Notebook: Kholmatov, Ford: Whose lifelong dream will come true?
With Spence rematch dead, Crawford a free agent; Berlanga mandatory confusion, called out by Morrell; more Jared Anderson trouble just as next fight set; Quick hits; Show and tell double
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Featherweight contender Otabek Kholmatov was a standout amateur growing up in Uzbekistan with a dream of becoming a professional world champion.
He is on the precipice but there is one more hurdle to clear in Raymond Ford, a top amateur in his own right, who harbors similar dreams.
Barring a draw, one of them will achieve their lifelong goal as the winner of the vacant WBA featherweight title in a fight that will headline the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+ card on Saturday (5:20 p.m. ET with the co-feature at approximately 10 p.m. ET) at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.
“It has been my dream to fight for a world title. I’ve been training my whole life for this,” Kholmatov said through an interpreter at the pre-fight news conference on Thursday. “I’m ready. I love to fight. That’s all I have done in my life. So, I’m going to bring the fight on Saturday.
“I’m very well prepared. It’s been a great training camp. Great sparring. Great coaches. Everything went well, and we are prepared for the fight.”
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Kholmatov (12-0, 11 KOs), 25, earned a shot at the title with a one-sided destruction of then-unbeaten Thomas Patrick Ward on his turf in England last March. Kholmatov dropped Ward three times before his corner threw in the towel in the fifth round.
The win put Kholmatov, who recently signed with Top Rank, in position to challenge titlist Leigh Wood, but rather than make the mandatory defense he vacated to move up in weight.
That opened the door for Ford (14-0-1, 7 KOs), 24, of Camden, New Jersey, a Matchroom Boxing fighter and the next leading available contender to get the opportunity to fight fellow southpaw Kholmatov for the vacant belt.
“This means the world to me,” said Ford, who is coming off an 11-month layoff since a career-best lopsided decision win over former WBO junior featherweight titlist Jessie Magdaleno. “I’ve been fighting my whole life for this opportunity. It’s finally here, and I’m going to take full advantage of it.”
He spent time sparring with one of the best in the business in preparing for the fight in WBC lightweight titlist Shakur Stevenson.
“Shakur Stevenson is like a big brother to me. I’ve been sparring with him since I was in the amateurs. It’s really no different. Just now it’s more intense,” said Ford, who traveled to Houston to spar with his fellow New Jersey native. “It’s great always going to Houston. I get away from home and distractions. I can fully lock in, and that’s been the difference from my past few camps.”
If Ford wins, he already knows what he wants to do next.
“I’m willing to stay for one more fight at 126 if it’s to defend against a champion or a big money fight,” he said. “If it makes sense, I’m definitely here for it. But it has to be right away. If not, I’m moving up to 130.”
Kholmatov sees himself staying in the division longer with what would be a life-changing victory.
“Fighting for all the titles is a dream come true,” Kholmatov said. “Every fighter wants to become undisputed. That is the goal for me.”
In the co-feature, Luis Alberto Lopez (29-2, 16 KOs), 30, of Mexico, will make his third defense of the IBF featherweight title against mandatory challenger Reiya Abe (25-3-1, 10 KOs), 30, a Japanese southpaw.
“We know he’s a fighter who likes to move a lot,” Lopez said through an interpreter. “He likes to be on his toes and moving backward. But if he wants to be the new champion, he’s going to have to come here and fight. We will do everything possible to win early.”
Abe earned the title shot with a decision against former two-division titlist Kiko Martinez in April in a title eliminator that sent Martinez into retirement.
“I think Lopez is a good champion, but this will be the day that I show that I’m the best at 126 pounds,” Abe, who will be boxing outside of Japan for the first time, said through an interpreter. “I believe that bringing back a victory is the best way to give back to everyone who has supported me.”
Crawford a free agent
There is not going to be a rematch between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. even though Spence exercised his contractual right to have one.
When they met in their long-awaited showdown for the undisputed welterweight title on July 29 in Las Vegas, Crawford, of course, dropped Spence three times in a dominating performance en route to a seventh-round knockout to unify the four titles and become the first male boxer to be an undisputed champion in two divisions in the four-belt era.
Both fighters had the contractual right to an immediate rematch if they lost and Spence picked up his option for the sequel, although Crawford, as the winner, had the right to select the weight — welterweight or junior middleweight. He picked junior middleweight, a source with knowledge of the deal told Fight Freaks Unite.
Contractually, the rematch was supposed to take place by the end of 2023, but PBC and both fighters agreed to put it off until sometime in early 2024, sources said.
When it became clear that the fight was not going to happen any time soon with Showtime out of boxing and PBC trying to make a go of it Amazon Prime Video, it’s new partner, and Spence not ready to return to the ring after January cataract surgery — not to mention that a rematch of such a brutally one-sided fight would be a financial disaster for PBC on pay-per-view — Crawford became a free agent in recent days.
His initial deal with PBC’s Al Haymon was only for the Spence fight and the potential rematch. According to a source, Haymon was interested in making a deal with Crawford for at least another fight but Crawford was apparently not interested in various opponents PBC could have offered him, including lineal junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo, junior middleweight contender Erickson Lubin or IBF welterweight titlist Jaron “Boots” Ennis. It is unclear if Haymon and Crawford had any serious discussions about money for any of those opponents.
WBO junior middleweight titlist Tim Tszyu, seemingly the most significant bout Crawford could have at junior middleweight, is also affiliated with PBC but he has a fight scheduled for March 30 against Keith Thurman.
Crawford had interest in moving up three divisions to challenge undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, but Alvarez was not interested in Crawford and split from PBC and became a free agent this week after doing just the first fight of their three-fight deal.
Berlanga update
When Puerto Rican super middleweight contender Edgar Berlanga knocked out Padraig McCrory in the sixth round on Feb. 24 it was in a WBA title eliminator. However, while Berlanga believed it was for the right to become the organization’s mandatory challenger for undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez it was not.
The win actually made Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs), 26, mandatory for WBA “regular” titlist David Morrell (10-0, 9 KOs), 26, the Cuban southpaw fighting out of Minneapolis, who in turn is the mandatory challenger for Alvarez’s WBA “super” world title, WBA president Gilberto Mendoza told Fight Freaks Unite.
The WBA has not yet ordered either mandatory fight. Berlanga remains on the short list to challenge Alvarez on May 4 but it would be an optional defense for him — not the fulfillment of his mandatory, Mendoza said.
The highly-regarded Morrell would love to fight Berlanga, who has no interest in the match, especially with the possibility of a fight with Canelo.
“Berlanga is simply not on my level,” Morrell said. “I’ve watched his fights, and I see nothing that worries me. Berlanga sucks, and I would destroy him. If we ever step into the ring together, I'll knock him out in one round, guaranteed.
“I’m here to prove that I’m the best. Whether it’s Berlanga, or anyone else, I’ll be ready to step into the ring and show the world what I’m made of. I’m the best fighter in the super middleweight division, and soon everyone will know that.”
Jared Anderson fight, trouble
Heavyweights will take center stage in a pair of 10-rounders on Top Rank’s card April 13 (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET) at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Rising contender Jared Anderson will fight Ryad Merhy in the main event and Efe Ajagba will face fellow 2016 Olympian Guido Vianello in the co-feature, the company announced. In the eight-round opener of the main card, junior lightweight Robson Conceicao, a three-time world title challenger, will face Jose Guardado.
Anderson, however, finds himself in legal trouble for the second time in recent months after he was arrested again on Thursday. He allegedly obstructed police in Huron Township, Michigan, ESPN reported, according to court records it obtained.
Top Rank declined to comment to Fight Freaks Unite and it was unclear if the arrest would impact his appearance on the card.
In November, he was arrested in Oregon, Ohio, for driving under the influence with a gun in his car. On Dec. 1 he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of improperly handling the Glock 17 pistol in a motor vehicle. He was fined $200 and given a 180-day suspended jail sentence after originally being charged with a felony.
Under the plea deal the felony was reduced to a misdemeanor and the other charges dismissed. However, a condition was that if he had a similar offense inside of a year it would result in being sent to jail.
Anderson (16-0, 15 KOs), 24, of Toledo, Ohio, who was the 2021 Fight Freaks Unite prospect of the year, went 3-0 with two knockouts in 2023, most recently a fifth-round destruction of Andrii Rudenko in August. He also outpointed former titlist Charles Martin earlier in the year.
“Merhy is a solid fighter, but he has never faced a heavyweight like me. He’ll see that in person on April 13,” Anderson said.
Merhy (32-2, 26 KOs), 31, of Belgium, is a former WBA “regular” cruiserweight titleholder but never defended the belt, instead electing to move up to heavyweight in 2022. He is 1-2 as a heavyweight but scored a major upset via 10-round split decision over 2016 French Olympic gold medalist Tony Yoka in December.
“After ending 2023 with a great performance, I am looking for another great performance, this time on American soil against the ‘future heavyweight hope,’” Merhy said. “What I like about my current position is that I have nothing to prove. I accepted this fight because I don’t see Anderson as a big danger. It’s up to him to prove himself against a small heavyweight like me. I feel no pressure.”
Nigeria native Ajagba (19-1, 14 KOs), 29, who fights out of Stafford, Texas, has won four fights in a row since a decision loss to unbeaten Frank Sanchez in 2021. He is coming off a fourth-round KO of Joe Goodall in November.
“I remember Guido from the Rio Olympics, and he is a very skilled and powerful fighter,” Ajagba said. “My goal is to become heavyweight champion, and in order for me to accomplish my dream, I have to be at my best against Guido.”
Vianello (12-1-1, 10 KOs), 29, of Italy, pummeled overmatched Moses Johnson for a first-round knockout on Feb. 16 to win his second in a row after a seventh-round cut-induced stoppage loss to Jonathan Rice in January 2023.
“This is a big opportunity for me to fight one of the top heavyweights in the world, and I did not hesitate when it was offered,” Vianello said. “I am ready to step up to the plate, and I look forward a great fight.”
Conceicao (17-2-1, 8 KOs), 35, Brazil’s first Olympic boxing gold medalist in 2016, only has blemishes on his record from title fights — decisions against Shakur Stevenson and Oscar Valdez and a November draw against Emanuel Navarrete, who dropped him twice. Guardado (15-1-1, 5 KOs), 24, has never boxed outside his native Mexico or faced a notable opponent.
On the preliminary portion of the card:
Junior lightweight Henry Lebron (19-0, 10 KOs), 26, a Puerto Rican southpaw, will face Charly Suarez (16-0, 9 KOs), 35, of the Philippines, in a 10-rounder.
Corpus Christi welterweight John Rincon (8-0, 2 KOs), 25, will box an opponent to be named in a six-rounder.
Blue chip lightweight prospect Abdullah Mason (12-0, 10 KOs), 19, of Cleveland, will face Ronal Ron (14-5, 11 KOs), 26, of Venezuela, in an eight-rounder.
Featherweight contender Ruben Villa (21-1, 7 KOs), 26, a southpaw from Salinas, California, will fight Cristian Cruz Chacon (22-6-1, 11 KOs), of Mexico, over 10.
Corpus Christi super middleweight Julian Delgado, 22, will have his four-round pro debut following an amateur career in which he won national and state titles.
BetUS Boxing Show
If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on YouTube, please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel). We previewed and picked three fights that take place Saturday: Otabek Kholmatov against Raymond Ford for the vacant WBA featherweight title, the co-feature of Luis Alberto Lopez’s mandatory defense of the IBF featherweight title against Reiya Abe, and cruiserweight Jake Paul against Ryan Bourland. We also took viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:
Quick hits
Weights from Verona, New York, for Saturday’s Top Rank card on ESPN+ (5:20 p.m. ET): Otabek Kholmatov 125.8 pounds, Raymond Ford 125.9 (for vacant WBA featherweight title); Luis Alberto Lopez 125.3, Reiya Abe 125.8 (for Lopez’s IBF featherweight title); Brian Norman Jr. 147.2, Janelson Bocachica 146.6; Bryce Mills 138.7, Gerffred Ngayot 138.7; Troy Isley 159.3, Marcos Hernandez 160.6; Rohan Polanco 142.9, Tarik Zaina 142.4; Floyd Diaz 118, Edwin Rodriguez 117.8; Nico Ali Walsh 156.9, Charles Stanford 155.1; Brandon Moore 242, Helaman Olguin 281.7.
Weights from San Juan for Saturday’s MVP card on DAZN (7 p.m. ET): Amanda Serrano 125.6 pounds, Nina Meinke 125.2 (for Serrano’s IBF/WBO/WBA women’s featherweight title); Jake Paul 199.8, Ryan Bourland 197.4; Jonathan Gonzalez 108, Rene Santiago 107 (for Gonzalez’s WBO junior flyweight title); Javon Walton 130, Joshua Torres 130; Krystal Rosado 115, Gloria Munguilla 114.4; Christopher Diaz 129.6, Headley Scott 130; Omar Pacheco 140, Christopher Ortiz 139.6; Elijah Flores 149, Alejandro Munera 148.6.
Junior middleweight Abass Baraou (15-1, 9 KOs), 29, of Germany, won a majority decision over Sam Eggington (34-9, 20 KOs), 30, of England, in a grueling action fight to claim the vacant European title in a bout that was also a WBA title eliminator on Friday in the main event of a Wasserman Boxing card that streamed on DAZN from the Telford International Centre in Telford, England. Baraou, who opened a cut over Eggington’s left eye in the ninth round, appeared to pull away in the later rounds. He won 117-111 and 117-112 while one judge had it 114-114.
Show and tell
During his heyday, Roy Jones Jr. was the dominant pound-for-pound king, a spot he held for about a decade. He was a brilliant boxer with dazzling reflexes, hand and foot speed to burn and one-punch knockout power. Jones had won world titles at middleweight and super middleweight and become the undisputed light heavyweight champion, but many wanted to see him take on the ultimate challenge, which meant going up to the heavyweight division. He toyed with the idea at various times and then picked his spot by moving up to face the much bigger (but much slower and less skilled) WBA titleholder John Ruiz. He may not have been the best heavyweight but Ruiz was top 5 at worst at a time when Lennox Lewis was the recognized champion. Still, the fight was still viewed as a legitimate risk for Jones, who was outweighed by 33 pounds (226-193) and quite obviously a much smaller man.
It made no difference when they met at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas in a major HBO PPV event that I covered at ringside. Jones was brilliant. He easily outboxed and even outfought Ruiz in spots to walk away with a unanimous decision — 118-110, 117-111, 116-112 — and claim the belt. Jones made significant boxing history on perhaps his finest night in the ring as he won a world title in a fourth division and became the first fighter since Hall of Famer Bob Fitzsimmons 106 years earlier to win a middleweight title and a heavyweight title. The fight took place on March 1, 2003 — 21 years ago on Friday. Here is an extremely rare site poster that hung in host hotel Caesars Palace during fight week in my collection.
More show and tell
Mexican warriors Rafael Marquez and Israel Vazquez fought four times with the first three fights, each for the WBC junior featherweight title and coming consecutively, being among the all-time great action battles so far this century. The second fight was widely acclaimed as the 2007 fight of the year and the only reason fight No. 1 wasn’t was because it was also in 2007. The third fight was even better than the first two and the consensus pick as 2008 fight of the year, which Vazquez won by dramatic split decision to retain the title he had regained from Marquez in the rematch.
In the third fight, Vazquez got knocked down in the fourth round, Marquez lost a point for a low blow in the 10th round and got knocked down in the final seconds of the fight, allowing Vazquez to retain the title via scores of 114-111 and 113-112 with Marquez winning 114-111 on the third card. It’s as good of an action fight as you will ever see and it took place on March 1, 2008 — 16 years ago on Friday. Here is the Showtime poster, which is signed in silver sharpie by both fighters, in my collection.
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Photos: Kholmatov-Ford and Lopez-Abe: Mike Williams/Top Rank; Crawford: Ryan Hafey/PBC; Berlanga-McCrory: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing
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We're all used to fighters claiming they'll destroy their opponent, etc., but I find Morrell's comments on a possible Berlanga match (that Eddie Hearn will NEVER let happen, unless Berlanga steals his girlfriend, or something) to be honest and 100% accurate. Morrell would obliterate the overhyped Berlanga.
Thank you Dan, for your passion and dedication to my favorite sport. I’ve been following you for years and continue to learn every time I read or listen to your work. If I’m ever in doubt, I say Well, let me see what Dan says…..