Notebook: Donaire secures another bantamweight world title shot

Broner foe injured, PPV canceled; Benavidez-Plant undercard announced; BetUS show; Ioka vacates junior bantamweight title but will face Franco again; Fundora return; Quick hits; Show and tell

Feb 18, 2023

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Four-division champion Nonito Donaire is in the twilight of his career but the surefire future Hall of Famer will get another world title opportunity.

With Naoya Inoue vacating the undisputed bantamweight title to move up in weight, all four belts are up for grabs and the organizations are ordering bouts to fill them. The WBC did that this week, ordering Donaire and Alexandro Santiago to meet for its vacant 118-pound title.

In his last fight in June, Donaire (42-7, 28 KOs), 40, a Philippines native fighting out of Las Vegas, got stopped in the second round by Inoue in a three-belt unification fight that was also a rematch of Inoue’s hard-fought decision over Donaire in the 2019 fight of the year.

Santiago (27-3-5, 14 KOs), 27, of Mexico, has won three fights in a row since a 10-round majority decision loss to Gary Antonio Russell in November 2021. In Santiago’s lone world title opportunity, he fought to a split draw with then-junior bantamweight titlist Jerwin Ancajas in 2018.

Initially, Donaire and Jason Maloney were approved at the annual WBC convention in November to meet in a final eliminator, but Moloney has since elected to pursue an opportunity with another organization. That opened the door for Santiago.

Meanwhile, the WBC also ordered a title eliminator between Nawaphon Sor Rungvisai and Reymart Gaballo at the convention and the organization said this week they have reached an agreement and will meet on a date to be determined.

“The WBC has ordered Nonito Donaire to fight Alexandro Santiago for the WBC bantamweight championship with the winner committed to fight against the winner of Nawaphon vs. Gaballo,” the WBC said in updating the status of its bantamweight division.

Broner fight off

Four-division titlist Adrien Broner’s 10-round welterweight fight against Michael Williams Jr., which was scheduled to headline a BLK Prime PPV card on Feb. 25 at the Gateway Center in Atlanta, was canceled on Friday.

Williams suffered a broken jaw in sparring and his father, Michael Williams Sr., said on social media his son was out of the fight along with announcing that Roy Jones Jr. would no longer train him.

“First things first, Roy Jones Jr. is (no) longer one of my son’s trainers,” he posted. “Second I am so sorry to announce my son will not be fighting AB February 25th due to unnecessary injury in camp.”

With Williams out and the fight being next week — and ticket sales reportedly soft — the event was called off. A source involved in the event told Fight Freaks Unite the plan is reschedule Broner to headline a PPV against an opponent to be determined on April 29.

Williams Jr. (20-1, 13 KOs), 23, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was already the third opponent for Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs), 33, of Cincinnati.

Broner was originally scheduled to fight Ivan Redkach, who was forced out due to a contract dispute with his promoter, Star Boxing’s Joe DeGuardia. Then former title challenger Hank Lundy was forced out after being suspended by the California State Athletic Commission for walking out on a signed contract for another fight to take the Broner bout.

Broner, who recently split from PBC and signed a three-fight deal with BLK Prime, is 1-2-1 in his last four fights and has not fought since February 2021 and is looking to get his career back on track. He was scheduled to fight former lightweight titlist Omar Figueroa Jr. on Showtime on Aug. 20 but pulled out of the junior welterweight bout five days beforehand, claiming mental health issues.

“I worked my ass off and I see what the bottom really looked like for the first time,” Broner said in a statement addressing next week’s fight being called off. “I looked in the mirror and I told myself I am not that person and I got off my ass and went to work! These last four months I got in amazing shape and I’m in a great space in my life. I know this ain’t the WWF but right now I feel like Triple H ‘cause I’m back healthy, happy, and hungry! Sorry to all my fans but I will continue this journey.”

With the Feb. 25 event off, it once again delayed the oft-postponed lightweight fight between former junior lightweight titlist Tevin Farmer (30-5-1, 6 KOs) and former lightweight titlist Mickey Bey (23-3-1, 11 KOs). Their fight has been on and off various dates for months and was due to be the Broner-Williams co-feature.

Benavidez-Plant undercard

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Showtime and PBC announced the undercard for the Showtime PPV card headlined by the super middleweight showdown between WBC interim titlist David Benavidez and former IBF titleholder Caleb Plant on March 25 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

This week’s announcement came as no surprise given that Fight Freaks Unite reported each bout two weeks ago. But the fighters began talking up their fights in conjunction with the official announcement.

In the co-feature, junior middleweight prospects Jesus Ramos (19-0, 15 KOs), 21, a southpaw from Casa Grande, Arizona, and Joey Spencer (16-0, 10 KOs), 22, of Union City, California, in a 10-rounder.

J. Ramos: “I’ve been in the gym for months now getting ready for this opportunity and everything has been great. I’m expecting the best version of Joey Spencer. I know I have what it takes to beat him because of the preparation we’ve been putting in, my dedication, my skills and my will to win. I’m excited to be part of one of the biggest cards of the year thus far, and I know we will give the fans an exciting fight.”
Spencer: “It’s not that often that fans get to see fights between two undefeated rising fighters and I’m thankful to be a part of it. This is the fight I asked for, and for it to take place on one of the biggest cards of the year is very special.”

Lightweights Chris Colbert and Jose Valenzuela, both looking to rebound from loss, meet in a 10-rounder. Colbert (16-1, 6 KOs), 26, of Brooklyn, New York, was the WBA junior lightweight mandatory challenger when he risked his position against Hector Luis Garcia last February and got knocked down in a wide decision loss that was one of the biggest upsets of 2022. Valenzuela (12-1, 8 KOs), 23, a Mexican southpaw, who is based in Seattle, where he trains with Benavidez, was a hot prospect before getting dropped twice and shockingly knocked out by Edwin De Los Santos in the third round on the Andy Ruiz Jr.-Luis Ortiz undercard in September.

Colbert: “I’m happy to be back. There’s no pressure on me. I bring the pressure. It’s ‘Primetime’ on Showtime. I’m back baby!”
Valenzuela: “I’m extremely motivated for this fight. The difference with this camp is that I was in shape when camp started, so it’s giving me a head start on my preparation. My strength and conditioning are at a whole new level and I can’t wait to show everyone what I’m capable of in this fight.”

In the opener, welterweights Cody Crowley and Abel Ramos (Jesus’ uncle) meet in a WBC title eliminator.

Crowley (21-0, 9 KOs), 29, a southpaw from Canada, handed Kudratillo Abdukakhorov his first loss by decision in December 2021 and followed up with an even more dominating decision win over Josesito Lopez on the Errol Spence Jr.-Yordenis Ugas undercard last April.

Ramos (27-5-2, 21 KOs), 31, of Casa Grande, Arizona, is 1-2 in his last three, losing a split decision to Ugas for the vacant WBA “regular” welterweight title in September 2020, stopping former lightweight titlist Omar Figueroa Jr. in the sixth round in May 2021 and dropping a 10-round decision to Luke Santamaria last February.

Crowley: “I have succeeded in overcoming obstacles and adversity, and Abel Ramos will not be able to stop me from achieving my dream of becoming world champion. I’m dedicating this fight to my (recently deceased) father’s memory and to all of those who have worked diligently to help me succeed against all odds.”
A. Ramos: “I’m prepared to take on Crowley and show off everything I’ve been working on in camp. I’m facing a strong opponent, but I believe that my experience in these big fights will get me the victory.”

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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 two notable main events from Saturday’s key shows, both on DAZN: Leigh Wood’s WBA featherweight title defense against Mauricio Lara in Nottingham, England and Luis Nery versus Azat Hovhannisyan in a WBC junior featherweight eliminator in Pomona, California. We also took viewer questions and comments! Please check out the show here:

Ioka vacates title

Kazuto Ioka (29-2-1, 15 KOs), 33, vacated the WBO junior bantamweight title on Friday. He had been facing a Feb. 23 purse bid for his mandatory defense against Japanese countryman Junto Nakatani (24-0, 18 KOs), 25, a southpaw, who vacated the WBO flyweight title to move up in weight.

However, Ioka instead has made a deal to rematch with WBA titleholder Joshua Franco in a fight that is penciled in for June in Japan.

Four-division titlist Ioka and Franco fought to a majority draw — 114-114, 114-114 and 115-113 Franco — on Dec. 31 in Tokyo. The rematch with Franco is far more lucrative than facing Nakatani.

With the 115-pound title vacant, the WBO told Fight Freaks Unite it will issue a letter Monday formally ordering Nakatani to face former titlist Andrew Moloney (25-2, 16 KOs), 32, of Australia, for the belt. Moloney has won four fights in a row since going 0-2 with a no decision in a trilogy against Franco in 2020 and 2021.

Ioka’s decision did not come as a surprise to the teams of Nakatani and Moloney, who have already begun their negotiations.

Holmes edges Villarreal on ‘ShoBox’

Junior middleweight Ardreal Holmes Jr. (13-0, 5 KOs), a 28-year-old southpaw from Flint, Michigan, won a split decision over Ismael Villarreal (12-1, 8 KOs), 25, of Bronx, New York, in the main event of the “ShoBox: The New Generation” card on Showtime on Friday night at Stormont Vail Events Center in Topeka, Kansas.

Holmes won 97-93 and 96-94 while one judge had it 96-94 for Villarreal in a fight Holmes seemed to clearly win by outboxing and outjabbing the more aggressive Villarreal

“I felt like he won two, three rounds,” Holmes said. “I don’t know where that one card came from. I feel like I dominated the fight and felt like he might have gotten two or three middle rounds, but that was the max. I felt like I outjabbed him and outfought him. I’m only 13 fights in so I’m going to keep improving.”

In the co-feature, featherweight Edward Vazquez (14-1, 3 KOs), 27, of Fort Worth, Texas, dropped Misael Lopez (14-2, 5 KOs), 26, of Denver, and won a split decision. Vazquez won 96-93 and 95-94 and one judge had Lopez winning 95-94.

Vazquez dropped Lopez with a left to the top of Lopez’s head midway through the second round, which proved to be the difference in the fight.

“The left-hook knockdown in the second was the key,” Vazquez said. “He was off-balance for sure, but I hit him with the left hook and that’s the game. In my last fight, the same thing happened, and they didn’t call it. So, you just never know.”

In opener, junior welterweight Kurt Scooby (11-0, 9 KOs), 27, of New York, floored John Mannu (7-1-1, 4 KOs), 26, a southpaw from Australia, four times in the second round, finishing him with a left to the body at 1 minute, 40 seconds.

Quick hits

Sebastian Fundora, the WBC interim junior middleweight titlist, will defend in the main event of a planned Showtime card on April 8 in Southern California, sources with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite. One of the sources said there is a deal in place for Fundora to face Brian Mendoza. Fundora (20-0-1, 13 KOs), 25, a southpaw from Coachella, California, claimed the vacant interim belt via ninth-round knockout of Erickson Lubin in April 2022 in a fight of the year contender and then easily outpointed Carlos Ocampo to retain it in October. Mendoza (21-2, 15 KOs), 29, of Las Vegas, is coming off his biggest win, a fifth-round knockout of former unified junior middleweight titlist Jeison Rosario in November in a middleweight fight that sent Rosario into retirement.

Weights from Pomona, California, for the Golden Boy card Saturday (8 p.m. ET, DAZN): Luis Nery 122 pounds, Azat Hovhannisyan 121.6 (WBC junior featherweight eliminator); Shane Mosley Jr. 167.4, Mario Lozano 165.2; Ricardo Sandoval 111.8, Jerson Ortiz 111.6; Rowdy Montgomery 167.2, Christian Olivas 167.6; Asa Stevens 127, Jenn Gonzalez 129.8; Andrii Novytskyi 232.2, Gabriel Costa 204.2.

Subscribe to DAZN for Nery-Hovhannisyan

Per California State Athletic Commission, official contract purses for the Golden Boy card: Luis Nery $80,000, Azat Hovhannisyan $125,000; Shane Mosley Jr. $50,000, Mario Lozano $20,000; Ricardo Sandoval $25,000, Jerson Ortiz $15,000; Rowdy Montgomery $8,000, Christian Olivas $10,000; Asa Stevens $4,000, Jenn Gonzalez $1,500; Andrii Novytskyi $2,000, Gabriel Costa $2,200.

Weights from Nottingham, England for the Matchroom Boxing card Saturday (2 p.m. ET, DAZN): Leigh Wood 126, Mauricio Lara 126 (for Wood’s WBA featherweight title); Dalton Smith 139, Billy Allington 139 (for Smith’s British junior welterweight title); Cheavon Clarke 199, Israel Duffus 197; Gary Cully 134, Wifredo Flores 134; Gamal Yafai 124, Diego Alberto Ruiz 123; Aaron Bowen 165, Mathieu Gomes TBA; Junaid Bostan 155, Peter Kramer 155; Kieron Conway 168, Jorge Silva 167; Sam Maxwell 144, Shaun Cooper 143.

Lightweight Michel Rivera (24-1, 14 KOs), 24, of the Dominican Republic, had his temporary suspension extended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission at its monthly meeting this week as the panel continues to investigate his positive test for two banned diuretics related to a one-sided decision loss to Frank Martin in a Showtime main event Dec. 17 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The substances he tested positive for, hydrochlorothiazide and triamterene, typically would be used to assist in weight loss but are banned under World Anti-Doping Agency code. Rivera promoter Sampson Lewkowicz told Fight Freaks Unite that Rivera has asked for his B sample to be tested. Eventually the commission will hold a hearing on the matter and unless the B sample is negative, which is extraordinarily unlikely, Rivera faces a suspension likely to be no longer than one year and a fine.

The Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California, will serve as the venue for the Golden Boy card on DAZN on March 18 (8 p.m. ET), the promoter announced Friday. The 12-round headliner matches light heavyweight contender Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (44-1, 30 KOs), 31, a Mexican southpaw and former super middleweight titlist, against Gabriel Rosado (26-16-1, 15 KOs), 37, of Philadelphia, who is moving up in weight. Ramirez returns from his first defeat, a lopsided decision in a mandatory shot at WBA titlist Dmitry Bivol on Nov. 5. Former junior lightweight titlist Joseph Diaz Jr. (32-3-1, 15 KOs), 30, of Downey, California, and former two-time lightweight title challenger Mercito Gesta (33-3-3, 17 KOs), 35, a San Diego-based Filipino, meet in the 12-round co-feature.

Show and tell

More than once, a unification fight between welterweight champions Felix Trinidad and the late Pernell Whitaker was discussed and HBO was all in trying to get it done. They even shared a November 1995 HBO doubleheader in which they each scored knockouts. Alas, the fight did not happen at that time due to promotional haggling — what else is new? — and they went their separate ways. Finally, nearly 3½ years later it came to pass. While Trinidad was still in peak form with his biggest fights still to come, Whitaker was near the end, his skills and speed eroded from age and drug use. When he finally faced Trinidad, Whitaker was a former champion coming off a 16-month layoff and a razor-close decision win in a welterweight title eliminator against Andrey Pestryaev that was changed to a no contest after Whitaker tested positive for cocaine. Trinidad was the heavy favorite when they met at New York’s Madison Square Garden in a much-anticipated HBO main event but it was no surprise Trinidad won easily.

He broke Whitaker’s jaw in the sixth round and won a lopsided decision — 118-109, 118-109 and 117-110 — to retain the IBF welterweight title. Whitaker showed tremendous heart in absorbing what many viewed as the first legitimate loss of his career. He would only fight once more, a knockout loss 26 months later. The long-awaited fight between Hall of Famers Trinidad and Whitaker came a bit too late but it finally happened on Feb. 20, 1999 — 24 years ago on Monday. Here is a mint site poster in my collection.

Broner photo: Amanda Westcott/Showtime; Stephanie Trapp/Showtime; Nery-Hovhannisyan photo: Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy

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