Notebook: Canelo takes more business into own hands, secures Nevada promoter license

Navarrete defense set; March 13 Showtime card; Dubois update

The Nevada State Athletic Commission on Tuesday granted Canelo Promotions a promoter license at its monthly meeting. Canelo Promotions, the company owned by superstar Canelo Alvarez, has put on many boxing shows in his native Mexico.

“Canelo Promotions won’t put on bouts every weekend, but it will be the promoter of Canelo fights -- the very biggest fights in the world,” Gregory M. Smith, Alvarez’s attorney, said after the meeting. “After the pandemic, Canelo Promotions looks forward to lighting up the Las Vegas strip and filling an arena, or maybe even a stadium, with thousands upon thousands of boxing fans.”

Although Nevada has yet to permit spectators to attend events during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Alvarez clearly hopes that his planned May 8 super middleweight unification fight against Billy Joe Saunders can take place in Las Vegas on Cinco de Mayo weekend, possibly outdoors at Allegiant Stadium. Alvarez, of course, first has to retain his belts against Avni Yildirim on Feb. 27 in Miami.

“We can’t comment on specific bouts, especially when NSAC hasn’t agreed to allow fans. But Canelo enjoys fighting in Las Vegas and is looking forward to getting back there when the time is right,” Smith said.

Alvarez recently made a two-fight deal with Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing to promote the Yildirim and Saunders bouts with Canelo Promotions, after which he would again be a promotional and broadcast free agent.

Navarrete to defend vs. Diaz

Featherweight world titlist Emanuel Navarrete will make his first defense against Christopher “Pitufo” Diaz in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card on April 24 (ESPN/ESPN Deportes) at a site to be determined, Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti told Fight Freaks Unite, confirming a report by ESPN Deportes.

“It’s not Salvador Sanchez-Wilfredo Gomez but it should be a very entertaining fight,” Moretti said, invoking the famed Mexico versus Puerto Rico featherweight title fight in 1981. “We got this worked out over the last 10 days or so. There was no hesitation for the fight from either side. Stylistically, Navarrete is a little awkward but he gets hit which makes him fun to watch. These guys throw a million punches.”

Navarrete (33-1, 28 KOs), 26, of Mexico, made five junior featherweight title defenses in ninth months before vacating the title in mid-2020. He won his first fight at featherweight by sixth-round knockout of Uriel Lopez in June and then outpointed Ruben Villa for the vacant WBO 126-pound belt in October.

Diaz (26-2, 16 KOs), 26, of Puerto Rico, has won two fights in a row since a one-sided 10-round decision loss to Shakur Stevenson in April 2019. The fight will be Diaz’s second world title opportunity. He got one at junior lightweight in 2018 but got knocked down and lost a decision to Masayuki Ito for a vacant title.

March 13 Showtime undercard

Lightweight Isaac Cruz will fight Jon Fernandez and welterweight Javier Flores will face Kudratillo Abdukakhorov in televised bouts on Showtime’s March 13 undercard, sources told Fight Freaks Unite.

The bouts, which will take place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, will be on the undercard of super middleweight David Benavidez taking on Ronald Ellis, a fight recently reported by Fight Freaks Unite. None of the bouts have been formally announced yet.

Cruz (20-1-1, 15 KOs), 22, of Mexico, is coming off his most impressive performance, a brutal first-round knockout of Diego Magdaleno (32-4, 13 KOs) in a title eliminator on the Gervonta Davis-Leo Santa Cruz PPV in October. Fernandez (21-1, 18 KOs), 25, will be traveling from his native Spain. Due to travel restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic it is uncertain if Fernandez will be able to participate in the bout even though it has been made, one of the sources said. Fernandez has won five fights in a row, all in Spain, since a 10-round decision loss to O’Shaquie Foster on Showtime’s “ShoBox” in 2018.

Abdukakhorov (17-0, 9 KOs), 27, an Uzbekistan native fighting out of Malaysia, recently signed with promoter Sampson Lewkowicz after parting ways with Top Rank. Abdukakhorov looms as one of unified titlist Errol Spence Jr.’s mandatory challengers. He was scheduled to fight former junior welterweight titlist Sergey Lipinets for the IBF interim welterweight belt this past fall but it was eventually canceled because of Abdukakhorov’s visa issues. Flores (15-2, 13 KOs), 34, of Puerto Rico, will be facing his most notable opponent.

Dubois changes trainers

Heavyweight Daniel Dubois announced on Tuesday that he has hired trainer Mark Tibbs and his father, Jimmy Tibbs, to replace Martin Bowers, whom he fired. Dubois (15-1, 14 KOs), 23, of England, made the change in the wake of a 10th-round knockout loss to countryman Joe Joyce in their highly significant showdown on Nov. 28 in London.

“I am moving on now with Mark and Jimmy Tibbs as my trainers and I feel their experience will really help me moving forward in my career,” Dubois said in a video interview released by promoter Frank Warren. “I want a fresh start and hopefully they can show me things. Mark and Jimmy are deep in boxing and have been at world title level with people like Billy Joe Saunders and Dillian Whyte.”

Dubois, who is aiming for a spring return, was ahead on two scorecards when Joyce nailed him on his already damaged left eye, forcing him to take a knee. Dubois was counted out. He suffered a broken orbit bone and some labeled Dubois a quitter.

“When I come back I will see those people and maybe even get in the ring with some of them, to show me how much of a quitter I am,” said Dubois, adding that he would like an eventual rematch with Joyce. “I have to set things right. I need to iron out some flaws but I don’t think I am too far off. It has made me want it even more and made me stronger. I won’t let this break me. I will train even harder and be even more disciplined. It was a massive setback for me and I have to take the positives and negatives.

“You have to feel that pain to understand it. I felt that final shot come and I felt my eye go and took the knee. I didn’t even think about the fight then. I took a knee. Maybe it was inexperience, maybe I panicked. It just happened at that moment. The pain happened and I was discombobulated. I panicked and took a knee. But I am not going to let this hold me back. I want to come back and improve.”

Quick hits

Junior middleweight up-and-comer Charles Conwell (14-0, 11 KOs), 23, a 2016 U.S. Olympian from Cleveland, is penciled in for his next fight on April 8 or April 22 on NBC Sports Net’s “Ring City USA” series, manager David McWater told Fight Freaks Unite. Conwell was very impressive in his last fight, which aired on the series Dec. 17. Conwell dominated then-unbeaten Madiyar Ashkeyev en route to a ninth-round knockout victory.

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Junior middleweight contender Carlos Adames is off the Joe Smith Jr.-Maxim Vlasov card on Saturday night at the MGM Grand conference center in Las Vegas, Top Rank told Fight Freaks Unite. Adames was scheduled for an eight-rounder on the ESPN+ portion of the ESPN card but an opponent could not be secured in time. Adames (18-1, 14 KOs), 26, of the Dominican Republic, was looking to rebound from his first defeat, a decision loss to Patrick Teixeira for an interim 154-pound title in November 2019 in Las Vegas.

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Junior lightweight world titlist Miguel Berchelt (37-1, 33 KOs) and mandatory challenger and former featherweight titlist Oscar Valdez (27-0, 21 KOs) are both on track to making weight for their showdown Feb. 20 (ESPN) at the MGM Grand conference center in Las Vegas. Both were where they were required to be for their 14-day WBC weight check. Berchelt was 136 pounds and Valdez 136.4 for their 130-pound title bout.

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Heavyweight prospect Guido Vianello (7-0-1, 7 KOs), 26, a 2016 Italian Olympian with Top Rank, underwent recent surgery to remove calcium deposits from his elbow and plans to be back in the ring this summer. In Vianello’s last fight he fought to a disappointing six-round majority draw with Kingsley Ibeh on the undercard of the Jose Zepeda-Ivan Baranchyk slugfest that won fight of the year honors on Oct. 3 in Las Vegas.

Show and tell

Thirty years ago Tuesday – Feb. 9, 1991 – faded legend Sugar Ray Leonard emerged from a 14-month layoff following a decision win over Robert Duran in their third fight to challenge young junior middleweight world titlist and fellow future Hall of Famer Terry Norris at Madison Square Garden in New York in what was Leonard’s first and only appearance on Showtime and the final world title fight of his career. But it didn’t end like most of those title fights had. Instead, Norris whipped Leonard, dropping him twice, cruising to a one-sided decision and sending him into yet another retirement (one he would unfortunately end six years later for one more bout, a stoppage loss to Hector Camacho). Here is a mint program from Norris-Leonard in my collection.

Canelo photo: Tom Hogan/Golden Boy; Navarrete photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank; Dubois photo: Queensberry Promotions