. Wherever he takes it, I'm going to take it. I already proved I could go as hard as it gets.

“He’s a young fighter. He still needs a lot of experience. He doesn’t know it. His team probably doesn't know it yet, but Saturday he will get to see that boxing is not a game. You put your life in there, and he hasn’t been with any top 20 fighters. He’s going to realize what he got into this Saturday.”

Vargas has won 13 fights in a row since a third-round disqualification in a four-rounder in 2016 and has been asking for this fight.

“I hit him up on Instagram a year ago,” Vargas said. “I'm fighting in my hometown, Madison Square Garden, the main event. I feel ready, very confident. He said I don't have the experience he has, but hey, I've been in the ring (sparring) the best. I can name them. I've been in there with Mikey Garcia, Floyd Mayweather, Gervonta Davis, Teofimo Lopez. The list could keep on going.

“Now that I became a father, I'm fighting for my child now. I'm fighting for more of a reason, and I'm going to give it my all in there. I'm going to perform, I'm going to shine at Madison Square Garden in front of my hometown, and just come out victorious so you can put me in the top five, top 10 at 140 pounds.”

In the 10-round co-feature, Puerto Rico’s Carlos Caraballo (14-0, 14 KOs), 25, will fight former world title challenger Jonas Sultan (17-5, 11 KOs), 29, of the Philippines. On Thursday, it was announced that Caraballo and Miguel Cotto Promotions entered into a long-term co-promotional contract with Top Rank, which promoted Cotto for most of his career.

“There is a lot of talk that I'll be the next superstar from the island,” Caraballo said. “We're working hard for that, alongside Miguel Cotto Promotions and H2 Entertainment. Now that I'm signed with Top Rank, we're going to make this happen. It's motivating for me to know that big names in Puerto Rican boxing like Miguel Cotto and Felix Trinidad and other great champions have performed here (at Madison Square Garden). I'm ready to put on a great performance and be the next fighter to come out of Puerto Rico.”

Quick hits

Last week, WBC bantamweight titleholder Nonito Donaire and interim titlist Reymart Gaballo came to terms for their mandatory bout and avoided a purse bid. Now, they have a date and location set for the fight. It will headline a Showtime-televised card on Dec. 11 at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, a source with knowledge of the deal, which has not been formally announced, told Fight Freaks Unite. Donaire (41-6, 27 KOs), 38, the Las Vegas-based Filipino legend and four-division champion, broke his own record as the oldest fighter to win a bantamweight title in May when he knocked out Nordine Oubaali in the fourth round, also at Dignity Health Sports Park on Showtime. Gaballo (24-0, 20 KOs), 25, of the Philippines, upset Emmanuel Rodriguez by split decision to claim the vacant interim belt last December on a Showtime card.

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The presidents of boxing’s four major sanctioning organizations — Mauricio Sulaiman of the WBC, Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel of the WBO, Daryl Peoples of the IBF and Gilberto Mendoza Jr. of the WBA — met on Thursday in San Juan, Puerto Rico to discuss various issues, including a possible future agreement that would standardize the process of unifying world titles. They called the meeting “very productive.” In a joint statement, they added, “The boxing leaders identified several areas in which they agree and others in which they will continue to work diligently for the benefit of the sport. As independent sanctioning bodies, each will still have its autonomy, but together they will continue to work on the same path to grow and strengthen the positive image of boxing around the world. The unified objective of the four organizations is to have a fair, safer, stronger, and healthier sport.”

Show and tell

The legendary Julio Cesar Chavez vacated his junior lightweight world title and moved up to lightweight, where he immediately challenged fellow Hall of Famer Edwin Rosario for the WBA title. Chavez dominated and battered Rosario in an 11th round knockout victory. A few months earlier, Jose Luis Ramirez, Chavez’s Mexican countryman, outpointed Terrence Alli to win the vacant WBC lightweight title. About a year later the two champions met in a much-anticipated title unification fight at the Las Vegas Hilton. Chavez, making his second defense, was 61-0 and Ramirez, making his third defense, was 101-6. In the 11th round, Chavez and Ramirez smashed heads, leaving Ramirez with a nasty gash. He ruled unable to continue and the fight was stopped and sent to the scorecards for a technical decision. Chavez prevailed 98-91, 96-94 and 95-93 as he unified world titles. That fight was on Oct. 29, 1988 — 31 years ago on Friday. Here is a scarce program from the fight in my collection.

Benavidez and James-Butaev photos: Esther Lin/Showtime; Vargas-Zepeda photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

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