Notebook: Inoue plans to stay at 122 pounds for 2 more years
Teofimo Lopez options: Norman, 'Pitbull'?; Janibek update after fainting spell; Nate Diaz sues promoter for $9 million; Caroline Dubois new deal; Victor Ortiz returns; Quick hits; Show and tell
A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: I created Fight Freaks Unite in January 2021 and eight months later it also became available for paid subscriptions for additional content — and as a way to help keep this newsletter going and for readers to support independent journalism. If you haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription please consider it. If you have already, I truly appreciate it! Also, consider a gift subscription for the Fight Freak in your life.
Fight fans should get used to seeing “The Monster” Naoya Inoue competing in the junior featherweight division for the next several fights.
The undisputed champion does have designs on eventually moving up to featherweight in a quest for a world title in fifth weight class, but the pound-for-pound star is in no hurry to move up to 126 pounds quite yet.
On the occasion of the news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday to announce his title defense against former junior featherweight titlist TJ Doheny on Sept. 3 (ESPN+ in the U.S.) at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Inoue made his intentions clear.
“I will stay at this 122-pound division for two more years,” Inoue said in translated comments. “Without being physically mature and developed, I won’t move up to the featherweight category.”
There had been much speculation that Inoue might spend this year — when he plans to fight three times — at junior featherweight and then move up in weight, where co-promoter Top Rank would have name opponents and titleholders to offer him, including IBF titlist Luis Alberto Lopez, WBO titlist Rafael Espinoza and former WBO titlist Robeisy Ramirez, who is headed to a likely rematch in the fall against Espinoza.
I am in my 25th year of full-time boxing coverage. Take advantage of that experience by upgrading to a paid subscription to read the rest of this post and for full access to all posts and comments — and also support independent journalism.
Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs), 31, Japan’s biggest boxing star, has won titles at junior flyweight, junior bantamweight, bantamweight and junior featherweight and is one of just three fighters (along with Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk) to be an undisputed champion in two divisions in the four-belt era, having also done it at bantamweight.
Inoue, who was the 2023 fighter of the year, moved up to junior featherweight last July and knocked out Stephen Fulton in the eighth round to take his WBC and WBO belts in a one-sided fight and followed by winning the IBF and WBA titles from Marlon Tapes in their four-belt unification bout via dominating 10th-round knockout in December. By beating Tapales, Inoue became the first undisputed 122-pound champion of the three- or four-belt era.
On May 6, Inoue made his second defense, and first of all four belts, at the Tokyo Dome, where he survived the first knockdown of his career in the first round but stormed back to otherwise dominate WBC mandatory challenger and former titlist Luis Nery in a sixth-round knockout. The win moved Inoue to 22-0 with 20 knockouts in world title fights.
Next Inoue will face Doheny and with a win would likely fight again in late December in a mandatory fight, either against Sam Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs), 25, of Australia, the No. 1 contender for the IBF and WBO, or former unified titlist Murodjon “MJ” Akhmadaliev (12-1, 9 KOs), 29, a southpaw from Uzbekistan, who is No. 1 in the WBA.
That would probably mean Inoue’s first fight of 2025, also at junior featherweight, would be against the other mandatory challenger before he may look at moving up to featherweight.
In terms of Doheny (26-4, 20 KOs), 37, an Irish southpaw fighting out of Australia, he maintained his chances to land the fight with Inoue by knocking out Bryl Bayogos in the fourth round on the Inoue-Nery undercard.
Doheny, who has never been knocked out, is 4-0 in Japan and said he would be offensive-minded against Inoue, one of the best punchers in boxing, especially to the body.
“I won’t run away from ‘The Monster,” he said. “I’ll come to fight him toe to toe.”
Ohashi Promotions, which is putting on the event, also announced that if for any reason Doheny is not available to fight on Sept. 3, be it due to an injury or any other reason, Toshiki Shimomachi (18-1-3, 12 KOs), 27, a southpaw, who is scheduled to defend the Japanese junior featherweight title against Ryuya Tsugawa (13-1, 9 KOs), 23, on the undercard, would move into the main event to face Inoue.
Podcast
If you missed my interview with Jake Paul 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 fight against Mike Perry on Saturday night in place of the postponed fight with Mike Tyson. Give it a listen, a review, and also subscribe to get an alert when the next episode is available. New show every Thursday and Sunday night.
Teofimo Lopez options
Coming off a near-shut out of Steve Claggett to retain the lineal/WBO junior welterweight title for the second time on June 29, Top Rank and Teofimo Lopez’s camp are discussing the possibilities for his next fight.
With or without Lopez on the card, Top Rank is planning an ESPN show for Sept. 27 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York that would feature Puerto Rican junior middleweight Xander Zayas (19-0, 12 KOs) and Brooklyn, New York, featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (12-0, 8 KOs), two of the top up-and-comers in boxing, sources told Fight Freaks Unite. Zayas and Carrington co-headlined at The Theater in their last bouts on June 8.
But there is a chance that Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs), 26, of Las Vegas, could headline the card by moving up to welterweight to challenge Brian Norman (26-0, 20 KOs), 23, of Conyers, Georgia, the current WBO interim titlist. By then, Norman likely would have been elevated to full titlist once unified champion Terence Crawford vacates, as he is expected to do given that he is moving up to junior middleweight to challenge Israil Madrimov for his WBA title on Aug. 3. The Top Rank-promoted Norman was extremely impressive claiming the vacant interim belt via 10th-round knockout of Giovani Santillan on May 18.
The Lopez and Norman camps both told Fight Freaks Unite they are interested in the fight, assuming they can work out the money and other details with Top Rank.
However, Lopez is a bit dinged up from the Claggett fight and may decide to wait to return later in the year. That could perhaps be against Norman or, if Lopez had his way, a junior welterweight unification fight against Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs), 26, of Mexico, who first defends his WBA strap for the first time against Jose Valenzuela on the undercard of Crawford-Madrimov.
If there is a Lopez-Cruz fight late in the year it is contemplated as a pay-per-view event that Top Rank and PBC, which works with Cruz, would do together. The rival companies are on better terms these days than in years and are also talking about a fall PPV matching lightweight titleholders Gervonta Davis and Vasiliy Lomachenko in a unification bout.
Alimkhanuly update
WBO/IBF middleweight titlist Janibek Alimkhanuly said he has recovered from a fainting spell caused by dehydration.
It forced him to be hospitalized overnight this past Thursday, be released on Friday, and have a mandatory title defense against Andrei Mikhailovich on Saturday night canceled. It was supposed to headline the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+ card at the Palms Casino Resort.
“Thank you all for your support! I’m fine now,” Alimkhanuly wrote on social media on Monday. “I’ll recover in a couple of weeks and come back! And very important news, I stay fighting at 160 pounds! I have unfinished business here!”
While Alimkhanuly (15-0, 10 KOs), 31, a 2016 Olympian from Kazakhstan, who fights out of Oxnard, California, said he will remain at 160 pounds, he will have to notify the WBO in a more official capacity than a social media post.
The WBO on Monday sent a letter to Top Rank seeking an official medical update in order to assess the status of its title.
In the letter, he was “ordered to submit within the next 10 days upon issuance of this letter a detailed medical explanation of his condition, including but not limited to medical findings, recovery prognosis, and his physician’s opinion as to when will (Alimkhanuly) be physically and medically cleared to compete and return to active competition.”
If Alimkhanuly/Top Rank do not respond, he could be stripped of the title.
Alimkhanuly was due to make his fourth overall defense and first since unifying the two middleweight belts in October. However, as he went through his weight cut on Thursday night a dehydrated Alimkhanuly passed out.
Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KOs), 26, a Russia native who has lived most of his life in New Zealand, traveled some 7,000 miles and did not get to fight but Top Rank said it would pay him at least a portion of his purse for his trouble. If Alimkhanuly indeed remains at middleweight the fight would likely be rescheduled.
Nate Diaz sues promoter
Nate Diaz, who outpointed UFC rival Jorge Masvidal in a light heavyweight boxing match on July 6 in the main event of a Fanmio PPV card at Honda Center in Anaheim, California, has sued Fanmio promoter Solomon Engel in U.S. District Court in Miami for fraud and breach of contract, claiming he is owed $9 million.
In the suit, Diaz claimed his agreement for the bout called for him to receive $1 million up front and $9 million following the event, which he claims Engel has not paid because the event lost money.
“In a flurry of desperate calls to Diaz's representatives following the event, Engel despondently groveled that he was going to lose more money than he had anticipated on the event if he paid Diaz what he had promised and that his wife might divorce him because of the financial losses,” according to the lawsuit. “Engel went so far as to threaten he might have to declare bankruptcy to avoid paying Diaz what he owed.”
Engel denied Diaz’s allegations.
“Nate Diaz has filed a frivolous lawsuit against Fanmio which claims that fraud and breach of contract were committed by Fanmio, yet neither has taken place,” Engel said in a statement. “In fact, Diaz has already been paid seven figures in connection with the fight. I look forward to resolving this dispute through the appropriate process and am confident that justice will prevail.”
Diaz (1-1, 0 KOs), 39, of Stockton, California, won a majority decision (98-92, 97-93 and 95-95) over Masvidal (1-1, 0 KOs), 39, of Miami, in an action-packed fight that took place five years after Masvidal won their heavily hyped main event of UFC 244 in New York in 2019 via third-round stoppage due to cuts.
The promoter announced that the event was an 18,040 sellout but it sold 13,767 tickets for a gross gate of $1,257,595, according to the California State Athletic Commission gate report. Ticket prices ranged from $25 to $5,000. According to the gate report one $5,000 ticket was sold.
Caroline Dubois: new contract, fight
Highly touted Caroline Dubois, a 2020 British Olympian and younger sister of IBF heavyweight titlist Daniel Dubois, has signed a long-term contract extension with Boxxer in conjunction with her next fight being announced.
“Caroline Dubois is one of the future faces of world boxing. She is a special talent,” Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom said. “We’ve worked with her from her pro debut and we’re delighted that she continues to put her faith in us to guide her career to the highest level.”
Dubois (9-0, 5 KOs), 23, a southpaw, will challenge Maira Moneo (14-1, 3 KOs), 31, of Uruguay, for her WBC interim lightweight title on Aug. 3 (Peacock in U.S., Sky Sports in U.K.) on the Zak Chelli-Callum Simpson undercard at Oakwell Stadium in Barnsley, England.
“I’m very happy to have signed a new deal with Boxxer, Ben Shalom and Sky Sports. For me, it’s the biggest platform and I’ve been impressed with the amount they’ve invested in me and in female boxing,” Dubois said. “I’m ready to announce myself on the big stage. I want to be world champion. I want to be fighting for world titles against the likes of Rhiannon Dixon, Beatriz Ferreira and Katie Taylor. I want to unify the division. I want to be undisputed and then I want to move up in weight.
“Moneo is a fight that can propel me to the next level. She’s game, she’s tough and she believes she’s going to win. She is going to bring that South American mentality, tenacity and energy. She has a lot of experience. She’s had a lot of fights so I don’t think she’s going to be overawed. She’s going to be aggressive and non-stop punching and I’m ready and I’m excited for that.”
Moneo claimed the vacant interim belt via lopsided decision over Lizbeth Crespo in December and will make her first defense against Dubois in her fight outside of Uruguay or Argentina.
“I am looking forward to coming to the U.K. to fight Caroline Dubois,” Moneo said. “She is a very good fighter, and deserves my respect, but she has never faced anyone like ‘La Panterita.’”
Quick hits
Former welterweight titlist Victor Ortiz, who famously lost his belt to Floyd Mayweather via fourth-round KO when Mayweather drilled him while he wasn’t looking in 2011, will fight in the co-feature of Mayweather’s exhibition rematch with John Gotti III on Aug. 24 (DAZN PPV) at CDMX Arena in Mexico City. Ortiz will take part in an eight-round junior middleweight exhibition bout against fellow southpaw Rodrigo Damian Coria (13-6-2, 2 KOs), 25, of Argentina, organizers announced. Ortiz (33-7-3, 25 KOs), 37, of Ventura, California, has fought two official bouts since returning to the ring after a 3½-year layoff in 2021. He lost a 10-round decision to Robert Guerrero in August 2021 and won a 10-rounder against Todd Manuel in May 2022.
Top Rank made a deal with Zanfer Promotions for the United States media rights for ESPN+ for the fight between Angel Ayala (17-0, 7 KOs), 24, of Mexico, and Dave Apolinario (20-0, 14 KOs), 25, a Filipino southpaw, who meet for the vacant IBF flyweight title on Aug. 9 at Restaurante Arroyo in Mexico City. Zanfer Promotions, Ayala’s promoter, won a May 14 purse bid for the right to promote the bout. They will fight for the 112-pound belt Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez won from Sunny Edwards in their December WBO/IBF unification fight before vacating to move up in weight.
Queensberry’s next edition of its “Magnificent Seven” series on Saturday at Resorts Word Arena in Birmingham, England, will stream in the U.S. on ESPN+ (1 p.m. ET) through a deal between Top Rank and Queensberry. It airs on TNT Sports in the U.K. Headlining is British middleweight champion Nathan Heaney (18-0-1, 6 KOs), 35, against Brad Pauls (18-1-1, 10 KOs), 31, in a rematch of their March 16 split draw. Among other fights: former undisputed women’s junior welterweight champion Chantelle Cameron (18-1, 8 KOs), 33, of England, makes her Queensberry debut against France’s Elhem Mekhaled (17-2, 3 KOs), 33, for the vacant WBC interim junior welterweight title; Ashley Lane (18-10-2, 3 KOs), 33, defends the British and Commonwealth bantamweight titles against Andrew Cain (11-1, 10 KOs), 27, and heavyweight Sol Dacres (8-0, 2 KOs), 30, faces British countryman Michael Webster (10-1, 6 KOs), 29, in a 10-round rematch of Dacres’ majority decision in November.
Global Combat Collective, which won a WBC purse bid for undisputed women’s junior lightweight champion Alycia Baumgardner’s mandatory against Delfine Persoon in March, has scheduled the fight for Sept. 27 in Fayetteville, Georgia, a source with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite. Baumgardner has one fight left on her Matchroom Boxing deal but Global Combat Collective executives are close to her. Baumgardner (15-1, 7 KOs), 30, of Detroit, has been removed from the Association of Boxing Commissions suspended list, making her eligible to be licensed, despite a positive test for a banned substance following her last fight, a unanimous decision over Christina Linardatou last July in Detroit. Persoon (49-3, 19 KOs), 39, a former lightweight titlist from Belgium, has been idle since November.
Former heavyweight contender Bryant Jennings (24-4, 14 KOs), 39, of Philadelphia, who has not fought since back-to-back losses in 2019 to Oscar Rivas (12th-round knockout) and Joe Joyce (unanimous decision), is coming back after five years out of the ring on a DRCO Boxing card Aug. 24 at The Met in Philadelphia. He will face North Carolina’s Joe Caudle (9-8-2, 6 KOs), 34, in an eight-rounder. In the main event, Philadelphia lightweights Nahir Albright (16-2, 7 KOs), 28, and Brooklyn, New York’s Chris Colbert (17-2, 6 KOs), 27, meet in a 10-rounder. Former WBA interim titlist Colbert is returning from a sixth-round KO loss to Jose Valenzuela in a December rematch.
Boxing’s revival of the “Prizefighter” eight-man tournaments that ran in the U.K. from 2008 to 2015 returned Monday on DAZN at Yamato Arena in Osaka, Japan, for the quarterfinals of a middleweight tourney that kicked off a three-year deal for Matchroom to put on events in Japan. Japan’s Kuzuto Takesako (17-2-1, 15 KOs) outpointed England’s Mark Dickinson (6-1, 2 KOs) in an action-packed fight (98-92, 97-93 and 96-94); Riku Kunimoto (12-1, 6 KOs) stopped Japanese countryman Eiki Kani (8-5-3, 4 KOs) in the fifth round of an immediate rematch of Kunimoto’s sixth-round KO to set up a semifinal against Takesako; England’s Kieron Conway (20-1-1, 5 KOs) stopped China’s Ainiwaer Yilixiati (19-2, 14 KOs) in the seventh round; and Ireland’s Aaron McKenna (19-0, 10 KOs) stopped Puerto Rico’s Jeovanny Estela (14-1, 5 KOs) in the 10th round to set up a semi against Conway. The date and site for the semifinals is not set but those bouts will be 12-rounders. The winner of the final earns $1 million.
Show and tell
Junior bantamweight champions Danny Romero and Johnny Tapia were once friends but had become such bitter rivals that it divided their hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico. A fight between them was heavily anticipated and built up over a few years. When they defended their titles in separate bouts on the same HBO card in Albuquerque it was with the plan for Top Rank to finally match them together and that is what happened next after they both retained their belts with knockout victories. But the bad blood was so severe that there were legitimate concerns that staging the fight in Albuquerque would further divide the community.
So, they took the show to the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas (with more security than usual given fears over potential gang violence) for the long-awaited showdown between Romero, the younger man and the bigger puncher, and Tapia, the older guy with more pure boxing skills. It was a good, tension-filled fight but Tapia’s better skills carried him to the victory by unanimous decision — 116-112, 116-112 and 115-113 — to unify the IBF and WBO 115-pound titles in what remains one of the biggest fights in the history of the division created in 1983. The fight was on July 18, 1997 — 27 years ago on Thursday. Here’s a program in my collection.
This notebook is for paid subscribers to Fight Freaks Unite. I very much appreciate your support of this newsletter!
Give me your thoughts in the comments section
Photos: Inoue: Naoki Fukuda; Lopez-Claggett and Alimkhanuly: Mikey Williams/Top Rank; Diaz-Masvidal: Esther Lin/Fanmio
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
I think Monster Inoue is setting the table for Junto Nakatani in 2025 and Bam Rodriguez in 2026. Giving both a fair warning and time to plan their moves up in weight. I like it.
Hopefully Top Rank spends the next year consolidating its 126lb champions so that there is a consensus top guy when Inoue moves up, and we get a big fight. Looks like the Monster will be treading water feasting on solid, but sub- top-tier opponents for the next year, so there’s time for TR to unify some belts!
Speaking of belts, looks like “interim” champs are 2024’s answer to the “regular” belt holders of a few years back. Every fight has an interim belt attached to it. The sanctioning organizations used to use this for inevitable vacancies to be filled proactively, but now in many cases it’s just a “#1 contender” spot with a fancier (and undoubtedly more expensive) distinction, and once again confuses and waters down real achievement. We knew the alphabet bandits would come up with something new to muddy the waters and line their pockets. Assholes and thieves.