Notebook: 'Chocolatito' has Covid-19, third fight against Estrada postponed
Lopez-Kambosos moves again; Lampley opts out of calling Holyfield-Belfort PPV; Valdez-Conceicao preview; De La Hoya out of hospital; so much more
Another day, another fight postponed because of Covid-19.
This time it is former four-division world champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez who has come down with the coronavirus, which has forced his much-anticipated rubber match with junior bantamweight world champion Juan Francisco Estrada to be delayed.
The fight was slated to headline a Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN from a location to be determined in Southern California on Oct. 16, Matchroom and DAZN’s first United States-based card since May. However, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn told Fight Freaks Unite that the fight would be delayed due to Gonzalez coming down with Covid-19.
“Both fighters agreed to terms for the fight but because of ‘Chocolatito’ having Covid, we are now looking at a November date,” Hearn said.
Hearn said that with Estrada-Gonzalez III delayed that former four-division titlist Mikey Garcia would instead headline an October card on DAZN in what Hearn termed “likely a tune-up but at least against someone that is coming to win.”
Garcia (40-1, 30 KOs), 33, of Moreno Valley, California, has not boxed since a unanimous 12-round decision victory over former two-division titlist Jessie Vargas on Feb. 29, 2020 at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas.
The Estrada-Gonzalez rematch on March 13 in Dallas is the front runner for fight of the year honors.
Estrada (42-3, 28 KOs), 31, of Mexico, and Gonzalez (50-3, 41 KOs), 34, of Nicaragua, met in their long-awaited sequel and Estrada eked out a controversial split decision to unify two 115-pound world titles in an unforgettable action-packed slugfest. Estrada won by scores of 117-111 and 115-113 while Gonzalez, the rightful winner in the eyes of many, won 115-113 on the third scorecard.
They first met in 2012 and Gonzalez retained his junior flyweight world title by unanimous decision over Estrada in another action-packed battle.
Lopez-Kambosos moves again
The fight between unified lightweight world champion Teofimo Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) and mandatory challenger George Kambosos Jr. (19-0, 10 KOs) has switched dates yet again.
Lopez manager David McWater told Fight Freaks Unite that the fight, which will headline a Triller Fight Club pay-per-view card, has been moved up one day to Monday, Oct. 4 from Oct. 5 at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
McWater said Triller Fight Club decided to move the fight one day earlier in order to avoid a potential conflict with a possible New York Yankees home playoff game on Oct. 5.
Lopez-Kambosos has been moved multiple times from its original date on June 5 in Miami. First, it was shifted to June 19 to avoid a conflict with the June 6 Floyd Mayweather-Logan Paul exhibition that was also in Miami. But then Lopez came down with Covid-19 a week before the fight and it has been on the move to various dates since due to a variety of issues.
Triller won the promotional rights to the fight at a purse bid for a shockingly high $6.018 million.
FITE In Focus
There’s certainly been a lot of discussion this week about the bout between 58-year-old former four-time heavyweight titleholder and living legend Evander Holyfield and UFC all-time great Vitor Belfort, who meet in an eight-round short-notice heavyweight fight Saturday night in the main event of a Triller Fight Club pay-per-view card (7 p.m. ET, $49.99) at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, after California, the original location, refused to sanction the bout.
Holyfield stepped into replace Oscar De La Hoya, who dropped out due to having come down with Covid-19.
But the show goes on, including this undercard: UFC legends Anderson Silva and Tito Ortiz, who is making his boxing debut, meet in the eight-round cruiserweight co-feature; a 10-round junior lightweight bout between fringe contenders Andy Vences and Jono Carroll; and an eight-round heavyweight fight between unretiring former titlist David Haye and his good friend and novice pro Joe Fournier.
FITE is the digital home for the pay-per-view and I joined the discussion to preview the card on an edition of FITE In Focus. You can watch the show here:
Lampley opts out
Hall of Fame broadcaster Jim Lampley, the voice of HBO boxing for three decades, has opted out of calling the Holyfield-Belfort event on Saturday night, multiple sources told Fight Freaks Unite on Thursday.
Lampley declined to comment on the reason when reached by FFU. Triller also declined to comment.
On June 1, Triller Fight Club announced with fanfare that it had hired Lampley, who had not done a fight since HBO exited boxing at the end of 2018, as its lead blow-by-blow announcer. He was scheduled to debut on June 19 on the card headlined by the Teofimo Lopez-George Kambosos lightweight championship fight until the card was postponed when Lopez came down with Covid-19.
Lampley signed with Triller to do the sort of legitimate championship-level events he had done for so many years at HBO, where he called many of the biggest fights in boxing history, not the novelty fights or exhibitions Triller has been involved with that have matched boxers and MMA fighters or involved celebrities. Certainly, a fight involving the 58-year-old Holyfield, who hasn’t fought in 10 years, and a faded MMA star in Belfort — a fight California refused to allow — was not the sort of fight Lampley had in mind when he signed, although he had been planning to call the unretiring Oscar De La Hoya’s official fight with Belfort before De La Hoya came down with Covid-19 and was replaced by Holyfield.
And anyone who knows anything about Lampley’s political views, which he has never made a secret, has to figure he was not interested in being around Holyfield-Belfort once it was announced this week that former President Donald Trump and his son, Donald Trump Jr., would also be ringside to call the fight on what Triller is hyping as its “no holds barred live alternative commentary” feed.
It is expected that Lampley will instead make his Triller Fight Club debut calling the rescheduled Lopez-Kambosos event on Oct. 4 in New York.
Triller has not announced who will call Saturday’s card, although former two-time welterweight titlist Shawn Porter was due to partner with Lampley as the analyst.
De La Hoya out of hospital
Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya has been released from a Southern California hospital after being there for three days to be treated for Covid-19. The 48-year-old De La Hoya was hospitalized even though he said he had been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“Hey guys, I am out of the hospital. I was in there for three days. Covid hit me really hard,” De La Hoya said in a video posted to his social media accounts. “I was in the best shape of my life and I really can't wait to get back in the ring. Thank you very much for all your well wishes and all your support. I appreciate it.”
De La Hoya was scheduled to exit a 13-year retirement to face MMA legend Vitor Belfort in an eight-round boxing match at a contract weight of 185 pounds in the main event of a Triller Fight Club pay-pay-view on Saturday night at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
When De La Hoya became ill, he withdrew and was replaced by 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, and the card was moved to Hollywood, Florida, when the California State Athletic Commission declined to approve the fight.
De La Hoya, now the owner of Golden Boy Promotions, had been training for months for his ring return before being sidelined by the virus.
Valdez-Conceicao preview
Junior lightweight titlist Oscar Valdez will make his first defense against Top Rank stablemate, three-time Brazilian Olympian and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Robson Conceicao (16-0, 8 KOs), who beat Valdez in the featherweight gold medal bout at the 2009 Pan American Games in Mexico City.
They will meet in the controversial main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+ card on Friday night at the AVA Amphitheater at Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona, where Mexico’s Valdez grew up.
In addition to my reporting on the Valdez drug test situation, I wrote two pieces this week for The Ring magazine website on the fight.
The first one was about Valdez reflecting on his major upset of Miguel Berchelt to win the title in February with a massive 10th-round knockout of year contender. Valdez talked about how hugely significant the win was for him and not just because he claimed a title in a second division. He also talked about the doubts he had in himself during training camp and more. Please read that story here: https://www.ringtv.com/626749-amid-controversy-oscar-valdez-still-has-heavy-handed-ambitions/
The second piece is about the high-stakes amateur meeting between Valdez and Conceicao and their memories of that fight, how the pro rematch came together and what Valdez wants next should he be victorious. Please read that story here: https://www.ringtv.com/626804-oscar-valdez-robson-conceicao-renew-amateur-rivalry/#.YTmPudxBqQQ.twitter
Figueroa fighting Covid-19
WBC junior featherweight world titlist Brandon Figueroa, who tested positive for Covid-19 this week, which forced his title unification bout with WBO counterpart Stephen Fulton to be postponed on Tuesday, said he has symptoms of the virus.
“My fight will be postponed till further notice as I tested positive for covid and so did my team/family,” Figueroa wrote on Instagram. “I’ve worked so hard for this fight and was so close to finishing camp strong but unfortunately there was nothing more I could’ve done. I tried to let it pass and still manage to fight but I wasn’t feeling too well and especially being the last 2 weeks leading to my fight which are the most crucial. I just want to say thank you to all my fans and supporters, this is a fight I don’t want to let slip and I will come back stronger than ever. I’m gonna recover from this and come back and finish what I came to do and bring that belt back home.
“For the meantime I’m gonna continue and try to maintain myself in fight shape as my next fight date will be announced soon. I got to look after my health but my fighting spirit will never leave. Those of you that know Team Figueroa know that we never back down from a fight.”
The 122-pound unification fight was scheduled to take place on Sept. 18 in the main event of a Showtime-televised tripleheader at Park MGM in Las Vegas. According to Showtime, the card will be rescheduled to take place in late October or November, depending on Figueroa’s health.
Aleem seeks title shot
Junior featherweight Ra’eese Aleem was one of the WBA interim titleholders stripped of his belt when the sanctioning body terminated recognizing all of its interim titleholders as it attempts to pare down the overwhelming number of titles it sanctions.
In doing so, however, the WBA put each of those stripped interim titlists in either a mandatory position or in position to fight an eliminator to get the title shot. Aleem (18-0, 12 KOs) wants the title shot against unified titlist Murodjon Akhmadaliev (9-0, 7 KOs).
“I am the (WBA) No. 1 contender and mandatory for Akhmadaliev's belt and people are saying he is one of the best in the division, so I want him to prove it, because I know I can beat him,” Aleem said. “With the WBA reducing the number of world titles they have, and now that I am not an interim world champion, I want this fight. Since Akhmadaliev won the belt against Daniel Roman nearly two years ago, he has only fought one time. I feel the WBA needs to mandate this fight and crown the true champion at super bantamweight."
Aleem was scheduled to fight Eduardo Baez (19-1-2, 6 KOs) in a 10-round bout on Sept. 18 on the Showtime-televised undercard of the junior featherweight unification fight between WBC titlist Brandon Figueroa and WBO counterpart Stephen Fulton, but the entire card was postponed when Figueroa came down with Covid-19. Showtime plans to reschedule the card for late October or November.
Still, Aleem, 31, of Las Vegas, would prefer the title shot and so would his manager Greg Hannley of Prince Ranch Boxing.
“Aleem passes all the check marks of being a world champion, but no one seems too eager to fight him,” Hannley said. “Aleem versus Akhmadaliev would be a great fight that fans would love to see. A battle of two of the best in the world.”
Quick hits
WBO featherweight world titlist Emanuel Navarrete’s mandatory defense against Joet Gonzalez has been shifted to Oct. 15 (ESPN+) at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti told Fight Freaks Unite. Initially, Top Rank planned to have Navarrete (34-1, 29 KOs), 26, of Mexico, make his second defense against Gonzalez (24-1, 14 KOs), 27, of Los Angeles, on Oct. 16 at the Reno Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nevada, before moving it up one day to the former San Diego Sports Arena.
The WBA notified its registered promoters that it has scheduled a purse bid for a junior middleweight title elimination bout between Michel Soro (35-2-1, 24 KOs), of France, and Israil Madrimov (7-0, 5 KOs), of Uzbekistan, on Sept. 20 via video conference. As it was referred to as a final eliminator in the WBA’s notice the winner would become the organization’s mandatory challenger for unified titlist Jermell Charlo. The minimum bid is $110,000 and the split between the boxers is 50-50. There is also a $7,500 fee for any promoter who wants to participate in the purse bid.
Weights from Tucson, Arizona, for Friday’s Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+ card: Oscar Valdez 130 pounds, Robson Conceicao 129.6 (for Valdez’s WBC junior lightweight title); Gabriel Flores Jr. 129.6, Luis Alberto Lopez 128.4; Junto Nakatani 111.4, Angel Acosta 112 (for Nakatani’s WBO flyweight title); Xander Zayas 151.8, Jose Luis Sanchez 151.6; Lindolfo Delgado 141.6, Miguel Zamudio 140.8; Rene Tellez Giron 132.2, Eduardo Garza 132.6; Omar Aguilar 142.6, Carlos Manuel Portillo 141.6.
Two fights on the Valdez-Conceicao card fell out at the last minute. Lightweight prospect Raymond Muratalla (12-0, 10 KOs) tested positive for Covid-19, a source with knowledge of the test told Fight Freaks Unite, causing his eight-rounder with Jose Angulo (14-2, 7 KOs) to be canceled. Also, junior featherweight Miguel Ceballos (2-0, 2 KOs) “changed his mind” and pulled out against pro-debuting Jose Ramirez, which means he probably will be suspended since he had signed a contract for the bout.
The fight between WBC junior flyweight titlist Kenshiro Teraji (18-0, 10 KOs), 29, and mandatory challenger and Japanese countryman Masamichi Yabuki (12-3, 11 KOs), 29, has been rescheduled for Sept. 22 at the Kyoto City Gymnasium in Kyoto, Japan, Shinsei Promotions announced. The fight had been scheduled for Sept. 10 at the same venue, but when Teraji tested positive for Covid-19 late last month it was postponed. Teraji has recovered and his ninth title defense was quickly rescheduled.
Heavyweight Tony Yoka (10-0, 8 KOs), 29, the 2016 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist for France, meets Petar Milas (15-0, 11 KOs), 25, of Croatia, on Friday at center court at Roland-Garros — home of tennis’ French Open — in Paris. The card will be streamed in the United States on ESPN+ beginning at 2:45 p.m. ET. It is the first boxing event at the famed tennis venue since 1973. If Yoka wins, his next fight is expected to be in the United States on one of co-promoter Top Rank’s cards. Also on the stream: former world title challenger Igor Mikhalkin (24-2, 11 KOs), 36, of Germany, will face 2016 French Olympic bronze medalist Mathieu Bauderlique (20-1, 11 KOs), 32, for the vacant European light heavyweight title and Souleymane Cissokho (13-0, 8 KOs), 30, a 2016 French Olympic bronze medalist, faces Ismail Iliev (13-2-1, 3 KOs), 28, of Russia.
Top Rank announced that it has consolidated its media rights in Latin America. Whereas they had been spread out over various outlets, Top Rank and ESPN Knockout announced a four-year multimedia agreement to become the Latin American home of Top Rank. According Top Rank’s announcement, it includes 25 Spanish-speaking territories, with a potential reach of 65 million households and 260 million viewers. ESPN Knockout will broadcast Top Rank’s live cards simultaneously on newly launched streaming service Star+ and on ESPN linear channels in the region. The deal kicks off with Friday night’s Valdez-Conceicao card.
On Tuesday, promoter Frank Warren announced that IBF flyweight titlist Sunny Edwards had suffered an ankle injury, forcing him to withdraw from his first defense against mandatory challenger Jayson Mama, which was scheduled for Saturday at the Copper Box Arena in London. On Wednesday, Warren announced the entire card has been postponed.
Show and tell
As I have written before, I am enjoying collecting the 100-card Muhammad Ali “The People’s Champ” set being put out by Topps on its website, where two new cards are offered for one week beginning each Tuesday through the end of the year. When the week’s new cards, whose design changes every few card in an homage a classic Topps card set, are unveiled Topps releases the print runs of the previous week’s cards.
The set goes through Ali’s career chronologically. I recently received cards 59 and 60, which depict Ali’s legendary 14th-round stoppage of Joe Frazier to retain the heavyweight championship in their third showdown, the famed “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975. Here is card No. 59, which is deigned like the 1975 Topps baseball set.
Estrada-Gonzalez II photo: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing; Valdez-Conceicao photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank; Lampley photo: HBO Sports; Aleem Photo: Amanda Westcott/Showtime
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Mikey Garcia’s career has felt like a huge scam, ever since he left Top Rank.
Dam Covid, it shows how dangerous it is when a fit in training athlete can be hospitalised with the virus. Some cracking bouts to look forward to also some obvious crap ones as well. Its great to be updated on whats going on in the boxing world in a short, precise and well written way so a big thank you to the writer.