Notebook: Healthy Foster vows better showing vs. Conceicao
Title Sports show; Joyce-Chisora on ESPN+; WBA strips two titlists due to doping; Queensberry signs American duo; Quick hits; Show and tell
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When O’Shaquie Foster made his second defense of the WBC junior lightweight title on Feb. 16 in the first fight of a promotional deal with Top Rank he won but hardly impressed.
Foster knew he was less than impressive even though he earned a split decision against Abraham Nova at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Foster plans to be a lot better for defense No. 3 against Robson Conceicao in the co-feature of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card on Saturday (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, 8:30 p.m. ET) at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, the hometown of headliner Shakur Stevenson, who will defend the WBC lightweight title for the first against Artem Harutyunyan.
Although Foster finished well against Nova in by scoring a knockdown in the 12th round he had struggled at times during the bout. But he said his issues were related to injuries.
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Foster (22-2, 12 KOs), 30, of Houston, said he went into the bout with a foot injury that hampered his movement and then he injured his biceps during the fight.
“I just need to go in there and be me. That’s the biggest thing,” Foster said on Wednesday of the upcoming fight. “I’m fully healthy. So, everyone is going to see a different fighter than what they saw the last time I came out.
“I couldn’t do what I wanted in that fight (against Nova). I couldn’t move my feet like I wanted, but no excuses. I’m going to go out and show the world that I’m levels above this guy. I’ve had a long amateur career, so I’ve seen his style several times. We had great sparring partners that mimicked him. I’ve always been proud of my defense, so we’ll figure it out when we get in there.”
Conceicao (18-2-1, 9 KOs), 35, of a three-time Brazilian Olympian and 2016 gold medalist, is getting a rare fourth world title shot.
He dropped a decision to Oscar Valdez for the WBC title in 2021; a one-sided decision to an overweight Stevenson in 2022; and fought to a majority draw in an action-packed fight challenging Emanuel Navarrete, who dropped him twice, for the WBO belt in November.
Now his hopes ride on beating Foster in what very well could be Conceicao’s last shot at glory.
“As an amateur, I had three opportunities to become a gold medalist,” Conceicao said through an interpreter. “I see a similar path as a professional, and on Saturday, I’m going to be ready.
“I don’t look at these challenges as pressure. I look at them as motivation. So, I’m motivated, and I’m looking forward to this fight. I’ll be the new world champion. No pressure. Just motivation.”
Title Sports Network show
In our latest show on Title Sports Network, I joined Seb Parkinson to discuss several topics, including Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez’s huge win over Juan Francisco Estrada to win the lineal/WBC junior bantamweight title and lineal/WBO junior welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez’s lopsided decision over Steve Claggett. But wait! There’s more! We got into my reporting on the Gervonta Davis-Frank Martin PPV numbers; the absurdly late start times for many fights, including Estrada-Rodriguez; the upcoming Jack Catterall-Regis Prograis fight on the day of their kickoff news conference; and we also looked ahead to Saturday’s fights — heavyweight Johnny Fisher versus Alen Babic; WBC lightweight titlist Shakur Stevenson’s defense versus Artem Harutyunyan; and the boxing match between former UFC rivals Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel and also check out the video here:
Podcast
If you missed my interview with WBC lightweight titlist Shakur Stevenson on our recent full podcast episode we have broken it out as a stand-alone segment you can listen to right here ahead of his defense against Artem Harutyunyan on Saturday night. We discussed the fight, his impending free agency and much more. Give it a listen, a review, and also subscribe to get an alert when the next episode is available. New shows every Thursday and Sunday night.
Joyce-Chisora on ESPN+
Top Rank announced it has acquired American media rights from Queensberry Promotions for the all-British 12-round heavyweight fight between Joe Joyce and Derek Chisora on July 27 at The O2 in London and it will, as expected, stream on ESPN+.
They have called each other out at various times over the past few years and now Joyce has a chance to get his career back on track while fan favorite Chisora will look to hang on and pull the upset.
Joyce (16-2, 15 KOs), 38, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist, is coming off a 10th-round knockout of Kash Ali in March but still is trying to regain his status after suffering back-to-back upset knockout losses to Zhilei Zhang in WBO interim title bouts in 2023, leaving his career in shambles.
Two-time world title challenger Chisora (34-13, 23 KOs), 40, even in his diminished state, figures to be bigger test than Ali. He has fought numerous top opponents, losing one-sided world title fights to Vitali Klitschko by decision in 2012 and to good pal Tyson Fury by 10th-round knockout in December 2022 to go 0-3 against Fury.
Chisora bounced back from the most recent loss to Fury to win a 10-round decision over former title challenger Gerald Washington in his last fight this past August on the Anthony Joshua-Robert Helenius undercard, also at The O2.
Top Rank also announced two additional fights on the card will be part of the stream:
England’s Dennis McCann (15-0-1, 8 KOs), 23, will face Ionut Baluta (16-4-1, 3 KOs), 30, a Romania native fighting out of England, in a rematch for the vacant European junior featherweight title. They fought to a ninth-round technical draw last August after McCann suffered a cut from an accidental head butt.
Junior lightweight Ryan Garner (15-0, 8 KOs), 26, will defend his regional belt in a 10-rounder versus 29-year-old British countryman Archie Sharp (25-0, 9 KOs).
WBA strips 2 titlists
The WBA has stripped Erica Cruz and Evgeny Tishchenko of their world titles for doping.
The WBA announced Tuesday that Cruz, 33, of Mexico, has been stripped of the women’s junior featherweight title. The move comes in the aftermath of Cruz testing positive for three banned substances — anabolic steroid Stanozololol metabolites 16b-hydroxystanozololol and 3′- hydroxystanozolo and Furosemide — in her A sample and then letting let pass a deadline for her to have her B sample tested. Once that deadline passed, the WBA stripped her.
Hernandez provided a random urine sample to Drug Free Sport on April 29 but the results did not come back until after she retained the title via split draw against Argentina’s Nazarena Romero, 30, on Matchroom Boxing’s May 11 card in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The result likely will be changed to a no contest.
The WBA also noted that Romero will get a shot at the vacant title.
This one flew under the radar a bit but Russian southpaw Tishchenko, 32, who was the 2016 Olympic heavyweight gold medalist, was stripped of the bridgerweight title.
On Dec. 9, Tishchenko stopped Leon Harth, 36, of Germany, in the sixth round in Dubai to become the WBA’s inaugural titlist in the 224-pound division created in late 2023 to join the WBC with a division between cruiserweight and heavyweight.
However, on April 5, the Middle East Boxing Commission notified those involved that Tishchenko’s B sample (in addition to the previously tested A sample) was positive for “prohibited substances” in a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association-administered drug test related to the Harth bout.
Tishchenko was suspended for one year (backdated to Dec. 9), stripped of the title and the result overturned to a no contest, resetting his record to 12-1 (7 KOs) and Harth’s to 22-5-1 (13 KOs).
Lee, Lugo sign with Queensberry
British promoter Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions announced the signing of two American fighters on Wednesday, junior welterweight contender Brandun Lee (28-0, 23 KOs), 25, of La Quinta, California, and super middleweight Nathan Lugo (1-0, 1 KOs), 19, of Marietta, Georgia, who was 2022 U.S. national champion at light heavyweight.
Fight Freaks Unite reported last month that he deals were being finalized with both fighters, who are managed by David McWater, who also manages junior welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez.
Lee will have his first fight of the deal on the undercard of the Joe Joyce-Derek Chisora fight on July 27 at The O2 in London.
“July 27th will be the first time I fight overseas professionally and I’m extremely grateful,” Lee said. “I’m looking to start a wonderful new campaign with the Warrens ((Frank and son George) and Queensberry as a whole this summer. I know they will provide me with great opportunities in the future. My team is now complete and I’m ready for war.”
Said Lugo: “I feel very honored coming straight out of the amateurs and immediately stepping into a powerhouse promotional company such as Queensberry. It has a very rich and amazing history within the sport and promotes the careers of today’s best boxers.”
Frank Warren has rarely signed American fighters but boasted about his new signees.
“Brandun is an exceptional talent who will now the given the platform to showcase himself and perform in the big fights and occasions that his talent deserves,” Warren said. “In Nathan we have clearly got a serious talent on our hands, as evidenced by his amateur pedigree. This signing, albeit one from the USA, follows in a familiar and successful pattern for Queensberry — taking a top young fighter, almost from scratch, and hopefully guiding him correctly towards significant title triumphs. Nathan is such an exciting prospect and I cannot wait to get him started and give him the opportunity to shine across multiple territories.”
Dixon-Harper title bout
Matchroom Boxing announced that Rhiannon Dixon (10-0, 1 KO), 29, will make her first defense of the WBO lightweight title in an all-British bout against former junior lightweight and junior middleweight titlist Terri Harper (14-2-2, 6 KOs), 27, on Aug.24 (DAZN) on the Jack Catterall-Regis Prograis undercard at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England.
“I respect what Terri has achieved in boxing and I expect the best version her,” Dixon said. “However, I continue to get better and better and I am extremely confident in my abilities to win on Aug. 24.”
Dixon outpointed Karen Carabajal for the vacant belt on April 13. Harper is 0-1-1 in her last two bouts, drawing with Cecilia Braekhus in a junior middleweight title defense in October and getting knocked out in the fourth round by Sandy Ryan in a welterweight title bout March 23.
“Rhiannon Dixon is someone who I have a lot of respect for,” Harper said. “She is very respectful and there’s no horrible ego with her. She’s just a genuine nice girl. I feel very fortunate to be given such a great opportunity and I feel like this fight is all or nothing for me. Becoming a three-weight world champion would be a dream but the most important thing for me now is to get a solid win and be back on top.”
Quick hits
Top Rank announced that the main card of the Shakur Stevenson-Artem Harutyunyan event on Saturday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, has been expanded to four fights. Elevated from the ESPN+ prelims to the main ESPN portion of the card (8:30 p.m. ET) is an eight-rounder between lightweight super prospect Abdullah Mason (13-0, 11 KOs), 20, a southpaw from Cleveland, and Luis Lebron (20-5-1, 13 KOs), 31, of Puerto Rico, who has won two fights in a row and never been knocked out. Mason has emerged as one of the best prospects in boxing.
Floyd Mayweather-promoted blue-chip lightweight prospect Curmel Moton has been added to the six-bout “Last Man Standing” PPV card headlined by the 10-round light heavyweight boxing match between UFC rivals Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal on Saturday (Fanmio PPV, PPV.com, 9 p.m. ET) at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Mouton (3-0, 2 KOs), 18, of Las Vegas, will face Nikolai Buzolin (9-8-1, 5 KOs), 36, a Brooklyn, New York-based Russian, in a four- or six-rounder, Fanmio announced.
The WBA has ordered cruiserweight titlist Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and mandatory challenger Yuniel Dorticos, a former titleholder, to fight next and given them until July 31 to make a deal. Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs), 33, a Mexican southpaw, won the title via lopsided decision from Arsen Goulamirian on April 30. Dorticos (27-2, 25 KOs), 38, a Miami-based Cuban defector, ended an 18-month layoff on June 7 with a first-round knockout of Alan Campa on the Adrien Broner-Blair Cobbs undercard.
Featherweights Jan Paul Rivera (9-0, 5 KOs), 23, of Puerto Rico, and Justin Goodson (8-0, 8 KOs), 28, of Atlanta, will square off in the new eight-round main event of MVP’s “Most Valuable Prospects 7” card on July 26 (DAZN) at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida. The fight replaces the original heavyweight headliner between Gurgen Hovhannisyan and Robert Hall Jr., which was called off due to an injury sustained by Hovhannisyan. Also on the card, Miami-based heavyweight Dainier Pero (7-0, 5 KOs), 24, a 2020 Cuban Olympian, will face James Evans (7-1-1, 7 KOs), 31, of Toledo, in the 8-round co-feature.
Golden Boy announced the lineup for the main card of lightweight William Zepeda-Giovanni Cabrera, which tops its show Saturday (DAZN, 8 p.m. ET) at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California. Flyweight Ricardo Sandoval (24-2, 17 KOs), 25, of Rialto, California, faces former junior flyweight titlist Angel Acosta (24-4, 22 KOs), 33, of Puerto Rico, in a 10-rounder. Also, Coachella, California, junior featherweight “Guccci” Manny Flores (17-1, 13 KOs), 25, fights Las Vegas-based Venezuela native Nohel Arambulet (23-6-2, 13 KOs), 29, in the 10-round co-feature. Also, welterweight prospect Joel Iriarte (2-0, 2 KOs), 21, of Bakersfield, California, meets Yainel Alvarez (3-4-2, 1 KO), 33, a Cuba native fighting out of Hutto, Texas, in a six-rounder.
Junior welterweight contender Gustavo Lemos (29-1, 19 KOs), 28, of Argentina, who recently signed a co-promotional deal with Top Rank, will have his debut for the company delayed. Lemos, who says he may also fight at lightweight, was slated to appear on the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+ card headlined by WBO/IBF middleweight titlist Janibek Alimkhanuly’s defense against Andrei Mikhailovich on July 13 at the Palms in Las Vegas. However, Lemos was removed because he will not have his visa in time, Top Rank told Fight Freaks Unite. Lemos will be rescheduled once he has his visa. He is coming off his only loss, a competitive decision to Richardson Hitchins in an IBF junior welterweight eliminator on April 6 in Las Vegas.
Junior middleweight William Crolla (5-0, 4 KOs), 25, has signed with Matchroom Boxing. Crolla, a southpaw trained and managed by older brother and former lightweight titlist Anthony Crolla, will have his first fight of the deal on the Jack Catterall-Regis Prograis card Aug. 24 (DAZN) at Co-op Live in Manchester, England, Crolla’s hometown. “Signing with a promotional powerhouse like Matchroom Boxing is something I’ve always wanted since I walked in a boxing gym as a young boy,” said Crolla, whose first two fights were on Matchroom cards but with no promotional deal. “I feel like I’ve earned this opportunity through hard work and dedication to my craft, not just because of my second name. There’s a massive opening for the next star of Manchester boxing to break through and with the backing of Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and Anthony, there’s no reason that can’t be me.”
Australian heavyweight up-and-comer Justis Huni (9-0, 4 KOs), 25, will take on countryman Troy Pitcher (9-0-1, 7 KOs) in a 10-rounder that will headline a card being put on by Matchroom Boxing, Tasman Fighters and Goldstar Promotions on July 25 (DAZN) at Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane, Huni’s hometown. Huni returns home after having his last two fights in Saudi Arabia in a decision over Kevin Lerena in March on the Anthony Joshua-Francis Ngannou card and a decision over Andrew Tabiti in Mexico on the undercard of O’Shaquie Foster-Rocky Hernandez.
Heavyweight contender Otto Wallin (26-2, 14 KOs), 33, a southpaw from Sweden based in New York, has a new foe in Onoriode Ehwaeieme (20-4, 19 KOs), 36, of Nigeria, for an eight-rounder that tops BoxingInsider’s card July 26 at the Tropicana in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Ehwaeieme has lost two in a row by KO inside three rounds. Wallin was slated to fight Ghana’s Richard Lartey (16-6, 13 KOs). The bout will be Wallin’s first since a fifth-round knockout to former unified titlist Anthony Joshua in December in Saudi Arabia. The loss ended a six-fight winning streak since Wallin challenged then-lineal champion Tyson Fury and badly cut him in a unanimous decision loss in 2019.
Show and tell
The three-belt unification fight between two-belt unified and lineal heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and titlist David Haye had been brewing for about three years as Haye verbally attacked Wladimir and older brother Vitali nonstop and had also withdrawn from a fight with Wladimir claiming a back injury few believed. It was put together again with Klitschko making his 10th defense and Haye his third when they finally met before a crowd of nearly 60,000 in the rain at Imtech Arena in Hamburg, Germany.
After all the violent threats and outlandish boasts Haye had made, the hope was for an exciting fight. But Haye, who had promised to leave Klitschko twitching on the ring mat, turned in one of the most pathetic performances ever in a big-time fight that drew huge audiences in Germany and the United Kingdom and aired on HBO in the United States. Haye ran, held, flopped to the mat repeatedly pretending that he was fouled and shrank in the moment. Klitschko, meantime, dominated. He scored an 11th-round knockdown — it was really yet another Haye flop but the referee was sick of his antics and gave him a count — and won 118-108, 117-109 and 116-110 as he embarrassed the former cruiserweight champion. To make Haye’s showing even worse was that he spent his post-fight remarks making excuses and blaming the loss on an injured pinky toe. He even took off his shoe and sock in the ring in a bizarre scene. In the end, Klitschko continued his historic second title reign and Haye showed he was far more bark than bite. The fight took place on July 2, 2011 — 13 years ago on Tuesday. Here is a program in my collection.
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Foster photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank; Lee: Esther Lin/Showtime
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way to PACK the newsletter, Dan! Good stuff.
That Wlad-Haye fight was one of the worst "big" fights ever, but I recall many "TOEtally" funny quips in your weekly chat (and elsewhere) at Haye's expense. Haye's stinky pinky was a lame excuse for a disgraceful performance.
Sucks that Ioka/Martinez isn’t being televised here in the US. Maybe they tried. But DAZN really should be putting it on, if they’re in the Bam business.