Notebook: Ennis, Clayton make deal to meet in welterweight eliminator on Showtime
Rivas first title defense set; Andrade-Parker purse bid scheduled; Quick hits; Show and tell
A quick note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: If you have upgraded to a paid subscription, thank you! If you have not, please consider doing so to receive the most content. A paid subscription is also your way of keeping this reader-supported newsletter going and supporting independent journalism.
Rising welterweight star Jaron Ennis, the 2020 prospect of the year, has a deal in place to face Custio Clayton this spring in an IBF title elimination fight that will make the winner the organization’s mandatory challenger, a source with knowledge of the agreement told Fight Freaks Unite on Tuesday.
The IBF ordered Ennis and Clayton to meet on Jan. 20 and although the sides have reached an agreement, the IBF nonetheless on Tuesday scheduled a purse bid for the bout for March 1 at 12 p.m. ET. It will eventually be canceled once the camps officially notify the IBF that they have a deal.
There is no set date yet for Ennis-Clayton, but the source said the fight would take place in April or May on a Showtime-televised card. One possibility is for it to land on an April 9 card that will be headlined by Erickson Lubin against Sebastian Fundora in a vacant WBC interim junior middleweight title bout and also includes former junior middleweight titlist Tony Harrison versus Sergio Garcia.
Ennis (28-0, 26 KOs), 24, of Philadelphia, has had a hard time getting quality opponents to face him but he is coming off back-to-back knockout wins over reputable opponents in former title challenger Thomas Dulorme, whom he stopped in the first round in October, and former junior welterweight titlist Sergey Lipinets, whom he knocked out in the sixth round last April.
Clayton (19-0-1, 12 KOs), 34, of Canada, fought to a draw with Lipinets in October 2020, which he followed with a unanimous 10-round decision over journeyman Cameron Krael in his last fight in December.
The Ennis-Clayton winner be a mandatory challenger for the winner of the fight between IBF/WBC titlist Errol Spence Jr. and WBA titleholder Yordenis Ugas, who are scheduled to meet in a three-belt unification bout on April 16 on Showtime PPV, although Showtime’s involvement has not yet been officially announced.
Quick hits
Former two-time super middleweight titlist David Benavidez (25-0, 22 KOs), 24, of Phoenix, and former middleweight titleholder David Lemieux (43-4, 36 KOs), 32, of Montreal, who agreed in December to a WBC interim super middleweight title bout on Showtime, will meet on a date to be determined in May, a source with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite. The winner of the bout will be a potential fall opponent for undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, who is weighing offers for his next fight in May from PBC to face middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo, who would move up in weight, and from Matchroom Boxing to challenge light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol.
Promoter Yvon Michel, who represents WBC bridgerweight titlist Oscar Rivas (28-1, 19 KOs), and Titov Promotions, which promotes mandatory challenger Evgeny Romanov (16-0, 11 KOs), 36, of Russia, made a deal for the fight, Michel announced on Tuesday. There is no set date for the bout but Michel said it will take place in June and be held either in Rivas’ adopted hometown of Montreal or in his native Colombia. Rivas, 34, became the first bridgerweight titleholder on Oct. 22, winning a unanimous decision over Ryan Rozicki in Montreal. The WBC is the only organization to recognize the 224-pound division between cruiserweight and heavyweight.
The WBO on Tuesday scheduled a purse bid for a vacant interim super middleweight title bout between Demetrius Andrade (31-0, 19 KOs), 33, of Providence, Rhode Island, the organization’s middleweight titleholder, who is moving up in weight, and Zach Parker (22-0, 16 KOs), 27, of England. The purse bid is scheduled for Feb. 25 at the WBO offices in San Juan. Minimum bid is $300,000.
In addition to the WBC lightweight semifinal eliminator between former three-division titlist Jorge Linares (47-6, 29 KOs) and Zaur Abdullaev (14-1, 8 KOs) streaming on ESPN+ from Ekaterinburg, Russia on Saturday (9:30 a.m. ET), Top Rank, which acquired the U.S. rights to the card, announced that two other bouts will also be part of the live stream. They are a WBA junior lightweight title elimination fight between Mark Urvanov (20-2-1, 10 KOs) and Angel Rodriguez (19-1, 10 KOs) and a 10-round fight between junior welterweights Ivan Kozlovsky (4-0, 2 KOs) and Zoravor Petrosian (12-1, 5 KOs).
Probellum announced it has signed middleweight Danny Dignum (14-0, 8 KOs), a 29-year-old southpaw from England, who notched a sixth-round knockout of Grant Dennis in a regional title bout on Saturday in London. “I’m unbeaten as a professional and my ambition in the long-term is to fight for a world title,” Dignum said. “I have total confidence Probellum will help me achieve that goal and build on the success I have already achieved.”
Show and tell
After Sugar Ray Leonard knocked out Thomas Hearns in the 14th round of their legendary first fight to become the undisputed welterweight world champion, he was back in the ring five months later to defend the belts against contender Bruce Finch, whom Leonard had once beaten in the amateur ranks. The fight, televised on HBO, took place in Reno, Nevada, which had not hosted a world title fight since Jack Johnson knocked out James Jeffries to retain the heavyweight title in 1910. Finch won the first round on all three scorecards but then Leonard scored a pair of knockdowns in the second round and another in the third round for a knockout victory. It would be Leonard’s last fight for more than three years due to a detached retina later discovered that forced him into what became a temporary retirement. Leonard-Finch took place on Feb. 15, 1982 — 40 years ago on Tuesday. Here is a full ticket to the bout in my collection.
More show and tell
Muhammad Ali was still heavyweight champion but he was getting on in years and slowing down. Still, there was no reason for anyone to give young Leon Spinks a chance to beat him. Although Spinks had won a 1976 Olympic gold medal two years earlier, he was only 6-0-1 and not considered a formidable opponent when he was matched with Ali, the 10-to-1 favorite, at the Las Vegas Hilton. The fight aired live on CBS and drew an audience of more than 70 million, which saw the more aggressive and accurate Spinks take it to Ali throughout the bout and win a 15-round split decision to take the title in a massive upset and become the least experienced fighter to win the heavyweight title. The Ring magazine picked it as fight of the year and the 15th round as round of the year. The fight took place on Feb. 15, 1978 — 44 years ago on Tuesday. Here is a mint program in my collection.
Ennis photo: Esther Lin/Showtime
To upgrade your subscription please go here: https://danrafael.substack.com/subscribe
Thank you so much for your support of Fight Freaks Unite!
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danrafael1/
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanRafael1
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanRafaelBoxing
These notebooks are a driving factor for me to re-up when subscription expires, thanks Dan.
It is always important and somehow nice for me to read about fights in process or fights finalized for bids and whatnot. Can;t argue with the truth and with boxing when a fight is scheduled and signed with date and location you are close to getting the fight then not. Why do I say this bc it is more enjoyable to watch fights then argue over what could have been or should have been.
Thanks again,