Notebook: Broner cites mental health in withdrawal from Figueroa fight

Card goes on with Lipinets in Showtime main event; DAZN finalizes Usyk-Joshua II deal; Fury retirement update; Lemieux calls it a career; Top Rank signs unbeaten heavyweight; Quick hits; Show and tell

Aug 16, 2022

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Citing mental health issues, Adrien Broner has withdrawn from his junior welterweight fight with Omar Figueroa Jr. that was scheduled to headline a Showtime-televised quadrupleheader on Saturday (8 p.m. ET) at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Hours later, Showtime and PBC announced that Broner had been replaced in the 12-rounder by former junior welterweight titlist Sergey Lipinets, who had been scheduled to box in an eight-rounder on the non-televised portion of the card.

Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs), 32, of Cincinnati, a four-division titlist, has had numerous issues outside of the ring and a career inside the ring that has been fading away for years with poor performances, losses and a sporadic fighting schedule.

On Monday morning, he wrote on social media he was pulling out of the fight with former lightweight titleholder Figueroa (28-2-1, 19 KOs), 32, of Weslaco, Texas.

“Sorry to all my fans but #MentalHealt is real and I’m not about to play inside the ring,” Broner wrote. “I’ve watched a lot of people die playing with they boxing career and that is something I won’t do. Just pray for me. I love the sport of boxing (too) much to not give my all and I feel like I came up short before because my mind wasn’t 100% there and I be dam if I make that mistake again.

“I need to make some changes for the better instead of worrying about other people feelings and pleasing them when in all reality I have nothing to prove to nobody. I’m a 4 time world champion in 4 different weight classes and if I never lace up a pair of gloves again I feel like it’s safe to say I will be inducted into the #BoxingHallOfFame. So I have to step back and overcome this obstacle before I go put my life on the line inside the square circle again. I know I’m far from being finished with the sport. SEE YALL SOON #Respectfully.”

Figueroa, who has dealt with his own mental health problems in recent years and was open about it when the fight was announced, lashed out at Broner on his social media for using mental health as the reason for pulling out. Figueroa believes Broner simply had spent recent months partying, not training and was not close to making weight, which has often been a struggle for him.

“As we all know, my fight against that mf Broner is off,” Figueroa posted to social media. “Now, I ‘don't mind’ because this is something we expected so we had plans in motion to mitigate most of the aftermath. What REALLY passes me off is that NOW this mf wants to use #MentalHealth as a FKN excuse. THAT, I have "a problem" w because that's BS! You don't get to cry #MentalHealth now, mf!

“Not saying you DON'T suffer from mental health issues as WE CAN ALL tell you do, just don’t use it as an excuse NOW, after you’ve been undisciplined and not taking this fight/training camp seriously!

“If it really IS mental health, PLEASE SHOW US THE PROOF THAT YOU WENT AND SOUGHT PROFESSIONAL HELP. You love to post all your shit on social media, why not let us in on your ‘mental health recovery’? You don't get to undermine mine and countless other’s journey and struggles w #MentalHealth because of your undisciplined/childish dumb ass! #FUCKYOU, Broner! Just when I thought you couldn’t stoop any lower.”

As for facing Lipinets, who has long been a more crowd-pleasing fighter than Broner, Figueroa, who is also known for action fights and looking to shake off a two-fight losing skid, said, “This is going to be a great fight against Lipinets and I hope he's ready for what I'm bringing. I've made changes in my life and I'm excited to see the kind of fighter that I am now. I'm going to show what I can do now that I have a clear head and a clear path ahead of me. With the opponent change I'm even more ready to take all the frustrations and anger that have built up in camp and bring it into the ring on Saturday and come out victorious.”

Like Figueroa, Lipinets (16-2-1, 12 KOs), 33, a Kazakhstan native fighting out of Woodland Hill, California, is looking to get back on the winning track. He is 0-1-1 in his last two fights, having fought to a 12-round draw in an interim title bout with Custio Clayton in October 2020 followed by a one-sided sixth-round knockout loss to Jaron Ennis in April 2021.

“We’ve actually been in camp for almost three months getting ready for whoever they put in front of me,” Lipinets said. “We’ve been training with no particular opponent in mind. There have been a few different guys that have said they wanted to fight me. So, we’ve been sparring with and preparing for all types of styles. And now we get this great news that I get to fight Figueroa this Saturday. I can’t wait to show everyone that I’m still a force to be reckoned with at 140 pounds.”

Usyk-Joshua II on DAZN

Click to subscribe to DAZN for Usyk-Joshua II

For weeks many have wondered where they would be able to watch the rematch between unified heavyweight titlist Oleksandr Usyk and former two-time unified titlist Anthony Joshua, which will take place on Saturday at King Abdullah Sports City Arena in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

It was an open secret that DAZN would have most of the worldwide rights to the event but there was a holdup in getting the paperwork signed, which led to a long delay in the announcement.

Finally, it came on Sunday — six days before the fight — that DAZN would stream the fight to its subscribers in more than 190 territories around world the world, including the United States, Canada, Spain, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Poland.

The card will be part of a regular DAZN subscription and not for a pay-per-view up-charge. Coverage of the card begins at 12 p.m. ET with the main event with beginning a few hours later.

Subscribe to DAZN for Usyk-Joshua II

Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) is bidding to regain the belts he lost to fellow Olympic gold medalist and former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) by upset decision in an immediate rematch of their September 2021 bout in Joshua’s hometown of London.

The fight will be on Sky Box Office pay-per-view in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The Saudi group paying tens of millions (perhaps nine figures) to host the fight in Jeddah got all of the broadcast rights in their deal and were responsible for selling them, not Joshua promoter Matchroom Boxing. So, Joshua will have one more fight on Sky, where his contract ran out after the loss to Usyk last fall. He subsequently signed a long-term deal with DAZN but his first fight since signing it will be on Sky due to the unusual deal for broadcast rights for the Usyk rematch.

More on Fury retirement

Following yet another retirement announcement by heavyweight champion Tyson Fury on his 34th birthday on Friday — a retirement few believe, especially with a possible nine-figure undisputed title fight with the winner of Saturday’s rematch between unified titlist Oleksandr Usyk and former unified titlist Anthony Joshua — Fury did vacate The Ring magazine title when asked by the publication about his status. That vacant belt will go to the winner of Usyk-Joshua II, The Ring announced.

However, Fury still has not vacated the WBC title, which would be a much more serious sign that he is indeed hanging up his gloves.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said he has been in touch with Fury to inquire about his plans and he released a statement on the situation on Monday.

“The World Boxing Council has been in communications with Tyson Fury and his promoters regarding his status as WBC heavyweight champion,” Sulaiman said. “The WBC has set Friday, August 26th as the final day to receive official written confirmation from them (about Fury’s plans).”

So, Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs), of England, whose last fight was a mandatory defense against Dillian Whyte in a sixth-round knockout on April 23, has a little less than two weeks to communicate to the WBC whether he plans to defend the title or he is indeed retired.

Lemieux announces retirement

Former IBF middleweight titlist David Lemieux, one of the best pure punchers in recent boxing history, has announced his retirement.

“I’ve accomplished a lot in the course of my career,” Lemieux said in a statement. “I achieved my dream of becoming world champion. I’ve given the fans rousing fights by accepting every challenge that came my way. I devoted my life to training, to boxing, and now I want to cherish every minute with my family. I accomplished a lot, but I didn’t do it alone. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the fans who supported and encouraged me throughout my career. Thank you to the (Eye of the Tiger Management) team, especially Camille (Estephan) and (trainer) Marc (Ramsay), two exceptional men.”

The decision comes almost three months after Lemieux (43-5, 36 KOs), 33, of Montreal, suffered a third-round knockout loss to David Benavidez in a vacant WBC interim super middleweight title bout and two weeks after his father, Andre Lemieux, 64, was murdered during a recent series of shootings in Montreal.

In 2015, Lemieux knocked Hassan N’Dam down four times en route to a unanimous decision to win the vacant IBF 160-pound world title. But he lost it later that year in his first defense when he was stopped in the eighth round by Gennadiy Golovkin in a unification fight at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Lemieux scored memorable knockout wins against opponents such as Gabriel Rosado, Curtis Stevens and Spike O’Sullivan.

“David is the kind of guy that people love because he’s authentic and his heart is big as the province of Quebec,” Estephan said. “He’s someone who’ll take a challenge head on, something he’s done throughout his career. He has all my respect for what he’s accomplished and even more so today as he retires at the peak of health, instead of clinging to the past. He’s chosen to retire at the right moment and I want to thank him for everything.”

Top Rank to co-promote Makhmudov

Top Rank will co-promote heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov after signing a multi-year deal to work with Eye of the Tiger promoter Camille Estephan, they announced on Monday.

With the deal, Makhmudov (14-0, 14 KOs), 33, a Russia native fighting out Montreal, who has notched 10 first-round knockouts, will appear on Eye of the Tiger cards and Top Rank on ESPN cards.

“Arslanbek Makhmudov has true heavyweight knockout power, and at 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, he is a force of nature inside the ring,” Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said. “I look forward to working with Camille and his team at Eye of the Tiger to help Arslanbek achieve his dream of becoming heavyweight champion of the world.”

In the first fight of the deal, Makhmudov, a pro since 2017, will defend his regional title against former world title challenger Carlos Takam on Sept. 16 at the Cabaret du Casino in Montreal in the main event of a card that will stream live in the United States on ESPN+.

“I’m fortunate to work with the top promoters in the world,” Makhmudov said. “This represents an important step toward achieving my goal of becoming a world champion.”

Said Estephan: “I am very pleased and look forward to a long-term partnership with Top Rank, a force for decades in boxing. We look forward to adding to the legacy with high-level shows in Canada on ESPN+ and crowning world champions together.”

Quick hits

WBA featherweight “super” titleholder Leo Santa Cruz and “regular” titlist Leigh Wood made a deal for their mandatory fight on Friday and the purse bid was canceled. The possible dates penciled in for the fight are Nov. 5 or Nov. 12. They have two weeks to submit signed contracts to the sanctioning body and identify the specific date and location of the fight. TGB Promotions and Premier Boxing Champions, which work with Santa Cruz, will handle the event as opposed to Wood promoter Matchroom Boxing. Santa Cruz (38-2-1, 19 KOs), 33, of Rosemead, California, against Wood (26-2, 16 KOs), 34, of England, is part of the WBA’s ongoing efforts to get down to having one world titlist per weight class, a slow process that has been going on since last August.

Light heavyweight prospect Ben Whittaker, 25, a 2020 Olympic silver medalist for Great Britain at the Tokyo Games, who turned pro with fanfare in a second-round knockout win on July 30, has been added to the undercard of Saturday’s Oleksandr Usyk-Anthony Joshua rematch. Whittaker (1-0, 1 KO) will face Petar Josic (6-0, 3 KOs), 23, of Croatia, in a six-rounder.

Junior middleweight Evan Holyfield (9-1, 6 KOs), 24, of Atlanta, who is the son of heavyweight legend Evander Holyfield, suffered an injury and his rematch with Jurmain McDonald (7-6, 3 KOs), 33, of Jefferson City, Missouri, scheduled for the non-televised portion of the Omar Figueroa-Sergey Lipinets Showtime card on Saturday, is off. McDonald upset Holyfield by second-round knockout on May 14.

Show and tell

After Teofimo Lopez represented his parents’ birth country of Honduras in the 2016 Olympics, he turned pro with Top Rank and quickly became one of the best young fighters in the sport, armed with power, skills and an exciting style to go with tons of charisma. He scored a slew of highlight-reel knockouts and then, in 2019, knocked out Richard Commey in the second round to win the IBF lightweight title. Rather than look for an easy first defense, Lopez took literally the toughest fight possible against unified champion Vasiliy Lomachenko, who viewed by many as the pound-for-pound king when they met in October 2020. Unfortunately, there were no fans permitted due to the pandemic but Lopez scored the upset decision to further unify the division and vault himself to No. 1 at 135 pounds.

A mandatory defense against George Kambosos Jr. was delayed several times for various reasons until they finally met in November in a fight of the year contender in which both men were knocked down. Kambosos won a split decision in the upset to take the belts from Lopez, who, as we learned later, entered the bout severely physically compromised. After a nine-month layoff during which he dealt with his health and issues in his personal life, Lopez returned Saturday night. He moved up to junior welterweight and dominated and stopped the game Pedro Camp in the seventh round to start the next chapter of his career. Here are two Lopez rookie cards from the 2021 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions multi-sport set. These are both versions of the base card, one with a vertical look and one horizontal, in my collection.