Notebook: Chisora, Pulev ready to let it all hang out in heavyweight rematch
Madrimov, Soro aim to avoid controversy in sequel; BetUS Boxing Show; Figueroa, Castro meet in eliminator with something to prove; Paul-Rahman official, undercard unveiled; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Heavyweight Dereck Chisora has been in many exciting fights as well as some memorable and outlandish news conferences where he rarely held anything back.
But it’s been a different Chisora as he heads into a rematch with fellow former world title challenger Kubrat Pulev on Saturday (DAZN, 2 p.m. ET) at The O2 in London.
For once, Chisora was not in the mood to talk trash or engage in any antics.
“I don’t know how many press conferences I’ve done in the past. It’s all the same talk to be honest with you,” Chisora said at the fight-week news conference. “’Yes, I have trained hard, I’ve hit the bag harder, I’ve sparred harder and I’ve done everything harder. How many fights have I had? (44) fights. It’s the same chat. I just want to fight. We can all sit here and say, ‘I’ve trained hard and I’ve done this and done that.’ It doesn’t really matter for me.
“All I want to do is just put my gum shield on, put my gloves on, walk out to the ring and fight. That’s all I want to do. I’m just excited. My whole point right now is just bringing big fights, entertaining the fans and just doing what I like to do.”
England’s Chisora (32-12, 23 KOs), 38, long a British fan favorite, is seeking to end a three-fight losing streak, two decisions last year to former titlist Joseph Parker and a decision to Oleksandr Usyk in 2020.
He will also be seeking to avenge a split decision loss to Pulev in a 2016 fight in Germany that was an IBF title eliminator and for the vacant European title.
While he wasn’t as talkative during the build up to Saturday’s fight as he usually is, he promises his go-for-broke style in the ring won’t change.
“If you’re a boxer and you don’t have the confidence then you’re in the wrong business,” Chisora said. “Mike Tyson always says everyone has a plan until they get hit. All the fighters here have a plan. Everybody wants to win their fight. It’s all about that last edge, who wants to go to the other end. That’s it. It’s all about when the bell goes and you know what time it is. My style is ‘fuck it, bite on the gum shield and let’s fucking go for it.’ That’s what I’m bringing. I’m bringing that. This is what I love. You know what my plan is already. You know exactly what to expect.
“From the get-go we are going (to fight). There’s no two ways about it. I make myself go. Whatever he wants to do he can do.”
Pulev (29-2, 14 KOs), 41, of Bulgaria, is also in the twilight of his career like Chisora. But his only losses were knockouts in world title fights to Wladimir Klitschko in 2014 and Anthony Joshua in 2020. He rebounded from the loss to Joshua on May 14 with a one-sided decision over fringe contender Jerry Forrest.
“I took this rematch because everybody needs a second chance,” Pulev said. “That’s why man to man I’ve given him a second chance. For the people it’s going to be a really interesting fight because there’s a lot of history behind this fight. We have old history and now we will see who is better than before. It’s very interesting. He has his style; my style is a little bit different. We’re going to see on Saturday who has changed.
“I’m sure I am very good and very strong, and I have a lot of power and energy. Every round is going to be difficult for Derek Chisora. I’ve come here for the win. Now is a different situation because I see him, and he’s made good changes. I think he is smarter than before. He’s more balanced than before. It means he’s maybe better and I must be careful about that. He’s a stronger opponent than before. One of us must win. I hope the judges and the referee are honest. He says this is war but for me this is not war. I don’t hate him.”
Madrimov-Soro: Take 2
When junior middleweights Israil Madrimov and Michel Soro met in December in a WBA title eliminator in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Madrimov’s home country, the fight ended in a storm of controversy.
Madrimov (8-0, 6 KOs), 27, stopped Soro (35-3-1, 24 KOs), 34, of France, in the ninth round but did so with a series of punches that landed way after the bell ended the round. However, referee Salvador Salva and Madrimov said they did not hear it.
Soro protested the and although the loss remains on his record, the WBA ordered an immediate rematch, which will take place on the undercard of the Dereck Chisora-Kubrat Pulev heavyweight rematch on Saturday (DAZN, 2 p.m. ET) at The O2 in London. The winner will be one of the mandatory challengers for undisputed champion Jermell Charlo.
“Last time in Tashkan, Soro was definitely hurt. The referee didn’t hear the bell and I didn’t hear the bell, so we have what we have,” Madrimov said at Thursday’s fight-week news conference. “I’ll try to win better this time without any questions.”
The controversial defeat ended Soro’s five-fight winning streak since a split decision loss to Brian Castano in an interim title bout in 2017.
“After the controversial ending of the last fight I’m really happy for this fight to be rescheduled,” Soro said. “I’m happy for the opportunity to fight him again. It’s a good thing for me to go through and I’ll do my best on Saturday. If there wasn’t referee issues, I think it would have been a different verdict for the fight. The referee didn’t hear the bell going so he let the fight to go on and that’s why the fight ended in the way it ended.”
BetUS Boxing Show
If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on YouTube, please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel). We previewed and picked the three main bouts on Saturday: Mark Magsayo’s featherweight title defense against Rey Vargas in Showtime’s main event and the featherweight title eliminator between Brandon Figueroa and Carlos Castro in the co-feature as well as the heavyweight rematch between former title challengers Kubrat Pulev and Dereck Chisora on DAZN. Watch the show here:
Figueroa, Castro motivated by losses
In November, Brandon Figueroa fought his heart out in an action-packed fight of the year contender against Stephen Fulton Jr., whom he faced in a junior featherweight title unification fight. Figueroa was extremely disappointed to lose the highly competitive fight by majority decision and elected to move up to featherweight.
In February, Carlos Castro got dropped in the first round and lost a split decision to former two-division titlist Luis Nery, after which he also decided to move up in weight.
Figueroa and Castro, both aiming to shake off those close defeats, will face each other in a WBC featherweight title elimination bout in the co-feature of the Premier Boxing Champions tripleheader on Saturday (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET) at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
WBC featherweight titlist Mark Magsayo’s first defense against mandatory challenger and former junior featherweight titlist Rey Vargas headlines. The winners of the two bouts would be on course to meet each other. Lightweight up-and-comer Frank Martin faces late replacement Jackson Marinez in the 10-round opener.
Figueroa (22-1-1, 17 KOs), 25, of Weslaco, Texas, said he learned a lot from the loss to Fulton and is excited to compete in a new division.
“My last loss taught me a lot and I’m coming back with everything I have,” Figueroa said. “I’ve had an excellent training camp and I’m so excited to come back and prove, just like I did at 122 pounds, that I belong in this division and that I’m among the best. I learned to be a little more patient from my last fight. I learned that I have to use my height and my technical skill to my advantage.
“I feel like my power has increased. I feel better mentally and physically and I’m just ready to go. This is going to be the best version of myself. We’ve been working and tweaking everything. We went back to the drawing board. This might be the fight of the night or the fight of the year. I know that he’s going to come ready. We’re both coming in off losses and we have a lot to prove in this fight.”
Castro (27-1, 12 KOs), 28, of Phoenix, echoed Figueroa’s sentiment.
“We’re two fighters who are highly motivated coming off of a loss,” Castro said. “Going up to 126 pounds is a big step. There are great fighters on this stage, and I know the winner of this fight is looking to fight the winner of the main event.
“Of course, I want the world title fight. That’s the opportunity that every fighter works for. But I’m not taking anything from Figueroa, because it won’t be an easy task. We’re going to be ready for everything. I learned a lot from my last fight. It was a great experience for me on the big stage and it’s just going to make me a better fighter going forward. I really can’t wait to compete. I believe that this fight is meant to be fireworks.”
Paul-Rahman official
MVP Promotions and Showtime on Friday made the fight between Jake Paul and Hasim Rahman Jr. official with a formal announcement, concluding a wild week that saw Paul, the popular social media star turned novice boxer, agree to face the son of former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman in place of the travel-challenged Tommy Fury, the half-brother of reigning heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Paul (5-0, 4 KOs), 25, of Cleveland, and Rahman (12-1, 6 KOs), 31, a Baltimore native, who is a substantial step up in opposition for Paul and his first foe who is primarily a boxer, will meet in an eight-round cruiserweight fight Aug. 6 (Showtime PPV, 9 p.m. ET) at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where they will also come face to face at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Unified women’s featherweight titlist Amanda Serrano (42-2-1, 30 KOs), 33, of Brooklyn, New York, will also be on hand for the news conference to discuss her defense against Argentina’s Brenda Carabajal (18-5-1, 9 KOs), 31, in the co-feature.
Also announced was that junior welterweight up-and-comer Brandun Lee (25-0, 22 KOs), 23, of La Quinta, California, and lightweight Ashton Sylve (7-0, 7 KOs), 18, of Long Beach, California, will face opponents to be determined in the two other bouts on the pay-per-view broadcast.
Paul terminated his agreement with Tommy Fury on Wednesday because Fury (8-0, 4 KOs), 23, claimed he was unable to get his paperwork in order to travel from his home country of England to the United States. Their kickoff news conference last week in New York was canceled because of it, so Rahman has taken his place.
“Fury fumbled the bag for the second time in a row and went into hiding, so I’m going to step up, again, and take on a new opponent on short notice,” said Paul, who was also supposed to face Fury in December before he pulled out. “Nothing but respect for Hasim Rahman Jr., a professional heavyweight boxer with a 12-1 record, who comes from a legendary boxing family. He’s bigger, he’s stronger and he’s more experienced. But guess what? I’m crazier. I’m raising the stakes and on Aug. 6. I will get my respect under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden.”
Rahman, who is coming off a fifth-round knockout loss on April 29 to James McKenzie Morrison, the son of late heavyweight star Tommy Morrison, and Paul have been in the ring together before. Rahman helped Paul prepare for his 2020 pro debut against AnEsonGib and for his second fight against former NBA player Nate Robinson.
“Jake Paul and I sparred two years ago and let’s just say I took it easy on the kid,” Rahman said. “Aug. 6 is not a sparring session. I am going to separate him from God’s conscience. My name is Hasim Rahman Jr., and I am going to knock out Jake Paul. Period.”
Quick hits
Weights from San Antonio for Saturday’s PBC card on Showtime: Mark Magsayo 125.5 pounds, Rey Vargas 125.5 (for Magsayo’s WBC featherweight title); Brandon Figueroa 126, Carlos Castro 124.5 (WBC featherweight eliminator); Frank Martin 137.5, Jackson Marinez 138; Rashidi Ellis 153.5, Jose Marrufo 146.25; Ramon Cardenas 118, Mitchell Banquez 117.5.
Lynn, Massachusetts, welterweight Rashidi Ellis (23-0, 14 KOs), 29, in his first PBC fight since leaving Golden Boy, will fight for the first time since October 2020 on the Magsayo-Vargas undercard in one of the preliminary bouts Showtime will stream on its YouTube channel (7 p.m. ET). He was supposed to meet southpaw Alberto Palmetta (17-1, 12 KOs), 32, a 2016 Olympian from Argentina, but he dropped out of the eight-rounder due to a recent back injury and was replaced by Jose Marrufo (13-10-2, 1 KOs), a Mexico native fighting out of Phoenix.
Weights from London for Saturday’s Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN: Derek Chisora 258.25 pounds, Kubrat Pulev 250; Felix Cash 159.9, Vaughn Alexander 158.7; Ramla Ali 122.8, Agustina Rojas 122.2; Israil Madrimov 153.75, Michel Soro 153.75 (WBA junior middleweight eliminator); Caoimhin Agyarko 153.75, Lukasz Maciec 154; Fabio Wardley 238, Chris Healey TBA; Solomon Dacres 231, Kevin Espindola TBA; Yousuf Ibrahim 120.1, Francisco Rodriguez 121.1.
Lightweight prospect Keyshawn Davis (5-0, 4 KOs), 23, a 2020 U.S. Olympic silver medalist from Norfolk, Virginia, has been forced to withdraw from an eight-rounder against Jair Valtierra scheduled as the co-feature of the Top Rank card on July 15 (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET) in Temecula, California. Illness has interrupted Davis’ training. Top Rank announced that Davis will return in the fall and that lightweight prospect Raymond Muratalla (14-0, 12 KOs), 25, of Fontana, California, who was scheduled for a preliminary bout but did not yet have an opponent, will move into the co-feature and face Valtierra (16-1, 8 KOs), 20, of Mexico. Junior welterweight Arnold Barboza Jr. faces Danielito Zorrilla in the 10-round main event.
Top Rank has acquired the U.S. rights to the SES Boxing event scheduled for July 16 at the Maritim Hotel in Magdeburg, Germany, and it will stream on ESPN+ (3 p.m. ET). In the main event, light heavyweight Michael Eifert (10-1, 4 KOs), will have a hometown fight against Italy’s Adriano Speradino (14-1, 2 KOs). They will meet for a vacant regional belt. Among the other bouts on the stream will be junior welterweight Hugo Micallef (2-0, 0 KOs), 24, of Monte Carlo, Monaco, against Italian southpaw Mauro Loli (7-3, 3 KOs) in a six-rounder. Top Rank signed former amateur standout Micallef to a multi-year deal last summer.
Show and tell
One of the most monstrous knockouts I have ever witnessed at ringside was when Sergio Martinez made his first middleweight title defense in a rematch with former two-time welterweight titlist Paul Williams and avenged a disputed decision loss by obliterating him with one massive left hand on the chin in the second round at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Many questioned whether Williams would ever be the same after absorbing such a wickedly violent knockout. Sadly, the answer was no. Eight months later, Williams returned for a junior middleweight fight with Erislandy Lara, the onetime Cuban amateur standout who was coming off a draw with Carlos Molina. I was ringside covering Williams-Lara at the Adrian Phillips Ballroom (the smaller upstairs arena at Boardwalk Hall, where Williams had beaten Martinez in their first epic fight) and what I saw would go down in the pantheon of horrendous decisions I have covered.
Williams, a once-dynamic fighter on everyone’s pound-for-pound list, looked dreadful as Lara landed straight left hands almost at will and busted Williams up in a pretty one-sided fight, or so most of us thought. The late HBO unofficial scorer Harold Lederman had it 117-111 for Lara. I scored it 116-112 for Lara and was unable to find a single ringside media member who didn’t also have Lara winning. However, our scores don’t count, so it was bad enough that judge Al Bennett scored it 114-114. But judges Hilton Whitaker (115-114) and Don Givens (116-114) absurdly both had it for Williams. The pro-Williams crowd booed the scores, which were all horrendous. It was as egregious a decision as I have seen. The scores were so bad that the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board suspended the three judges indefinitely in a virtually unprecedented move and launched an investigation (though they found nothing untoward). Williams would fight just once more, a win, before he was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident soon after he had gotten a fight with the up-and-coming Canelo Alvarez. Lara, of course, would win a world title and spend the next decade as one of the top junior middleweights in the world. Williams-Lara was on July 9, 2011 — 11 years ago on Saturday. Here is a very limited HBO poster for the fight in my collection.
Chisora-Pulev and Madrimov-Soro photos: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing; Magsayo-Vargas and Figueroa-Castro photos: Esther Lin/Showtime
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