Notebook: Matchroom unveils 5 world title bouts on two DAZN cards in June
Joyce-Parker heavyweight rumble on tap; 'Zurdo' wants Canelo-Bivol winner; Rivas homecoming defense set; date for Bryan-Dubois; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Matchroom Boxing on Tuesday announced two DAZN cards and five world title fights, most notably Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez’s first defense of the WBC junior bantamweight title against former two-time titlist Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.
Rodriguez-Sor Rungvisai will be one of four world title bouts on a June 25 card at Tech Port Arena in San Antonio, Rodriguez’s hometown.
The three other title bouts on the card:
Julio Cesar Martinez will defend his WBC flyweight title in a mandatory rematch with interim titleholder McWilliams Arroyo.
IBF/WBA junior featherweight titlist Murodjon Akhmadaliev will make a WBA mandatory defense in a long-delayed bout with Ronny Rios.
Undisputed women’s welterweight champion Jessica McCaskill will defend against an opponent to be determined.
The other card will take place on June 10 at Arena Coliseo in Mexico City as Matchroom and DAZN continue their series of shows in Mexico as part of a deal with Canelo Promotions. In the main event, WBA junior flyweight titlist Hiroto Kyoguchi will face “regular” titleholder Esteban Bermudez in another overdue bout that is part of the WBA’s title reduction plan.
“Kyoguchi-Bermudez is a great fight. Hiroto is hunting down unifications at 108 pounds, but he is going to have his hands full with Esteban, who has proved that he has devastating power,” Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said. “As for June 25 in San Antonio — what can we say? It’s a quadruple-header of world title action, with four bouts that could headline any card. I’m thrilled to see Jesse get the chance to headline at home as a world champion, and what a foe to face in the Thai legend Rungvisai.”
Rodriguez (15-0, 10 KOs), a 22-year-old southpaw, dropped and dismantled veteran former titleholder Carlos Cuadras in an impressive performance to win the vacant title on Feb. 5 in San Diego.
Now Rodriguez, boxing’s youngest active titleholder, will face Cuadras’ rival Sor Rungvisai (50-5-1, 43 KOs), 35, a southpaw from Thailand, who was due to face Cuadras in a rematch for the vacant title but he became ill, dropped out and was replaced by Rodriguez, who moved up in weight, on short notice.
“Fighting a guy like Rungvisai is going to bring me to a whole new level,” Rodriguez said. “He's a great fighter but this is my time now. You have to take risks in this sport. That's what special fighters do. They said it was a risk me challenging for a world title fight on short notice and now they say it's a risk taking on a fighter like Rungvisai, but this is what I want. These are the types of fights you need so you can be remembered by the fans long after your career is done.
“I've always said that me and my brother (WBA secondary junior bantamweight titlist Joshua Franco) are going to bring the big fights back to San Antonio and this is just the start of it. We are so proud to be from this city and we get that love back from the people there so this will be a special night.”
Robert Garcia, Rodriguez’s trainer, is all in on his fighter taking on such a well-respected foe.
“Jesse might be the youngest current world champion, but this is a fight where he can prove he already belongs with the very best in boxing,” Garcia said. “We have a lot of respect for Rungvisai, we know what he is capable of, and he is a great, great fighter but I also know what Jesse is capable. I have so much belief in him, and I know he is ready for this.”
Sor Rungvisai, who has two wins over Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez in world title fights, is anxious for another shot at the 115-pound belt.
“I am very excited for this opportunity to fight for the WBC world title,” he said. “I will be at my best to win the WBC world title and become the first three-time WBC world champion in the history of Thailand.”
Martinez (18-2, 14 KOs), 27, of Mexico, and Arroyo (21-4, 16 KOs), 36, of Puerto Rico, fought in November 2021. Both fighters got knocked down in the first round and Arroyo again in the second, but the shootout ended as a third-round no contest because Arroyo was unable to continue after being cut by an accidental head butt.
Arroyo has not fought since. Martinez has fought once, moving up to junior bantamweight on short notice and getting outclassed in a decision loss to Gonzalez on March 5.
Akhmadaliev (10-0, 7 KOs), 27, a southpaw from Uzbekistan, will make his third defense against Rios (33-3, 16 KOs), 32, of Santa Ana, California, in a fight originally scheduled for this past November but postponed when Rios came down with Covid-19. Akhmadaliev instead handily outpointed late replacement Jose Velasquez.
Rios will be getting his second title shot. He lost a decision to then-WBC titleholder Rey Vargas in 2017.
McCaskill (11-2, 4 KOs), 37, of Chicago, will make her third defense of the undisputed title she took from longtime champion Cecilia Braekhus in their first fight in August 2020.
June 10 card details
On the June 10 card, former strawweight titlist Kyoguchi (15-0, 10 KOs), 28, of Japan, will make his fourth junior flyweight title defense against Bermudez (14-3-2, 10 KOs), 26, of Mexico.
“It was always my dream to fight in Mexico because the Mexican style has influenced me a lot,” Kyoguchi said. “It is a great opportunity to show my boxing in that country against a rival like Esteban Bermudez.”
Bermudez claimed the “regular” title in his last fight in May 2021 by sixth-round knockout of Carlos Canizales in an upset.
“He is a very good champion but kind of weak because too many injuries,” Bermudez said. “I’ve been waiting a year for him to fight me. I live for boxing, and I’ve needed this fight to happen for a long time. I’ve been at training camp for this fight, and he is coming to my hometown. The title is going to stay here.”
Also on June 10, junior lightweight Jorge Casteneda (15-1, 11 KOs), 25, of Laredo, Texas, and super middleweight prospect Diego Pacheco (14-0 11 KOs), 21, of Los Angeles, will face opponents to be named. Pacheco will be in his first scheduled 10-rounder.
Joyce, Parker to fight
Heavyweight contender Joe Joyce and former world titlist Joseph Parker will fight in July in the United Kingdom on a date and at a site to be determined, Joyce promoter Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions told BT Sport, his broadcaster partner in the U.K., during the Tyson Fury-Dillian Whyte telecast on Saturday.
“These two giants are going to fight each other to see who's the best giant,” said Warren, adding that while it was not signed they had agreed on the particulars. “This could be a great fight between the two of them. We're looking to put it on at some point in July.
“I’m quite sure we’ll get it over the line and it’ll probably be in another stadium, really looking forward to it. Joe’s been on the cusp of things for a long time. Our man here (Parker) has beat up a few of the Brits. It’ll be something special.”
Joyce (13-0, 12 KOs), 36, who was the 2016 Olympic super heavyweight silver medalist, is coming off his two biggest wins, a 10th-round knockout of countryman Daniel Dubois in November 2020 and a sixth-round knockout of former title challenge Carlos Takam last July.
Joyce would risk him status as the WBO mandatory challenger for the winner of the rematch between unified titlist Oleksandr Usyk and former titlist Anthony Joshua, who are penciled in to fight again on July 23.
Parker (30-2, 21 KOs), 30, of New Zealand, has boxed regularly in the U.K. for the past few years. He’s won six fights in a row since a points loss to Dillian Whyte in 2018. Parker is coming off a decision over former title challenger Dereck Chisora in December.
‘Zurdo’ wants Canelo-Bivol winner
One week after undisputed super middleweight champion and pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez challenges Dmitry Bivol for his light heavyweight title, Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez will be in the spotlight hoping to make his case for a fight with the winner.
“I want to make a statement and get the winner from Canelo versus Bivol. That's the fight that I want and I need to pass through this guy first on May 14,” Ramirez said on Monday.
Former super middleweight titlist and current WBA light heavyweight mandatory challenger Ramirez was at a news conference with Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya at the company offices in Los Angeles to discuss his 12-rounder against Dominic Boesel on May 14 (DAZN) at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
“The great thing is that he is going to be in a good position to fight the winner of Canelo versus Bivol,” De La Hoya said. “So, it took a while, but he worked hard and never gave up and the opportunity is right around the corner.”
Ramirez (43-0, 29 KOs), a 30-year-old southpaw from Mexico, who will be in his third fight since signing with Golden Boy last year, will risk his status as Bivol’s mandatory challenger against Boesel (32-2, 12 KOs), 32, of Germany, a former interim titlist.
If Bivol upsets Alvarez, Ramirez may get the title shot next, unless Alvarez gets a rematch. If Alvarez beats Bivol, Ramirez is unlikely to get a shot next because Alvarez is committed to a third fight with Gennadiy Golovkin in the fall.
Ramirez’s fight with Boesel was announced just last week, relatively short notice, but Ramirez said he has been preparing.
“I am really confident in myself and in my training,” Ramirez said. “I knew the fight was going to be in May, but not the date, but I like to be in shape. I am always training and am ready for these big opportunities. I am looking for the knockout.
“I am the best in this division and I will prove myself. I will give everyone a good show. I have been looking for the opportunity to fight the best because I know that I am the best.”
Rivas homecoming defense
Oscar Rivas will make the first defense of the WBC bridgerweight belt against Luckaz Rozanski on Aug. 13 in a homecoming fight, promoter Yvon Michel announced at a news conference Tuesday in Bogota, Colombia.
The fight will take place at the Estadio Olimpico Pascual Guerrero stadium, a 40,000-seat venue in Cali, Colombia. Rivas, a 2008 Colombian Olympian, is from Cali but has boxed his entire pro career out of Montreal.
“I have three dreams I want to realize before the end of my boxing career,” Rivas said. “I want to establish myself as the absolute best bridgerweight fighter, defend my title in Colombia, and become world heavyweight champion.”
On Oct. 22, Rivas (28-1, 19 KOs), 34, won a decision over then-unbeaten Ryan Rozicki in October in an action-packed fight in Montreal to win the inaugural bridgerweight belt in a division the WBC created with a 224-pound limit.
Rozanski (14-0, 13 KOs), 36, of Poland, has fought all of his bouts in his home country and is coming off a first-round knockout of long-faded former heavyweight title challenger Artur Szpilka in May 2021.
Rivas said he will train in Bogata instead of Montreal and Rozanski will train in Chicago.
King schedules Bryan-Dubois
Although no site or broadcaster is set, promoter Don King announced in a brief release that Trevor Bryan will make the second defense of the WBA “regular” heavyweight belt against mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois on June 11.
King also said that the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Bryan has moved his training camp to Las Vegas for the fight and that former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes has joined Bryan’s camp to work with him.
King, Bryan’s promoter, won the rights to the fight at a purse bid last month with an offer of $3,116,001 to beat a bid of $2,503,000 from Dubois promoter Frank Warren.
Bryan (22-0, 15 KOs), 32, is entitled to 55 percent ($1,713,800.55) and Dubois (17-1, 16 KOs), 24, of England, gets 45 percent ($1,402,200.45).
Quick hits
The undercard for the undisputed lightweight title fight between three-belt champion George Kambosos Jr. and WBC titlist Devin Haney, which will take place at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia on June 5 (June 4 in the U.S. in prime time on ESPN) has not been formally announced yet, but here are three of the bouts that will be on the card, sources with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite: heavyweight Junior Fa (19-1, 10 KOs), 32, of New Zealand, against former contender Lucas Browne (30-3, 26 KOs), 43, of Australia; former bantamweight title challenger Jason Moloney (23-2, 18 KOs), 31, of Australia, against the Philippines’ Aston Palicte (28-4-1, 23 KOs), 31, a former junior bantamweight title challenger; and light heavyweight Joe Ward (7-1, 4 KOs), 28, a 2016 Irish Olympian, against a foe to be named.
Super middleweight prospect Edgar Berlanga (19-0, 16 KOs), 24, a Puerto Rican from Brooklyn, New York, has an opponent for his 10-rounder in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card June 11, the eve of the annual Puerto Rican Day parade in New York. He’ll face Roamer Alexis Angulo (27-2, 23 KOs), 38, of Colombia, a source with knowledge of the details told Fight Freaks Unite, confirming a BoxingScene report. It will take place at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden and be Berlanga’s second main event in a row there, having outpointed Steve Rolls on March 19 before a sellout crowd of 5,158. Angulo’s only losses were in super middleweight world title fights, on points challenging Gilberto Ramirez in 2018 and a 10th-round TKO loss to David Benavidez for a vacant belt in 2020.
Show and tell
James Toney had won world titles at middleweight and super middleweight but he was essentially on the boxing scrap heap by the early 2000s when he linked up with the late, great Hall of Fame promoter Dan Goossen, who took Toney on as a reclamation project and did a tremendous job garnering him publicity and guiding him back to the top. He got Toney a shot against the undefeated IBF cruiserweight titlist Vassiliy Jirov, a 1996 Olympic gold medalist, in an HBO main event and that launched Toney into a series of lucrative and significant fights. I was ringside inside the theater at the Foxwoods resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut, to cover the fight for USA Today. I attended the annual BWAA awards dinner the previous night in New York and then took the three-hour or so drive with Hall of Fame publicist “Uncle” Bill Caplan to Connecticut in the middle of the night, slept in on Saturday and then had a great fight to cover that night.
Toney-Jirov was absolutely sensational. It was voted as the fight of the year by the BWAA and remains in the conversation, along with Evander Holyfield-Dwight Muhammad Qawi I, as the best cruiserweight fight in history. They battled intensely from the opening bell in what appeared to be a very, very close fight. Toney trainer Freddie Roach bluntly told Toney before the 12th round that he had to put Jirov “on his ass” to win and Toney went out and scored a dramatic knockdown. In the end, Toney won the title by scores of 117-109, 117-109 and 116-110 though virtually everybody else had it much closer. HBO’s Harold Lederman had it 113-113. In the co-feature, Antonio Tarver easily outpointed Montell Griffin to win the vacant WBC and IBF light heavyweight titles Roy Jones Jr. had vacated. After the fight Goossen invited me to what was an all-time great victory party. The card was on April 26, 2003 — 19 years ago on Tuesday. Here is very scarce site poster in my collection and a photo of Toney, Goossen and I taken at the after party.
Joyce photo: Queensberry Promotions; Ramirez photo: Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy
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i LOVE the toney-jirov fight. watched it many times (including live) and enjoy it to this day. toney was one of my favorite fighters (if not quite favorite people), and his ko's of michael nunn and charles williams are all time great ko's, abd his resume is top notch.
a few other bits from this recap:
> love bam rodriguez-ssr! that fight can only be incredible!
> rivas acts like it's been his dream to be the bridgerweight champion since he was a wee lad. have fun with that, rivas.
> lucas browne should NOT be fighting above club-level (if at all). if fa were even a little better than he is i'd fear for browne's safety, and even still he should stop the washed aussie easily.
> angulo is an outside the top 15 guy that loses when he steps up. can't tell if berlanga is a step up from guys he's beaten, and that's not saying much. this shouldn't be a shit or get off the pot kinda fight for edgar, but i kinda think it is.
SSR is supposed to be fighting Suriyan Satorn on Saturday night but I've been unable to find any information about the fight which could mean that it's been cancelled (?).
If it has been cancelled it means that SSR will have done less than 3 rounds in 21 months, or worse, less than a total of 5 rounds in 34 months by the time he fights in June - for a 35 year old that's far from ideal and may mean that Bam is fighting him at just the right time.