Notebook: McCaskill, Braekhus have score to settle in undisputed title remach
Kambosos speaks; Gary Russell sighting; TR signing; Quick hits
While undisputed women’s welterweight champion Jessica McCaskill won’t outright say she hasn’t gotten credit for dethroning long-reigning champion Cecilia Braekhus as they head into their rematch, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn will.
“Jessica doesn’t get the credit she deserves,” Hearn said. “She took on (lightweight champion) Katie Taylor when she was vastly inexperienced and gave her one of her toughest fights. Came back to win the (WBC junior welterweight) world title in Chicago (in 2018) and she’s never turned down a challenge.
“She unified and beat Cecilia to become undisputed at 147 pounds. Jessica is a star, but Cecilia looks like she’s got the bit between her teeth and this is her last chance.”
McCaskill won all four major belts from Braekhus by disputed majority decision on Aug. 15 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, ending her historic 11-year title reign. Braekhus was attempting to make her 26th consecutive title defense and break the all-time record she shares with legendary heavyweight champion Joe Louis for the most defenses in a row, male or female.
After the loss Braekhus considered retirement but ultimately exercised her contractual right to an immediate rematch, which will take place in the co-feature of the junior bantamweight unification rematch between Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and Juan Francisco Estrada on Saturday night (DAZN and PPV, 8 ET) at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
“I’m not saying I don’t get the credit for my last fight, but over the time that I’ve fought and the different hurdles that I have crossed, that’s what I don’t think I get the credit for,” McCaskill said during a recent video conference with Braekhus. “That’s not to make excuses. Everything I say is the truth.
“Every time I have had to fight for a belt, it’s been (against) a champion. Cecilia, you have fought for vacant titles. I’ve had to take mine from everyone I fought from, I’ve never just fought for a vacant title and it’s heads or tails on who is going to win it.”
McCaskill (9-2, 3 KOs), 36, of Chicago, said she has the mental edge because she feels like Braekhus (36-1, 9 KOs), 39, of Norway, is already thinking about retirement.
“I feel the last fight was the last one of her career,” McCaskill said. “Once someone shows that weakness, shows they are not in it and alludes to retirement, that shows that they are mentally out of the game.
“We’ve never been given a whole lot, we’ve taken really big risks and they have gotten us to those higher places, I haven’t been given anything.”
Braekhus downplayed her retirement consideration. She said he had a bad night in August and is anxious to face her rival again.
“I felt I won’t the fight. It was very close. I could have got the decision,” Braekhus said. “A lot of people thought I won and it’s not the way to lose your belts. I know I am a better fighter than Jessica. I had a bit of an off day, but I feel I did what I needed to do to retain my belts, but I was not at home. I was on her home turf and she got the belts. Don’t start comparing resumes. I’ve beaten nine or 10 world champions, so don’t start comparing.
“She says that people are hating on her because of the way she got the belts. They aren’t hating but people aren’t satisfied because that’s not the way anyone should become an undisputed champion. It should be harder than that. I don’t think she has a good feeling the way she won the belts.”
Kambosos reaction
Undefeated Australian lightweight contender George Kambosos Jr. could not have been more thrilled by Triller’s giant and unexpected winning purse bid for his mandatory title shot against unified world champion Teofimo Lopez. But while Kambosos is indeed happy that will make about 10 times his previous biggest purse, he said his main motivation for the fight is to win the belts.
I interviewed Kambosos about it and he had a lot to say about the winning bid and the way it all went down. Please read my story on BoxingScene here: https://www.boxingscene.com/kambosos-on-lopez-fight-my-priority-taking-those-belts-f-money--155975
Russell-Vargas deal made
Featherweight world titlist Gary Russell Jr. is apparently ready to make his annual ring appearance, this one against mandatory challenger Rey Vargas, who vacated his junior featherweight title to move up in weight.
The WBC announced that the sides have made a deal and that “promoter Tom Brown, leader of TGB Promotions, will announce the date and place for this attractive bout shortly.”
It’s no surprise a deal was agreed to as Russell and Vargas both are in the Premier Boxing Champions stable.
Russell (31-1, 18 KOs), 32, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, who has not fought since outpointing previous mandatory challenger Tugstsogt Nyambayar in February 2020, will be making his sixth defense. From 2015, when he won the belt, through 2020 he has fought just once per year.
Vargas (34-0, 22 KOs), 30, of Mexico, won the WBC junior featherweight belt in 2017 and made five defenses before vacating. He has been idle since July 2019 due to a broken leg and the coronavirus pandemic.
Top Rank signs Delgado
Junior welterweight prospect Lindolfo Delgado (11-0, 11 KOs), a 2016 Mexican Olympian, has signed a multi-year contract with Top Rank, the company announced on Tuesday.
Delgado, who shares manager Rick Mirigian and trainer Robert Garcia with unified junior welterweight titlist Jose Ramirez, will make his Top Rank debut on the undercard of the Ramirez-Josh Taylor undisputed 140-pound title fight on May 22.
“Lindolfo Delgado has only begun to scratch the surface of his boundless potential,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. “I believe he is going to be Mexico’s next great champion, and I can’t wait to see him in action May 22.”
Said Delgado: “It is a great honor to fight on a card like Ramirez-Taylor, and I can't wait to put on a spectacular performance for the fans on May 22,” Delgado said. “I represent Mexico with great pride, and I want nothing more than to bring a world title home.”
Delgado, 26, went 139-15 as an amateur and turned pro in April 2017. He was with Ringstar Sports before becoming a free agent and eventually signing with Top Rank. He has been idle since September 2019, when he boxed on the Errol Spence Jr.-Shawn Porter undercard.
“There is no doubt in my mind that Delgado is a future world champion at junior welterweight. With Top Rank to develop him through the next chapter of his career, the sky is the limit,” Mirigian said. “He has movie-star looks and crossover appeal in both Mexico and the United States, and with Robert Garcia in his corner, he is in the best hands.”
Three Connolly prospects in action
Three of manager Keith Connolly’s prospects will be back in the ring on upcoming Matchroom Boxing cards on DAZN.
Junior welterweight Artur “The Chechen Wolf” Biyarslanov (7-0, 6 KOs), a Chechnya native fighting out of Toronto, is a late addition to the Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez-Juan Francisco Estrada II card in Dallas on Saturday night. Biyarslanov, 25, will take a major step up in competition in his first eight-rounder against Juan Carlos Burgos (34-4-2, 21 KOs), 33, of Mexico. The former world title challenger has never been stopped and his losses have all come against quality opponents: Devin Haney, Mikey Garcia, Hozumi Hasegawa and Hector Tanajara.
Biyarslanov’s bout is a replacement for lightweight Otha Jones III (5-0-1, 2 KOs), 21, of Toledo, Ohio, who withdrew from the card because of a non-Covid-19-related illness. Jones was due to face Jorge Castaneda in an eight-rounder.
Junior lightweight Marc Castro (2-0, 2 KOs), 21, of Fresno, California, will next fight on the Canelo Alvarez-Billy Joe Saunders undercard on May 8. All three of Castro’s pro bouts will have been on Alvarez shows.
Welterweight prospect Reshat Mati (9-0, 7 KOs), 22, of Staten Island, New York, who is coming off a broken left hand and an injured right hand suffered in the first round of his last fight on the undercard of Gennadiy Golovkin-Kamil Szeremeta on Dec. 18, returns on the Haney-Jorge Linares card, which is penciled in for May 15.
Quick hits
Kenshiro Teraji (17-0, 10 KOs) will defend his WBC junior flyweight belt for eighth time when he meets Japanese countryman and mandatory challenger Tetsuya Hisada (34-10-2, 20 KOs) on April 24 in Osaka, Japan, Shinsei Promotions announced on Monday. The fight was due to happen Dec. 19 but postponed because Teraji was suspended by the Japanese Boxing Commission following an incident in which he illegally entered a home and damaged the owner’s car while drunk. He has since apologized and settled with the victim. The JBC suspended Teraji for three months until Feb. 28 and fined him the equivalent of $28,570.
Heavyweight contender Oscar Rivas (26-1, 18 KOs), 33, of Montreal, who has been idle since a competitive decision loss to Dillian Whyte for an interim world title in July 2019 in London, will return to face Sylvera Louis (8-5, 4 KOs), of Montreal, in the eight-round main event March 16 at the Hotel Plaza Quebec in Quebec City, promoter Yvon Michel announced. It will be the first card Michel will promote in 16 months because of the coronavirus pandemic. The fight is a rematch as Rivas won a four-round decision over Louis in 2012. Due to Convis-19 capacity limits, only 120 fans can attend and boxers and trainers had to have quarantined for 14 days prior to the event. The card will be available in the United States via the FITE app ($29.99).
Former junior lightweight titlist Alberto Machado (22-2, 18 KO), 30, of Puerto Rico, will now face Angel Fierro (17-1-1, 13 KOs), 22, a Mexico native fighting out of San Diego, in the 10-round lightweight main event of the Ring City USA card on March 18 (NBCSN, 9 p.m. ET) in Salinas, Puerto Rico. Machado was scheduled to face undefeated up-and-comer Hector Tanajara but he withdrew following a positive Covid-19 test.
Triller announced that the Triller Fight Club pay-per-view card, a partnership between Triller and Snoop Dogg, headlined by YouTube personality Jake Paul versus MMA fighter Ben Askren on April 17 (PPV and FITE, $49.99), will take place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. “Our vision of big fights, big entertainment and world class events can only fit into a world class venue, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium fits that vision,” Triller boss Ryan Kavanaugh said. “April 17th will have an element of surprise and action for everyone, from music fans to the casual and diehard fight fan.” The rest of the card hasn’t been announced yet but former junior welterweight titlist Regis Prograis is due to face Ivan Redkach in a welterweight fight on the undercard.
Here are the weights from the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, for the “ShoBox: The New Generation” card on Wednesday night (Showtime, 9 ET/PT): Brandun Lee 139.75 pounds, Samuel Teah 139; Misael Lopez 129.75, Jordan White 130; Steven Ortiz 134.75, Jeremy Hill 134.75; Victor Padilla 134, Thomas Velasquez 135.
Show and tell
One of the most remarkable fighters I have covered in my career is former middleweight and light heavyweight world champion Bernard Hopkins, who had the greatest combination of mental and physical toughness I have ever seen. I have gotten to know him well over the years, as well as any fighter I have covered, and have enormous respect for his accomplishments. Some of his most notable accomplishments are age related since he fought at the highest level into his 50s. Eight years ago on Tuesday — March 9, 2013 — Hopkins outpointed Tavoris Cloud to win another light heavyweight world title. In doing so, Hopkins, who was 48, become the oldest fighter in boxing history to win a world title, breaking the record he set at age 46 with his historic light heavyweight title victory over Jean Pascal. Here is a rare thin cardboard site poster (it’s 11x17, like most Barclays Center site posters) from Hopkins-Cloud in my collection.
Braekhus-McCaskill photo: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing
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