Notebook: Here's how the WBC and WBO will fill junior lightweight title vacancies
Martinez-Arroyo II lands on Estrada-Gonzalez III card; HOFer Jorfre dies at 86; Alimkhanuly-Bentley official; H. Fury dealing with long Covid, so Hunter fight off again; Quick hits; Show and tell
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In the wake of Shakur Stevenson being stripped of the WBC and WBO junior lightweight titles for missing weight for a defense against Robson Conceicao on Sept. 23, the organizations are putting into place how those 130-pound belts will be filled.
Conceicao could have claimed them but lost a one-sided decision to Stevenson, who is now headed to lightweight.
The WBC announced on Monday that its board of governors voted unanimously to approve a petition from WBC featherweight titlist Rey Vargas to move up one weight class and challenge for the title against O’Shaquie Foster, who is the mandatory challenger.
Vargas (36-0, 22 KOs), 31, of Mexico, who held the WBC junior featherweight belt from 2017 to 2019 and made five defenses, won the featherweight title from Mark Magsayo via split decision in July in San Antonio. There was talk of a unification fight with WBA titlist Leo Santa Cruz but that is no longer in the works and Vargas will instead seek a title in a third division.
Foster (19-2, 11 KOs), 29, of Houston, scored a 12th-round knockdown and won a lopsided decision over Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov in a WBC title eliminator in his most recent fight in March in Dubai.
In conjunction with approving Vargas’ petition, the WBC ordered them to commence negotiations and said that, per its rules governing vacant title fights, the winner will have to make two mandatory defenses.
The WBO said it will announce its plans for its vacant title during its annual convention, which runs from Oct. 24 to Oct. 28 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Archie Sharp (22-0, 9 KOs), 27, of England, who is ranked No. 1 by the WBO, figures to be one half of the vacant title bout and he hopes to face former titleholder Oscar Valdez (30-1, 23 KOs), 31, of Mexico, who lost the WBC belt to Stevenson by decision in an April unification fight.
“Ideally, me versus Valdez is what will happen,” Sharp said. “I’m No. 1, Valdez is No. 3 (in the WBO rankings) and so that fight makes sense. I’m blessed to have a great team and I’m sure Probellum can get what we want over the line. At the minute, I’m just sitting here and waiting. I’m just keeping myself in shape and just being prepared to get the phone call to say there's a big fight.
“Valdez is a typical Mexican fighter. He’s game, he’s strong and he’s always in good shape. He’s a great fighter and he’s done a lot over the years, but I feel I will do exactly what Shakur did to him and outbox him. And if we put the pressure on him, who knows, we might be able to get him out of there.”
Martinez-Arroyo II set
Julio Cesar Martinez will defend the WBC flyweight title for the fifth time in a rematch against interim titleholder McWilliams Arroyo on Dec. 3 (DAZN) at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, Matchroom Boxing announced on Monday.
The fight will serve as the co-feature to the previously announced trilogy fight between lineal junior bantamweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada and four-division champion and former pound-for-pound king Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez.
Martinez-Arroyo was initially due to headline a Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN on Oct. 22 in Mexico. There will still be a show on that date but with a headliner to be announced, according to Matchroom.
Matchroom had hoped that WBC junior bantamweight titlist Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez would fight in the Dec. 3 co-feature when the company was looking to place the card in his hometown of San Antonio. However, Rodriguez is coming off a grueling decision win over Israel Gonzalez on Sept. 17 on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez-Gennadiy Golovkin III and will take the rest of the year off, a source with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite.
Martinez (18-2, 14 KOs), 27, of Mexico, gets the coveted co-feature slot and will look to rebound from a one-sided decision loss to Gonzalez, who handily outpointed him on March 5 in San Diego.
Martinez moved up to junior bantamweight for the nontitle fight against Gonzalez on six weeks’ notice as a replacement for Estrada, who had withdrawn from the trilogy fight due to having Covid-19.
In the fight before Martinez lost to Gonzalez, he faced Arroyo (21-4, 16 KOs), 36, of Puerto Rico, in a mandatory bout in November 2021. It ended in a third-round no contest. It was a wild fight in which both men were knocked down in the first round and Arroyo was also dropped in the second round. However, it ended in the third round when Arroyo was unable to continue after being cut by an accidental head butt.
Hall of Famer Jofre dies
Former bantamweight and featherweight world champion Eder Jofre, widely regarded as the greatest boxer in Brazilian history, died on Sunday, reportedly from complications due to pneumonia. He was 86.
Jofre (72-2-4, 50 KOs), who was a 1956 Olympian and elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992, turned pro on his 21st birthday in 1957 and boxed until 1976.
He won the NBA bantamweight title in 1960 by sixth-round knockout of Eloy Sanchez in Los Angeles and four months later stopped Piero Rollo in the ninth round in Rio de Janeiro to claim world recognition as 118-pound champion.
He defended the world title seven times before losing the WBC/WBA belts — undisputed — to fellow Hall of Famer Fighting Harada via 15-round decision in Japan in 1965. It was the first loss for Joffre, who was 47-0-3 going into the bout. One year later, Harada outpointed him again in a rematch.
Jofre retired for three years but then returned and won 14 fights in a row before taking a majority decision against Jose Legra to win the WBC featherweight title in 1973.
Jofre defended the title once by fourth-round knockout against Hall of Famer Vicente Saldivar and was eventually stripped for inactivity.
“Eder Jofre blended classic boxing skills with power to become a world champion in two weight divisions and an icon in his native Brazil,” Hall of Fame executive director Edward Brophy said in a statement announcing his death. “The Hall of Fame offers our condolences to the Jofre family and joins the boxing community in mourning his passing.”
Alimkhanuly-Bentley official
Janibek Alimkhanuly, who was elevated from WBO interim middleweight titlist to full titleholder in August after Demetrius Andrade vacated to go up in weight, will make his first defense against Denzel Bentley on Nov. 12 in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+ card that will take place at The Palms in Las Vegas, Top Rank announced on Monday.
In the co-feature, Seniesa Estrada will defend the WBA women’s strawweight title against Jazmin Gala Villarino.
“Janibek is the top middleweight in the world, and this fight will be the start of a long and accomplished championship reign,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. “I am thrilled to see Seniesa Estrada make her Top Rank debut. She is an exceptionally talented fighter and is poised to be a superstar in the sport for years to come.”
In his last fight, Alimkhanuly (12-0, 8 KOs), 29, a 2016 Olympian from Kazakhstan, won the vacant interim belt by one-sided second-round destruction of England’s Danny Dignum in Las Vegas.
“I give Denzel Bentley credit for accepting the challenge when so many fighters ran the other way,” Alimkhanuly said. “It is a great honor to defend my world title in Las Vegas at The Palms, and I will once again show the world what ‘Qazaq Style’ is about.”
Bentley (17-1-1, 14 KOs), 27, of England, will be boxing outside of England for the first time. He will be taking a major step up in opposition and looking for his fourth win in a row since a third-round knockout loss to Felix Cash in April 2021 in a fight for the British and Commonwealth titles.
“It will be a good and exciting fight, and I think it is a fight I can win,” Bentley said. “So why not go out there and enjoy the theatrics of Las Vegas and come back with a world title? I genuinely believe I can beat him, and he is beatable. Everybody says he is scary, but I don't see it. Maybe I am missing something. We will find out when we get in the ring.”
Said Bentley promoter Frank Warren: “It is a golden opportunity for Denzel to step up from being a respected British champion to starring on the world stage in Las Vegas.”
Estrada (22-0, 9 KOs), 30, of Los Angeles, who has also won a junior flyweight world title, signed with Top Rank in July after her contract with Golden Boy expired. She will fight for the first time in 11 months and make her second defense.
“This is an exciting time for women’s boxing, and I am thrilled to be making my Top Rank on ESPN debut in Las Vegas against a worthy challenger in Villarino,” Estrada said. “I am entering the prime of my career and looking forward to unifying the championships in three weight classes. The newest chapter in my career begins Nov. 12.”
Villarino (6-1-2, 1 KO), 32, of Argentina, will be fighting in the United States for the first time and outside of her home country for the third fight in a row, having won in Mexico and Colombia.
“This is the opportunity I have been waiting for, to fight for a world title against a fellow warrior like Seniesa Estrada,” Villarino said. “I am coming to Las Vegas to shock the boxing world. On Nov. 12 a new champion will be crowned.”
H. Fury-Hunter off again
The WBA heavyweight title eliminator between Hughie Fury and Michael Hunter was postponed for a second time on Monday because Fury said he is suffering from health issues related to long Covid-19.
The fight was initially scheduled for July 2 at AO Arena in Manchester, England, but postponed in mid-June when Fury became ill and was forced out of the fight. It was rescheduled for Oct. 29 at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England, with the winner becoming the mandatory challenger for “regular” titleholder Daniel Dubois.
However, Fury (26-3-0, 15 KOs), 28, of England, who has not fought since a fifth-round knockout of Christian Hammer last October and is a first cousin of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, issued a statement announcing he had withdrawn.
“I am a professional boxer who needs to fight in order to pay my bills and to live. But I have been out for over a year now and, to my frustration, I have been advised by doctors to take total rest at the moment because I'm suffering symptoms of long Covid,” Fury posted to social media. “I feel weak with no strength. I've had all sorts of checks and they've diagnosed me as having long Covid symptoms.
“It is frustrating but there is nothing I can do if my body’s not allowing me to train. I’m going to take time out for the rest of this year and pick up again next year when I’ve rested properly. I have had 29 bouts, I’m ready for big fights and my promoter (Boxxer) has guaranteed me a big fight upon my return. If that’s Michael Hunter next, that’s fine. If it’s someone else, that’s fine as well. I think everyone knows I will fight anyone as I have done over the years.”
Peter Fury, Hughie’s father and trainer, added, “Life brings all sorts of obstacles and boxing is no different. Hughie is feeling sapped of all strength and the long Covid diagnosis means he’s taking complete rest away from boxing for the rest of this year. Health is more important than money or trying to keep everyone happy.”
Hunter (20-1-2, 14 KOs), 34, of Las Vegas, is coming off a 10-round split draw with Jerry Forrest in December 2021.
Quick hits
Junior welterweight contender Jose Zepeda (35-2, 27 KOs), 33, of La Puente, California, and former titlist Regis Prograis (27-1, 23 KOs), 33, of New Orleans, have both signed for their vacant WBC junior welterweight title bout, multiple sources involved in the bout told Fight Freaks Unite. MarvNation Promotions, which doesn’t promote either fighter but won a purse bid for $2.4 million to secure rights to the bout, plans to put the fight on as the headliner of a Nov. 26 pay-per-view card that will take place at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, the sources said.
A rematch between WBO junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall, which Top Rank had targeted for Nov. 26 in Taylor’s home country of Scotland, will instead move into early 2023. Between Taylor getting married, nursing mild injuries and a busy fall schedule that left only that unattractive date for the bout, the decision was made to hold off for a few more months, according to Top Rank. Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs), 31, won a very controversial decision over Catterall (26-1, 13 KOs), 29, a southpaw from England, in defense of the undisputed title in February and, stung by the intense criticism, opted to pursue a rematch over due mandatories, which resulted in him vacating or being stripped of the other three belts.
Lightweight up-and-comer Michel Rivera (23-0, 14 KOs), 24, of the Dominican Republic, will face Jerry Perez (14-1, 11 KOs), 29, of Oak Hills, California, in a 10-rounder on Oct. 15 (FS2, 7 p.m. ET) in one of the preliminary bouts leading into the Fox Sports PPV card (9 p.m. ET) headlined by the Deontay Wilder-Robert Helenius heavyweight fight, sources told Fight Freaks Unite. Perez has won his only bout since a seventh-round knockout loss to lightweight prospect Frank Martin in April 2021.
Salita Promotions and Showtime announced the lineup for a “ShoBox: The New Generation” tripleheader Oct. 21 (9:30 p.m. ET/PT) at Bally’s in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Light heavyweight Ali Izmailov (9-0, 6 KOs), 29, a Detroit-based Russia native, will face former title challenger “Hot Rod” Radivoje Kalajdzic (27-2, 19 KOs), 31, a Bosnia native based in Saint Petersburg, Florida, in the 10-round main event. There are also two eight-round super middleweight bouts: Isaiah Steen (16-0, 12 KOs), 24, of Cleveland, versus Elvis Figueroa (11-0, 7 KOs), 25, of New Haven, Connecticut, in the co-feature and Sean Hemphill (14-0, 8 KOs), 26, of New Orleans, against David Stevens (11-0, 8 KOs), 22, of Reading, Pennsylvania, in the opener. Stevens is managed by Adam Glenn, the son of the late Jimmy Glenn, the beloved longtime cutman and owner of the famed Jimmy’s Corner bar in New York.
Former unified junior featherweight titlist Brandon Figueroa (23-1-1, 18 KOs), 25, was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated early Sunday in his hometown of Weslaco, Texas, according to BoxingScene. According to the report, Figueroa taken to Hidalgo County jail after his Blood Alcohol Content was shown to be 0.15 percent. The legal limit in Texas is 0.08 percent. He posted $1,000 bail and was released with a court date forthcoming. Figueroa unified the WBC and WBO titles by seventh-round knockout of Luis Nery in May 2021 and lost them in by majority decision in an action-packed fight with Stephen Fulton six months later. Figueroa won his only fight since, a sixth-round knockout of Carlos Castro in his featherweight debut in July.
Former junior featherweight and bantamweight titlist Luis Nery (33-1, 25 KOs), 27, knocked out David Carmona (22-11-5, 9 KOs), 31, of Mexico, in the third round on Saturday night in the main event of the Zanfer Promotions card in Nery’s hometown of Tijuana. Nery dropped Carmona in the second round and twice more in the third for the stoppage in a junior lightweight fight. Nery has won two in a row since a seventh-round knockout loss to Brandon Figueroa in a junior featherweight unification fight in May 2021. Nery could be next up to challenge Stephen Fulton for his unified junior featherweight title. Former world title challenger Carmona dropped his third in a row and is 2-8 in his last 10.
Split-T Management announced it has signed Puerto Rican welterweight Willito Ortiz, a 19-year-old southpaw, who is going pro after compiling a 48-4 amateur record that included winning four consecutive Puerto Rican national championships (2019 to 2022). He also claimed a bronze medal at the 2021 Pan-Am Games in Colombia among his amateur accolades. He will turn pro Oct. 26 on a card being put on during the annual WBO convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Show and tell
Lennox Lewis, in his second heavyweight title reign, made his second defense against Andrew Golota, a dangerous but weak-minded challenger, whose only losses had come in his previous two bouts via disqualification against former champion Riddick Bowe for low blows in a fight he was otherwise clearly winning. But he could not control himself and continually went low. In Lewis’ previous two fights, he had regained the belt from Oliver McCall by fifth-round knockout when McCall had a mental breakdown in the ring and then defeated mandatory challenger Henry Akinwande by fifth-round disqualification when a seemingly petrified Akinwande refused to stop holding Lewis. Lewis came into the fight with Golota vowing to rid boxing of yet another “misfit” and in one of his most impressive performance, blew Golota away in 95 seconds in a TVKO (later known as HBO PPV) main event at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
While the main event was a disappointing wipeout, the co-feature was epic and more than made up for it. The late Arturo Gatti, my all-time favorite fighter, made the third and final defense of his junior lightweight belt before moving up in weight in an unforgettable battle with former titlist Gabriel Ruelas.
They slugged it out non-stop with both guys getting rocked before the fight ended with Gatti scoring a thunderous knockout on a left hook in the fifth round. The Ring magazine picked it as the knockout and fight of the year. The card took place on Oct. 4, 1997 — 25 years ago on Tuesday. Here is a mint site poster in my collection.
Martinez-Arroyo photo: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing; Jofre photo: International Boxing Hall of Fame
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Is the Canelo and matchroom Mexico shows deal completed or is it ongoing? Didn’t see it on the fight poster. Thanks
Since your account is about biffo, I will leave this "long covid" diagnosis go unchallenged. Of course, if invited, I will step into the ring re this matter.