Notebook: Lopez changes mind, now says he won't give Lomachenko a rematch

Crawford-Porter done deal; Barrera unretiring; Ragan return delayed by injury; Navarrete-Gonzalez card set; Rivas-Jennings rematch rescheduled; more

Unified lightweight world champion Teofimo Lopez has had a change of heart and said he is no longer planning to give former champion Vasiliy Lomachenko a rematch that was penciled in for the first half of 2022 as long as both fighters win upcoming bouts.

“There's no point in fighting Lomachenko,” Lopez said when he was ringside and interviewed on ESPN during the Oscar Valdez-Robson Conceicao broadcast. “I think that moving forward. That's all it is, keep moving forward. Everything happened for its reasons. That's really it. I beat the man that everybody said was the man. When the going went tough, he backed off. So, now it's all about staying forward on it.”

With just three weeks to go, Triller on Tuesday formally announced and put tickets on sale for the postponed mandatory fight between Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs), 24, of Las Vegas, and George Kambosos Jr. (19-0, 10 KOs), 28, of Australia.

As expected, it will take place Oct. 4 (Triller Fight Club PPV and FITE, 8 p.m. ET, $49.99) at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The fight was supposed to take place June 19 in Miami but was postponed when Lopez came down with Covid-19 a week before the bout.

If Lopez wins, he said he prefers to move up to junior welterweight and seek a shot at undisputed champion Josh Taylor, a fellow Top Rank fighter.

“I did everything at 135,” said Lopez, perhaps forgetting that he has not faced any of the fellow young guns in the division, Gervonta Davis, Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney. “Now it's about going to 140 (pounds), becoming undisputed at 140, God willing, and just continue on.”

After former unified champion Lomachenko bounced back from the loss to Lopez by dominating and knocking out Masayoshi Nakatani in the ninth round in June, it appeared as though he had done his part to fight his way into a Lopez rematch.

Last October, Lopez scored an upset unanimous decision over Lomachenko in their heavily hyped unification fight. Although there was no rematch clause in the contract, a sequel seemed obvious, especially given that Lomachenko came on in the late rounds despite a torn shoulder that required post-fight surgery. Top Rank, which promotes them both, wants to do the rematch on pay-per-view.

Right after Lopez’s win, he said he wasn’t interested in a rematch. However, after Lomachenko easily beat Nakatani, who had given Lopez a tough fight in 2019, Teofimo Lopez Sr., the father and trainer of the new champion, said they changed their mind and were willing to again face Lomachenko (15-2, 11 KOs), 33, of Ukraine.

Lopez Sr. was ringside and watched Lomachenko dominate Nakatani and in an interview on the broadcast after the fight, said his son would do the rematch, but with some reasonable stipulations. Lopez would first fight his mandatory against Kambosos and then his next fight would have to be against Lomachenko, otherwise he would abandon lightweight and move up in weight and look for Taylor.

Those stipulations are no issue for Lomachenko, who is due to headline an ESPN card on Dec. 11 in New York, probably against former titlist Richard Commey, whom Lopez drilled to win his first belt in 2019. If Lomachenko wins and Lopez beats Kambosos the rematch, a far more lucrative fight than one against Taylor, could be put together for spring 2022 — if Lopez changes his mind again.

Crawford-Porter set for Nov. 20

They went down to the wire, but the representatives for WBO welterweight titleholder Terence Crawford and former two-time titleholder Shawn Porter agreed to terms on Tuesday, setting the stage for a highly significant fight.

Under terms of the deal, Top Rank, Crawford’s longtime promoter, bought out the Porter side and will promote the event, which will headline an ESPN pay-per-view card on Nov. 20 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

The bout was set to be put up for a purse bid at the WBO offices in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday, with representatives already on site for the procedure, including a rep from Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, even though it does not promote either boxer.

However, hours before the purse bid — which would have opened the fight to any WBO-registered promoter to win rights to the bout with the highest offer — Top Rank and TGB Promotions, Porter’s promoter, which handles most Premier Boxing Champions events, closed the deal they had been working on for the past couple of weeks.

I wrote about how they came together at the last minute to make the deal for World Boxing News. Please read my story here with some good behind the scenes stuff: https://www.worldboxingnews.net/2021/09/14/terence-crawford-shawn-porter-wire/amp

DAZN Boxing Show appearance

I joined my friends recently on the DAZN Boxing Show for the “Opening Bell” segment in which we discussed the Oscar Valdez drug-test situation, the Evander Holyfield-Vitor Belfort event, heavyweight champion Tyson Fury’s hit list, Anthony Joshua-Oleksandr Usyk and Canelo Alvarez-Caleb Plant. Please watch that segment here:

Barrera exiting retirement

International Boxing Hall of Famer Marco Antonio Barrera, three-division world champion and one of the all-time greats from Mexico, is coming out of 10 years in retirement at age 47.

Barrera, who has not fought since 2011 (he did have at least one exhibition), will face countryman and former two-time world titleholder Daniel Ponce de Leon, who is also exiting retirement, in a six-round welterweight fight on Nov. 20 at the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort & Casino in Mescalero, New Mexico, Tapia Promotions announced.

Barrera (67-7, 44 KOs) won world titles at junior featherweight, featherweight and junior lightweight during his 1989 to 2011 career and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017. He was involved in several memorable fights including winning his legendary trilogy with Erik Morales 2-1 and beating Prince Naseem Hamed. He also faced Manny Pacquiao twice, Juan Manuel Marquez and knocked out Kennedy McKinney in an all-time great battle. In 2020, Barrera outpointed the late Johnny Tapia, whose widow, Teresa Tapia, is promoting the Nov. 20 card.

Former junior featherweight and featherweight titlist Ponce de Leon (45-7, 35 KOs), 41, a southpaw, has been retired since 2014.

Ragan return delayed

Featherweight prospect Duke Ragan (4-0, 1 KO), 23, of Cincinnati, who won one of Team USA’s three boxing silver medals in the recently completed Tokyo Olympics, will be sidelined due to a left elbow injury.

“Wish me well,” Ragan wrote on Instagram. “I’ll be back soon. I partially tore a ligament in my elbow. My elbow been bothering me since before Olympics started but I couldn’t skip out on an opportunity like that. I went through the training camp with my elbow/arm wrapped up everyday training through the pain and when the Olympics started I fought through the pain.

“I didn’t mention to no one besides the USA team of course but I ain’t complain, I ain’t cry, I ain’t take no pain reliever medicine. None of that. Instead I did treatments after every fight and after every workout. I won 4 out of 5 fights in the Olympics with a partially torn elbow baby. They got to respect my name.”

Ragan had already turned pro when he was a late addition to Team USA. He was supposed to have his first bout after the Olympics on the undercard of junior lightweight world titlist Jamel Herring’s fight with interim titleholder Shakur Stevenson on Oct. 23 in Atlanta.

Sulaiman on Holyfield exhibition

The WBC was involved in the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. exhibition Triller put on last fall last fall and WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said in his weekly column that there was a big difference between Tyson-Jones and the mess that was this past Saturday’s Triller event that saw an Evander Holyfield-Vitor Belfort exhibition in which Belfort dropped and stopped the massively faded 58-year-old Holyfield, who could not keep his balance because his legs were so gone, in the first round. Also on the card, MMA legends Anderson Silva and Tito Ortiz met in a boxing exhibition in which Silva knocked Ortiz cold in the first round.

“They both understood that it was about entertaining and at no point tried to hurt each other,” Sulaiman wrote regarding Jones and Tyson, who put on an entertaining eight-rounder. “The event was an absolute success. It sold to 1.6 million homes on pay-per-view, and that was where the eyes of many were opened.

“What happened last Saturday was reality realization; thank goodness there was no serious injury. Tito Ortiz was struck down in (81 seconds) with a spectacular knockout that could have ended in a fatal injury, and the great legendary champion Evander Holyfield was embarrassed by a retired mixed martial arts rival.

“I’m not interested in analyzing Holyfield’s performance and what happened. It is a blessing that everyone has seen the reality. You can't play boxing. Former boxers must not return to the ring to fight. The exhibitions are acceptable, as they are with important security measures, but fighting without a head gear and competitively cannot happen. … Holyfield had not fought in a decade and at 58 he committed a terrible mistake, risking his life and the honor of the sport that gave him everything. Oscar De La Hoya was going to fight, after 12 years out of the ring, but a signal came from heaven when he contracted Covid-19 and had to cancel it. Riddick Bowe says he wants to fight, and so the sharks in the business are pitching offers to legendary but spent fighters to use them, give them peanuts and themselves collecting millions.

“This needs order in some way. The power of money and the few scruples of a few cannot be more important than integrity and security. Holyfield can now be once again the great leader, but he must also seek the help of his teammates, colleagues, friends and family, not to go through this situation ever again.”

There have been rumblings of a Bowe return, perhaps for a celebrity fight against former NBA player Lamar Odom. Sulaiman offered sad story about Bowe to further illustrate why this is such a bad idea.

“I was in a very popular show on TV in the United States, Celebrity Family Feud. It was WBC vs. UFC,” Sulaiman wrote. “On my team were Holyfield, Bowe, Shawn Porter and Ryan Garcia. We had a great time and we won 527 to 28 points. Bowe had to be put on a stool because he couldn’t stand for a long time as he now walks with great difficulty. That’s the boxing legend they’re trying to get into the ring again.”

Navarrete-Gonzalez official

Top Rank made WBO featherweight titlist Emanuel Navarrete’s mandatory defense against Joet Gonzalez official on Tuesday.

They will meet Oct. 15 in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+ card at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.

“Emanuel Navarrete never disappoints, as he’s a true Mexican warrior who fights in a crowd-pleasing style,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. “Joet Gonzalez earned his position as the mandatory challenger, and he has everything it takes to give Navarrete a formidable challenge.”

Navarrete (34-1, 29 KOs), 26, of Mexico, a former junior featherweight titlist before vacating to move up in weight, will make his second defense.

“I know that Joet Gonzalez is a good fighter. I respect him and he is also my mandatory challenger, but I am the champion, and I will show him why,” Navarrete said. “This belt isn't going anywhere. I hope that my Mexican fans will support me in San Diego, and my fans from Tijuana can also come to the fight. I will give them a great fight, and it will be a great victory for all my Mexican people.”

Gonzalez (24-1, 14 KOs), 27, of Los Angeles, is getting his second title shot. He lost a near-shutout decision to Shakur Stevenson for the same title when it was vacant in October 2019. Gonzalez has won his only fight since, a dominating decision over former world title challenger Miguel Marriaga last September.

“I am excited and thankful to receive a second world title opportunity, this time against a great Mexican warrior like Navarrete,” Gonzalez said. “I know I have what it takes to become a world champion, and I will show the world that on Oct. 15. No disrespect to Navarrete, but this is my time.”

In the 10-round welterweight co-feature, San Diego’s Giovani Santillan (27-0, 15 KOs), 29, will have his first hometown fight in more than seven years against Mexican southpaw Angel Ruiz (17-1, 12 KOs), 24.

Coverage of the two-fight main card begins at 11:30 p.m. ET with the rest of the card also streaming prior to that. In preliminary bouts, Milwaukee middleweight prospect Javier Martinez (4-0, 2 KOs) will see action in a six-rounder, 2016 Mexican Olympian Lindolfo Delgado (13-0, 12 KOs) in an eight-rounder at junior welterweight, and junior lightweights Henry Lebron (13-0, 9 KOs), of Puerto Rico, and Manuel Rey Rojas (21-5, 6 KOs), of Dallas, will meet in an eight-rounder.

Rivas-Jennings rematch

Longtime heavyweight contenders Oscar Rivas and Bryant Jennings will meet for the inaugural WBC bridgerweight world title on Oct. 22 (ESPN+) at L’Olympia de Montreal in Montreal, promoter Yvon Michel announced.

They will fight for the vacant belt in a division the WBC created between cruiserweight and heavyweight with a weight limit of 224 pounds.

Rivas (27-1, 19 KOs), 34, a Colombia native fighting out of Montreal, and Jennings (24-4, 14 KOs), 36, of Philadelphia, were supposed to meet for the vacant belt on June 18 in Montreal but the fight was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The fight is a rematch of Rivas’ 12th-round knockout of Jennings in January 2019.

After beating Jennings, Rivas faced Dillian Whyte for the WBC’s vacant interim heavyweight title and lost a unanimous decision in July 2019. He has fought once since, knockout out Sylvera Louis in the third round in March.

Jennings has lost two fights in a row, the knockout to Rivas and a wide unanimous decision to Joe Joyce on his turf in London in July 2019.

Quick hits

Premier Boxing Champions on Tuesday put out its first official acknowledgement that it has a deal for the undisputed super middleweight championship fight between three-belt champion Canelo Alvarez and titleholder Caleb Plant. PBC issued a brief press release announcing the fight would indeed take place Nov. 6 on pay-per-view. It also announced the venue — the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas — and that tickets go on sale Wednesday at 1 p.m. via AXS. Of note, I did not announce which of its two broadcast partners, Fox and Showtime, would handle the PPV.

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A purse bid for a WBC middleweight title eliminator between former junior middleweight titlist Jaime Munguia (37-0, 30 KOs) and former world title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko (13-3, 10 KOs) was scheduled for Friday. The winner would become the mandatory challenger for Jermall Charlo. However, a source with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite on Tuesday that Munguia is not going to participate in the purse bid and that co-promoter Zanfer has informed the WBC. Munguia, who is co-promoted by Golden Boy, is going in another direction, the source said. He has been linked to a possible DAZN fight this fall against fellow brawler Gabriel Rosado.

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Junior welterweight Danielito Zorrilla (16-0, 12 KOs), 27, of Puerto Rico, knocked out Pablo Cesar Cano (33-8-1, 23 KOs), 31, of Mexico, in the second round in the main event of a Triller card Tuesday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Zorrilla ended Cano’s night with a right to the head that made him take a knee. He popped up but then dropped down again and could not beat the count from referee Frank Gentile, who waved off it at 35 seconds. “This is a statement. I want to be a world champion,” Zorrilla said through an interpreter. “I am not playing. I will not stop until I beat everybody in my division. I want to fight the best. Miguel Cotto and Tito Trinidad, they have been an inspiration for me. I learn from them and now I want to follow their steps in the ring.”

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Lightweight Harley Mederos (1-0, 1 KO), 21, of Brooklyn, a 2021 U.S. national amateur champion and one several quality prospects in manager Keith Connolly's stable, has been added to the Teofimo Lopez-George Kambosos undercard on Oct. 4 in New York, Connolly told Fight Freaks Unite. Connolly added that if all goes well for Mederos, who is a very aggressive fighter with a strong left hook based on amateur videos, he will also fight on Top Rank’s Jamel Herring-Shakur Stevenson undercard Oct. 23 in Atlanta. Mederos turned pro on Aug. 28 and notched a first-round knockout.

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Vic Saludar (21-4, 11 KOs), 30, of the Philippines, will defend his secondary WBA strawweight title against mandatory challenger Erick Rosa (4-0, 1 KO), 21, on Dec. 9 in Rosa’s hometown of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, promoter Shuan Boxing announced. The fight was one of the bouts the WBA ordered after it terminated recognition of all of its interim titles and made those fighters who were stripped either mandatory challengers or ordered them to participate in eliminators. Rosa was one of the 11 fighters stripped of his interim belt last month. The camps were able to make a deal before a scheduled Sept. 26 purse bid. Saludar will be making the first defense of the vacant 105-pound belt he won in February by split decision over Robert Paradero.

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Late weekend result: Aidos Yerbossynuly (16-0, 11 KOs), 29, of Kazakhstan, knocked out Lennox Allen (22-2-1, 14 KOs), 36, of Brooklyn, New York, on Sunday in a WBA super middleweight title elimination fight in Astana, Kazakhstan. Allen, who lost his second fight in a row by knockout, was competitive in the action fight before Yerbossynuly knocked him out at 2 minute, 59 seconds of the 10th round.

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Premier Boxing Champions has announced the Fox Sports 1-televised bouts for its back-to-back cards on Sept. 18 and Sept. 19 at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, California. On Sept. 18, lightweight Jose Valenzuela (9-0, 6 KOs), 22, a Mexico native fighting out of Seattle, will face Colombia’s Deiner Berrio in the 10-round main event. That telecast will begin at 7 p.m. ET. On Sept. 19, junior lightweight prospect Maliek Montgomery (10-0, 10 KOs), 25, of Macon, Georgia, will fight Tajikistan native Aleem Jumakhonov (9-3-2, 5 KOs), 28, of Reseda, California, in a 10-rounder. That telecast begins at 10 p.m. ET.

Show and tell

One of the most anticipated fights of the early 2000s was a raging feud fight between bitter rivals Oscar De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas, who intensely disliked each other. De La Hoya was coming off a one-sided decision over Javier Castillejo to claim the WBC and lineal junior middleweight title. Vargas was coming off a seventh-round knockout of Shibata Flores to win the vacant WBA title. The trash talk between the two was memorable and the anticipation was sky high before the fight was postponed after De La Hoya injured his left wrist in training.

It was rescheduled for four months later and they put on just the kind of intense and exciting fight everyone expected. I was ringside to cover it for USA Today and it was fantastic. They landed heavy shots throughout the bout and both were bleeding, but De La Hoya fended off the bigger, stronger Vargas and took over late in the fight. He hurt Vargas at the end of the 10th round and then dropped him with a thunderous left hook in the 11th round before pounding him out with a violent follow-up barrage to unify titles. It was perhaps De La Hoya’s most exciting and most satisfying victory in a career filled with big wins. That fight — dubbed “Bad Blood” — took place 19 years ago on Tuesday. Here is a very scarce site poster from the bout in my collection.

Lomachenko-Lopez and Crawford photos: Mikey Williams/Top Rank; Ragan photo: Duke Ragan Instagram

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