Notebook: Fury-Joshua deal nears as sides exchange contract drafts, per source
Canelo-Yildirim weigh-in, big Golden Boy signing, much more
The long and winding road to an undisputed heavyweight championship fight between British countrymen Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua appears to be growing shorter.
The sides have been talking about the fight – the most significant that can be made in boxing – since last April, when negotiations began.
But mega fights are never easy to make, especially when the talks are set to the backdrop of a global pandemic that has made completing a deal especially complicated because of an inability to finalize a site and to know how large of a crowd can attend the bout, which dramatically impacts the gate revenue. In normal times, Fury-Joshua would easily generate an eight-figure gate.
But Fury, his co-promoters (Top Rank and Frank Warren) and adviser MTK Global and Joshua, 258 Management and promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing have reached the point where they have agreed to terms for a two-fight deal with the first bout targeted for June or July at a site to be determined, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told Fight Freaks Unite.
They are so far down the road that they have exchanged contract drafts, the source said. That means what they have agreed to has been memorialized in a contract that the lawyers are now reviewing, the source said. It’s a major step to finalizing the fight, although the sides still need to go through the paperwork and go back and forth in order to get the language precise.
It’s much rosier outlook than Fury painted earlier in the week when he told ESPN the fight was no closer to being set than it had been for months.
“They've had a full year to make something happen, and it hasn't happened as of yet. We're no further forward today than we were a year ago,” Fury said to ESPN. “The way (Covid-19) is at the moment, I don't think (it has) got much to do with the fighters. It's to do with the venue, date, place, site fees. It's to do with everything but the fight itself.”
Asked what had changed since Fury made his comments days earlier, the source said, “That’s just Tyson being Tyson.”
Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs), 32, has spoken out about being frustrated because he has not fought since last February, when he knocked out Deontay Wilder in their championship rematch of a previous draw. He had hoped to fight in December, but plans to face Agit Kabayel fell through.
Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs), 31, returned from a one-year layoff in December to knock out mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev in the ninth-round of a one-sided fight at Wembley Arena in London, where some spectators were allowed.
On Tuesday, Joshua indicated a deal for the Fury fight was moving in the right direction when he tweeted, “Another positive meeting with 258 Management. They've informed me things are shaping up nicely. They will be sharing the update with Eddie and you'll be hearing from me soon.”
Canelo-Yildirim weigh-in
Although flyweight world titlist Julio Cesar Martinez pulled out of his mandatory defense against McWilliams Arroyo hours after participating in the final news conference on Thursday, claiming an injured hand, Arroyo (20-4, 15 KOs), 35, of Puerto Rico, will remain on the Canelo Alvarez-Avni Yildirim card on Saturday night (DAZN) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Arroyo will face extremely short-notice substitute Abraham Rodriguez (27-2, 13 KOs), 26, of Mexico, for the WBC’s interim flyweight title, according to Matchroom Boxing. Rodriguez has won four fights in a row since Angel Acosta stopped him in the second round of a junior flyweight title defense in October 2018.
Marc Castro (1-0, 1 KO), 21, of Fresno, California, who turned pro on Alvarez’s Dec. 19 undercard, will face late replacement John Moraga (1-2, 1 KO), 36, of Phoenix, in a four-round junior lightweight bout. He was supposed to face Ray Corona but Corona dropped out because he tested positive for the coronavirus. In his last fight, Moraga went the four-round distance in a loss to unbeaten prospect Duke Ragan.
Here are the weights for the event: Alvarez 167.6 pounds, Yildirim 167.6 (for Alvarez’s unified super middleweight title); Arroyo 111.8, Rodriguez (arrives Friday night, for vacant WBC interim flyweight title); Zhang Zhilei 256.2, Jerry Forrest 236.8; Diego Pacheco 168, Rodolfo Gomez Jr. 167; Alexis Espino 167.8, Ashton Sykes 164.2; Castro 129.2, Moraga (arrives Friday night); Aaron Aponte 139.8, Harry Gigliotti 139.2; Keyshawn Davis 136.4, Lester Brown 134.6.
‘Zurdo’ signs with Golden Boy
Light heavyweight contender Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, a former super middleweight world titlist, has signed a multi-fight deal with Golden Boy Promotions, the company announced on Friday.
Ramirez (41-0, 27 KOs), 29, a southpaw from Mexico, who had been with Top Rank for years before going out on his own when they parted ways, has only fought once since April 2019 on a card his own company put on in December. Ramirez knocked out Alfonso Lopez in the 10th round.
“After several discussions, Golden Boy Promotions made the most sense and felt like the best partners for me,” Ramirez said. “They understood the goals and the agendas I have and I have full faith in (Golden Boy CEO) Oscar (De La Hoya) and the team to make the big fights happen. I look forward to working with them closely and to this new chapter of my career.”
De La Hoya was pleased to add another top fighter to his stable.
“Mexican boxing has been a worldwide force in this sport for as long as I can remember,” De La Hoya said. “Along with its legacy of courageous fighters, it possesses a fan base with a unique culture and energy that comes alive every single time its fighters step into the ring.
“That’s why we are delighted to have signed Gilberto Ramirez to a multi-fight deal, an undefeated former world champion from the land of warriors in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico. As we in the United States look towards re-opening to bigger and bigger audiences, we know that Ramirez will bring even more excitement to the stacked 175-pound division as he sets course for all the world champions.”
Golden Boy president Eric Gomez told Fight Freaks Unite that the hope is to have Ramirez back in the ring “by mid-to-late spring or early summer.”
Herring-Frampton update
The fight between junior lightweight titlist Jamel Herring (22-2, 10 KOs) and Carl Frampton (28-2, 16 KOs), which was supposed to be Saturday in London but postponed last week when Frampton said he had a hand injury, was initially penciled in to be rescheduled for March 27 but will instead be April 3 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a source with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite.
MTK Global, which is the adviser to both fighters, is based in Dubai. The fight, Herring’s third defense, will stream on ESPN+ in the United States, according to a source with knowledge of the plans.
Herring-Frampton will move into the main event of a card that was already scheduled to include the return of former four-division world titlist Donnie Nietes, who signed with MTK in October, against an opponent to be determined.
Nietes (42-1-5, 23 KOs), 38, who has won belts at junior bantamweight, flyweight, junior flyweight and strawweight, hasn’t fought since winning a vacant junior bantamweight title in December 2018 and later vacating.
Soto-Alvarez unification
There is a good chance that junior flyweight world titleholders Elwin Soto (18-1, 12 KOs), 24, of Mexico, and Felix Alvarado (36-2, 31 KOs), 32, of Nicaragua, will meet in a unification this year, according to Golden Boy, which promotes both fighters.
“That’s definitely a good possibility,” Golden Boy president Eric Gomez told Fight Freaks Unite. “We want to try to do that fight. We don’t have a date yet but we have talked to both sides and they are ready, willing and able to do that fight.”
Soto won his 108-pound belt in June 2019 by knocking out Angel “Tito” Acosta in the 12th round. He has made two defenses and also won a nontitle bout. In his last fight in October, Soto outpointed Carlos Buitrago.
Alvarado knocked out Randy Petalcorin in the seventh round to win his belt in October 2018 but has been quite inactive, making two defenses. He fought once in 2019, not at all in 2020 and knocked out former strawweight titlist DeeJay Kriel in his most recent defense on Jan. 2 on the Ryan Garcia-Luke Campbell card.
Quick hits
Junior middleweight Terrell Gausha (21-2-1, 10 KOs), 33, of Cleveland, will face Jamontay Clark (15-1-1, 7 KOs), 26, of Cincinnati, in a 10-rounder that will open Showtime’s tripleheader on March 13 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, multiple sources with knowledge of the card told Fight Freaks Unite. Gausha is coming off a decision loss to Erickson Lubin in September. Clark’s last bout was last February, when he won an eight-round decision versus Anthony Lenk. Although the card hasn’t been formally announced, it will open with Gausha-Clark followed by lightweights Isaac Cruz and Jose Matias Romero in a 10-rounder and former two-time super middleweight titlist David Benavidez facing Ronald Ellis in a WBC super middleweight semifinal eliminator, according to sources.
Weights from Los Angeles for Saturday’s PBC on Fox card: Anthony Dirrell 167.4 pounds, Kyrone Davis 167.6 (WBC super middleweight semifinal eliminator); Jesus Ramos 146.8, Jesus Bojorquez 146.2; Vito Mielnicki Jr. 146.4, Noe Lopez 146; Michel Rivera 144.4, Anthony Mercado 146; Anthony Cuba 134.2, Diego Elizondo 135; Romuel Cruz 122.4, Luis Valdes 122.4; Jose Valenzuela 134.8, Clay Burns 134.8; Leon Lawson 152.2; Ramal Amanov 153.8; Arnold Alejandro 131.2, Jeremy Abram 129.4.
The highly anticipated rematch between Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and Juan Francisco Estrada to unify junior bantamweight titles on March 13 in Dallas will be offered as a linear TV pay-per-view, On Demand announced. It will be $24.99 and include free access to DAZN, which will stream it to its subscribers, through April 30. Of course, it makes more sense to subscribe to DAZN for $20 a month or $100 a year. Both fighters have submitted to their WBC-mandated 14-day weight check with both weighing within the limit. Gonzalez was 120.6 pounds and Estrada 120 for the bout contracted at 115.
The Teofimo Lopez-George Kambosos purse bid wasn’t the only conducted by the IBF via Thursday’s video conference. Minutes before it was held there was also one for a super middleweight title eliminator between Evgeny Shvedenko (15-0, 6 KOs), 30, a Russia native based in Germany, and Aidos Yerbossynuly (15-0, 10 KOs), 29, of Kazakhstan, for the right to become the mandatory challenger for titlist Caleb Plant, although he made a mandatory in January and won’t have to do another one for the rest of the year. Germany’s Facher Sport Management, Shvedenko’s promoter, won with a bid of $301,588. That beat the only other offer of $180,000 submitted by Suleimen Promotions, which represents Yerbossynuly. Facher Sport told Fight Freaks Unite it will stage the fight April 17 in Karlsruhe, Germany, where Shvedenko lives.
A purse bid for an IBF junior welterweight title elimination bout between Jeremias Ponce (27-0, 17 KOs), 24, of Argentina, and Lewis Ritson (21-1, 12 KOs), 27, of England, is scheduled for March 9 if the camps fail to make a deal. The winner of the proposed bout would become the mandatory challenger for unified titlist Josh Taylor, who is first headed to a spring showdown with fellow unified titlist Jose Ramirez for the undisputed 140-pound crown.
Mayweather Promotions announced it has signed amateur standout Dorian Khan Jr., 18, of Buckeye, Arizona. Khan, who was ranked No. 2 by USA Boxing at 123 pounds, was 135-13 as an amateur. He caught Floyd Mayweather’s attention last fall when he traveled to Las Vegas spar with Gervonta Davis, who was preparing for his lightweight and junior lightweight title bout with Leo Santa Cruz on Oct. 31. “Floyd is my biggest inspiration,” said Khan, who will fight as a featherweight in the pros. “And now he’s my promoter. I grew up watching him on TV and would use that as motivation to perfect my skill, especially the shoulder roll.”
More issues for promoter Frank Warren’s card on Saturday at the Copper Box Arena in London. The main event, junior lightweight titlist Jamel Herring’s defense against Carl Frampton, was postponed last week when Warren announced Frampton had a hand injury. That moved Anthony Cacace's British junior lightweight title defense against Lyon Woodstock from the co-feature to the main event. But on Thursday Warren announced that fight was also off after Woodstock tested positive for Covid-19. The card will still move forward as planned.
Show and tell
It was a battle for lightweight supremacy as Juan Manuel Marquez, the lineal 135-pound champion, traveled to former unified titlist Juan Diaz’s hometown of Houston for a fight everyone expected to produce fireworks. They delivered big time in a sensational action fight that headlined an HBO card that I covered at ringside. Ultimately, Marquez scored a blistering ninth-round knockout to retain the lineal title and win a pair of vacant alphabet belts for good measure. It stood up as the 2009 fight of the year and it happened 12 years ago on Sunday. Here is a scarce thin cardboard site poster in my collection.
Joshua photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing; Canelo-Yildirim photo: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing; Alvarado photo: Tom Hogan/Golden Boy
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Have heard absolutely zero from Usyk in regards to a potential interim WBO title fight with Joyce, which raises my suspicion that all is not well for Fury v AJ fight in 2021. My best guess it won't happen until the crowds are allowed back and AJ may risk fighting his mandatory in Usyk..