Notebook: Mandatory or not, Arum and Fury interested in making fight with Whyte
Madrimov-Soro 154 eliminator; Jalolov set for ring return after Olympic gold medal; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Even though the WBC has yet to officially mandate a fight between heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and interim titlist Dillian Whyte, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said he and Fury are interested in making the fight anyway.
The first choice of Fury and his co-promoters, Arum and Frank Warren, is for Fury to face three-belt world titlist Oleksandr Usyk around March for the undisputed championship. However, that is unlikely because Ukraine’s Usyk is headed a rematch with former titlist Anthony Joshua.
So, that means Fury could next face one of his British countrymen, Whyte or possibly Joe Joyce, according to Arum.
I spoke to Arum about the situation, the issues with Whyte and his arbitration case against the WBC and what it may mean for Fury, and I wrote about it for World Boxing News. Please read that story here: https://www.worldboxingnews.net/2021/12/01/bob-arum-tyson-fury-options/amp
Madrimov-Soto eliminator set
Junior middleweights Israil Madrimov and Michel Soro will square off in a WBA junior middleweight final title eliminator at Renaissance Hall in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Madrimov’s home country, in the main event of a Matchroom Boxing card Dec. 7 (DAZN), the promoter announced.
The winner will become a mandatory challenger for unified 154-pound world titlist Jermell Charlo.
The highly touted Madrimov (7-0, 5 KOs), 26, who trains in Indio, California, with Joel Diaz, will be fighting in his home country for the second fight in a row after having had his first six fights in the United States.
Soro (35-2-1, 24 KOs), 34, of France, is vastly experienced and has won five fights in a row since a split decision loss in an interim title fight with Brian Castano in 2017.
The card will also include several of Uzbekistan’s top prospects, including junior welterweight Shakhram Giyasov (11-0, 9 KOs), 28, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist, against Cristian Rafael Coria (29-8-2, 13 KOs), 39, of Argentina, and 2016 light flyweight Olympic gold medalist Hasanboy Dusmatov (3-0, 3 KOs), 28, versus Jose Rivas (18-12-4, 10 KOs), 28, of Mexico.
“We're bringing DAZN back to Uzbekistan,” Madrimov said. “I'm happy to fight in Uzbekistan in front of my people. Fighting Soro is a big and very important step towards my goal. I rate him as the best (junior middleweight) who doesn't hold the belt. It will be exciting fight for the fans.”
Said Soro: “I am looking forward to Dec. 17 when I will take my final step before challenging for the world title. My opponent, Israil Madrimov, deserves respect as he has the courage to face me with only seven professional fights behind him. But I am ready to beat anyone, anywhere.”
Jalolov back in action
Bakhodir Jalolov, who won the 2020 Olympic super heavyweight gold medal for Uzbekistan this past summer at the delayed Games in Tokyo, will return to professional boxing on the Probellum card on Dec. 11 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Probellum announced on Tuesday.
Jalolov (8-0, 8 KOs), 27, a southpaw, who outpointed American Richard Torrez Jr. in the gold medal match, entered the Olympics having already had professional fights since pros have been allowed to box in the past two Olympic tournaments.
The 6-foot-7, 250-pound Jalolov, who is promoted by Lou DiBella and also won the gold medal at the 2019 World Amateur Championships, will face an opponent to be determined in a six-rounder.
“I am very excited to return to my professional boxing career,” Jalolov said. “This has been my priority as it contains the main part of my long-term goal after the Olympic. To fight in Dubai is an added bonus and there is a responsibility for me to be at my best because I know that I already have a lot of fans there and many of my Uzbek and international followers will attend the event.”
Added Vadim Kornilov, Jalolov’s manager: “This will be Jalolov’s first professional fight after his success in the Olympics and we are looking forward to him making a statement that the fans will remember.”
The card also includes two previously announced world title bouts: IBF flyweight titlist Sunny Edwards against Jayson Mama and WBO bantamweight titleholder John Riel Casimero taking on Paul Butler as well as the return of former four-division titlist Donnie Nietes against former world title challenger Norbelto Jimenez in a WBA junior bantamweight elimination bout.
Quick hits
The WBO on Tuesday notified the promoters of middleweight titlist Demetrius Andrade, who is with Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn, and mandatory challenger Janibek Alimkhanuly, who is with Top Rank’s Bob Arum, that they are ordered to fight next and gave their camps 20 days to make a deal or a purse bid will be ordered. The minimum bid is $200,000, although if it goes to an auction it would likely go for seven figures. Either side can request a purse bid immediately if they do not want to negotiate. Both fighters are coming off recent wins. Andrade (31-0, 19 KOs), 33, a southpaw from Providence, Rhode Island, who has been chasing a unification fight with Jermall Charlo, knocked out Jason Quigley in the second round on Nov. 19 in a DAZN main event and Alimkhanuly (11-0, 7 KOs), 28, a southpaw from Kazakhstan, battered faded former titlist Hassan N’Dam in an eight-round knockout on Nov. 20 on the Terence Crawford-Shawn Porter ESPN+ PPV undercard.
The International Boxing Hall of Fame will announce class of 2022 on Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET. Those elected in the men’s modern, old-timer, non-participant, observer and women’s modern categories by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and an international panel of boxing historians will be inducted into the Canastota, New York, shrine on June 12. The Hall of Fame weekend will also see the classes of 2020 and 2021 inducted as their weekends were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Mexican warriors Erik Morales, a Hall of Fame four-division world titlist, and Orlando Salido, who won titles in two divisions, will meet in a charity exhibition bout on Dec. 17 at the Rodeo Arena in Mesquite, Texas. According to the WBC, part of the proceeds will be used to support amateur boxing and fight domestic violence and bullying. Morales won titles at junior featherweight, featherweight, junior lightweight and junior welterweight. Salido claimed belts at featherweight and junior lightweight. Both were in numerous action-packed battles.
Top Rank announced it has secured American rights to the MTK card on Friday at York Hall in London and that it will stream on ESPN+ beginning at 2 p.m. ET. In the main event, Luis Alberto Lopez (23-2, 12 KOs), 28, of Mexico, who is coming off a dominating decision over heralded prospect Gabriel Flores Jr. on Sept. 10, will face Isaac Lowe (21-0-3, 6 KOs), 27, of England, a close friend of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, in an IBF featherweight title eliminator. The stream will include several other bouts, including former flyweight world titlist Charlie Edwards (16-1, 6 KOs), 28, of England, in his second fight since moving up two divisions to bantamweight against Jacob Barreto (13-3, 5 KOs), 25, of Spain, in an eight-rounder.
Super middleweight contender Jesse Hart (27-3, 21 KOs), 32, who twice lost decisions to Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in world title fights, will face David Murray (10-2-1, 6 KOs), 35, of Wilmington, Delaware, in an eight-rounder in the main event of the RDR Promotions card on Dec. 11 at the 2300 Arena in Hart’s hometown of Philadelphia.
Show and tell
Sugar Ray Leonard was only 23 years old when he fought for his first world title, challenging fellow Hall of Famer and then-WBC welterweight champion Wilfredo Benitez, who was just 21 when they met at the famed Caesars Palace Sports Pavilion with Marvelous Marvin Hagler fighting in the co-feature as he challenged undisputed middleweight champion Vito Antuofermo. Leonard would stop Benitez in the 15th round to claim the title and start a legendary two-year run during which would also face Robert Duran twice (going 1-1) and knock out Thomas Hearns to become the undisputed welterweight champion. Hagler did not fare as well on the undercard, being held to an extremely controversial draw most thought he won and then having to wait 10 more months for his next title shot, which he would win. The world title doubleheader featuring Leonard-Benitez and Antuofermo-Hagler was on Nov. 30, 1979 — 42 years ago on Tuesday. Here is an extremely scarce program, especially in such tremendous condition, from that card in my collection. I spent probably 15 years looking for one up to my standards and finally hit the jackpot about two years ago.
Fury photo: Sean Michael Ham/TGB Promotions
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The WBC have treated Whyte badly over the past 4 years while Wilder was the world champion – Whyte should have had his world title shot years ago.
This is why Whyte has taken the WBC to the CAS – I hope he wins his case, not because I’m a Whyte fan, but because the WBC shouldn’t be allowed to do this to any fighter.
Whyte may not be the mandatory challenger but he is the interim WBC heavyweight champion – a title he won back when he KOd Povetkin.
In October the WBC said that if Fury couldn’t sign a fight with Usyk within 30 days he was to fight the WBC interim champion, and so Whyte should still get his title shot despite not being the mandatory challenger.
This means Arum and Fury have been instructed to make the Whyte fight by the WBC, and so it surely can’t be counted as a voluntary defence as Arum and Fury want.
As far as I’m aware it is Top Rank who suggested the 80:20 split not the WBC. This is a very low-ball offer and is probably the method Arum will use to ditch Whyte as the opponent in favour of Joyce who will probably take the low offer.
The fight may be rescheduled or canceled, since Erik Morales 23yo son has just passed away.