Notebook: Mike Tyson to train Ngannou for fight against Fury
Los Angeles DA drops gun charge against Haney; Catterall to face Linares; Golden Boy makes Zepeda-Gesta official; WBO clarifies Charlo status; Quick hits; Show and tell
A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: I created Fight Freaks Unite in January 2021 and eight months later it also became available for paid subscriptions for additional content — and as a way to help keep this newsletter going and for readers to support independent journalism. If you haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription please consider it. If you have already, I truly appreciate it! Also, consider a gift subscription for the Fight Freak in your life.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou will have one of the most legendary fighters of all time in his corner when he crosses over to boxing to fight heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in a 10-round nontitle fight: Mike Tyson.
Ngannou announced that the former undisputed heavyweight champion will serve as his trainer in preparation for the Oct. 28 fight with Fury, which will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in one of the cornerstone events of the annual Riyadh Season festival.
“Bringing Mike Tyson into my training camp is one of the best decisions I can make to prepare for Tyson Fury in the ring at this year’s Riyadh Season,” Ngannou said. “Mike Tyson is an idol of mine in the sport. His experience and boxing IQ will be important to honing my technique under his guidance to win this superfight.
“I’ve been wanting this fight for years and now that it’s here, I’m focused on fighting the greatest fight of my career and shocking the world on the most epic stage for the fans in Riyadh.”
Tyson has never seriously trained a fighter but certainly has ample boxing experience from his 20-year career that ran from 1985 to 2005 and featured him in some of biggest fights in boxing history.
“It is no secret I back Ngannou 100 percent in this face-off of champions,” Tyson said, whom Fury is named after. “He has one hard punch, and when it lands, it’s game over. I am looking forward to working with Ngannou and supporting his transition from the octagon to the boxing ring.
“He isn’t a combat novice; he is a world champion. He knows how to compete when the bell rings, but the key will be combining his energy and combat skills into his punches and using his agility to move swiftly around the ring then delivering the knock-out blow. We’re here to win.”
Fury-Ngannou has percolated since April 2022 when, after the 6-foot-9, 264-pound Fury knocked out Dillian Whyte before 94,000 at London’s Wembley Stadium, to retain the lineal/WBC title, ringside observer Ngannou, who is 6-4, 260 pounds, joined Fury in the ring and stood with him at Fury’s invitation for part of his post-fight interview.
Ngannou (17-3, 12 KOs in MMA), 36, of Cameroon, was the reigning UFC champion at the time of Fury-Whyte but in late 2022 he departed UFC at the end of his contract when he could not come to terms on a new deal. He subsequently signed the PFL but the deal with that MMA promotion allowed him to pursue his dream of also boxing.
Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs), 34, of England, has not fought since pummeling the faded Derek Chisora in a 10th-round knockout in their third meeting in December. He mentioned several various opponents, including countryman and former unified titlist Anthony Joshua and a unification fight for the undisputed title with three-belt titlist Oleksandr Usyk. They had nearly finalized a deal for April 29 but Usyk walked away due to Fury’s onerous demands for the terms of a rematch clause and Fury wound up making the deal to fight Ngannou.
Listen to the new podcast episode and subscribe
Charges dropped against Haney
The Los Angeles district attorney’s office has declined to pursue a weapons case against unified lightweight champion Devin Haney and has dropped a charge of felony possession of a concealed weapon against him.
“The case involving Devin Haney was declined on July 27 due to insufficient evidence,” an L.A. County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson told Fight Freaks Unite in an email.
Last month, after leaving a Hollywood, California, night spot, Haney was arrested during a traffic stop when police said they found a semi-automatic handgun in his car, which he was not driving when the SUV was pulled over due to an unsafe lane change and a failure to use a turn signal.
The driver informed police there was a weapon in the car and the police asked Haney and his security to exit the vehicle, after which it was searched and the gun was found under the driver’s seat. Nobody claimed ownership of the gun and Haney was arrested because it was his car, according to police.
He was booked and released a few hours later after posting $35,000 bail.
Haney (30-0, 15 KOs), 24, of Las Vegas, retained the undisputed title via unanimous decision over Vasiliy Lomachenko on May 20 in Las Vegas in the main event of his first pay-per-view. Now he is moving up to junior welterweight to challenge WBC titleholder Regis Prograis this fall but the WBC lightweight title has been vacated and Haney re-classified as its “champion in recess.”
Catterall fighting Linares
In a surprisingly poor main event, junior welterweight contender Jack Catterall will face the long-faded former lightweight titlist Jorge Linares, who has lost three fights in a row, in a 12-rounder on a Matchroom Boxing card on Oct. 21 (DAZN) at M&S Bank Arena Liverpool.
Catterall (27-1, 13 KOs), 30, a southpaw from England, lost a highly controversial split decision to then-undisputed junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor in February 2022 and has fought just once since, a 10-round decision over Darragh Foley in May in his first bout since signing with Matchroom, which apparently is having a hard time making a significant fight for him. Catterall had a rematch with Taylor scheduled but it was postponed multiple times before it was canceled when Catterall was with Boxxer.
“I’ve watched him come over to the U.K. on three occasions and win three times,” Catterall said. “He is a legend of the game and this is a must-win fight for the both of us for very different reasons.
“There is talk of a huge fight for me after this but it’ll count for nothing if I take my eye off the ball, which I can’t afford to do at this stage of my career. It’s no secret my career has lacked momentum, so after boxing in May and now October I genuinely believe you’ll see the best version of me on Oct. 21.”
Linares (47-8, 29 KOs), 37, a Venezuela native, has not been a factor for years. Besides three losses in a row (one by KO) at lightweight, he’s dropped four of his last six, including a first-round knockout loss to Pablo Cesar Cano at junior welterweight in 2019.
Linares has boxed in England three times and notched some of his most notable wins there in lightweight title fights: back-to-back victories over Anthony Crolla in 2016 and 2017 and against Kevin Mitchell in 2015.
“I’m full of emotion and ready to give everybody a spectacular performance against a tremendous opponent Jack Catterall,” Linares said. “I just want everyone to know that I’m ready to give Jack a great boxing lesson and to continue making history in the U.K.”
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 handicapped Saturday’s Jake Paul-Nate Diaz bout and undisputed women’s featherweight champion Amanda Serrano’s rematch with Heather Hardy in the co-feature of the DAZN PPV. We also took plenty of viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:
Zepeda vs. Gesta official
Lightweight contender William Zepeda (28-0, 24 KOs), 27, of Mexico, and fellow southpaw Mercito Gesta (34-3-3, 17 KOs), 35, a San Diego-based Filipino, will meet for Zepeda’s regional title in a 12-rounder that will headline a Golden Boy card on Sept. 16 (DAZN) — Mexican Independence Day — at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, California, Golden Boy announced on Thursday.
“Mexican Independence Day weekend and boxing go hand-in-hand, and we’re excited to bring fans a show Sept. 16,” Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya said. “Zepeda is a relentless fighting machine, who will be looking to showcase his skills on the biggest weekend in boxing. But Mercito Gesta is coming off the best victory of his career over a former world champion (Joseph Diaz Jr.) and is hungry for more. There will be fireworks between these two warriors.”
Zepeda blitzed fringe contender Jaime Arboleda in the second round in his last fight on April 29.
“I am very excited to be back in the ring in September, especially on such an important date for my country and for Mexican boxing,” Zepeda said. “I know it will be another great fight for the Mexico versus Philippines rivalry.”
Gesta, a former world title challenger, outpointed former junior lightweight titlist Diaz in an upset in March. Zepeda also owns a win over Diaz.
“I can’t wait to get back in the ring against a tough fighter in William Zepeda,” Gesta said. “William is a rising star in our sport, and I’m honored to share the ring with him. The Mexico versus Philippines rivalry will be action packed every round.”
In the co-feature, Victor Morales (18-0-1, 9 KOs), 25, of Vancouver, Washington, will defend his regional featherweight belt against Edwin Palomares (18-4-2, 9 KOs), 27, of Mexico, in a 10-rounder. Morales is coming off an upset second-round knockout of Diego De La Hoya, Oscar’s cousin, on the Zepeda-Arboleda undercard on April 29.
Quick hits
Weights from Dallas for MVP card on Saturday (DAZN PPV, 8 p.m. ET): Jake Paul 185 pounds, Nate Diaz 184.9; Amanda Serrano 124.6, Heather Hardy 125.8 (rematch for Serrano’s undisputed women’s featherweight title); Ashton Sylve 134.5, William Silva 134.6; Jeremy Stephens 167, Chris Avila 170.3; Shadasia Green 166.9, Olivia Curry 166.7.
Weights from Wind Creek Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for Showtime’s “ShoBox” card on Friday (9 p.m. ET/PT): Jordan White 129.8 pounds, Eridson Garcia 130; Paul Kroll 155, Guido Schramm 154.8; Julian Gonzalez 129.2, Johnny Spell 130; Jonathan Rodriguez 120.6, Marvin Solano 120.4; James Bernadin 136.6, Estivan Falcao 137.2; Euri Cedeno 160, Fabrizio Rubino 157.2; Thanjhae Teasley 147.4, Nathan Luyando 149; Ernie Cuevas 121.6, Emmanuel Diogo 120.2; Francis Oran 219.6, Ali Ellis 219.2.
The WBO has ruled that it will sanction undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez against undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo on Sept. 30 (Showtime PPV) but while it will allow Charlo, who is way overdue for his postponed mandatory defense against interim titlist Tim Tszyu to be introduced as the WBO 154-pound champion, he will be stripped when the bell rings and Tszyu will be elevated to full titleholder. If Alvarez-Charlo doesn’t take place as scheduled, the WBO will also declare the title vacant and elevate Tszyu.
The IBF on Thursday scheduled the purse bid for the fight between junior welterweight titlist Subriel Matias (19-1, 19 KOs), 31, of Puerto Rico, and mandatory challenger Shohjahon Ergashev (23-0, 20 KOs), 31, a southpaw from Uzbekistan fighting out of Detroit, for Aug. 15 at the IBF offices in Springfield, New Jersey, and via Zoom. The sides can still make a deal until 15 minutes before bids are unsealed. If bid takes place, the split is will 70-30 split in Matias’ favor. Matias won the vacant title by fifth-round knockout in a shootout with Jeremias Ponce in February. Ergashev has not boxed since last August.
Former world title challengers Marcus Browne and Jose Benavidez Jr. will make ring returns on the untelevised undercard of the PBC/Showtime event topped by Melvin Lopez versus Emmanuel Rodriguez for the vacant IBF bantamweight title Aug. 12 at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, a source with knowledge of the bouts, which have not been announced, told Fight Freaks Unite. Browne (24-2, 16 KOs), who has been idle since getting pummeled in a ninth-round knockout by unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev in December 2021, will face Adrian Taylor (13-1-1, 5 KOs), 32, of Dallas, in a move up to cruiserweight. Benavidez (27-2-1, 18 KOs), 31, of Phoenix, will face Sladan Janjanin (36-15, 25 KOs), 32, of Bosnia, at middleweight fight. Benavidez, the older brother of WBC interim super middleweight titlist David Benavidez, is 0-2-1 in his last three and coming off a majority decision loss to Danny Garcia in a junior middleweight bout 13 months ago.
Top Rank made official what Fight Freaks Unite reported weeks ago — that Chinese southpaw Zhilei Zhang’s rematch England’s Joe Joyce, which will take place Sept. 23 at OVO Arena Wembley in London, will stream on ESPN+ in the United States (2 p.m. ET). The stream will also include two-time light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Yarde (23-3, 22 KOs), 31, against British countryman Ricky Summers (19-3-1, 6 KOs), 36, among other undercard bouts. Zhang (25-1-1, 20 KOs), 40, who fights out of New Jersey, stopped Joyce (15-1, 14 KOs), 37, in the sixth round due to a badly damaged eye on April 15 and soon after Joyce invoked his right to an immediate rematch.
Show and tell
Rafael Marquez and Israel Vazquez, the epitome of Mexican warriors, fought four times. The first three bouts, which came consecutively, were each all-time epic battles for the WBC junior featherweight title with the second and third bouts earning honors as consensus fight of the year in 2007 and 2008. Marquez, a longtime bantamweight champion, moved up to junior featherweight and knocked out Vazquez in the seventh round of their first action-packed fight that was the front runner for 2007 fight of the year honors — that is until the second fight five months later. The rematch was even more jaw-dropping than the first fight. It was a rock ‘em, sock ‘em slugfest and competitive all the way until Vazquez, who was ahead 48-47 on all three scorecards going into the sixth round, avenged his loss by stopping Marquez to regain the title at Dodge Arena in Hidalgo, Texas, on Showtime, which televised all four of their fights. Vazquez suffered cuts over both eyes but he dropped Marquez in the sixth round. I picked the third round as round of the year. The unforgettable rematch was on Aug. 4, 2007 — 16 years ago on Friday. Here is an incredibly rare site poster from the fight in my collection.
A note to subscribers
I sincerely appreciate your readership. If you’re reading, it means you love boxing just like I do. If you’ve been reading you also know the quality and quantity of what I produce. It’s one-stop shopping. Read the newsletters and there is no need to search multiple websites or click a multitude of links to get the latest news, opinion and detailed fight schedule. Everything you need is in one spot and delivered directly to your inbox (or via phone alert if you download for free the superb Substack app). You don’t have to hunt for the news; it comes to you.
I believe that is worth something, so while I will continue providing stories, notes and the schedule for free, I encourage you to upgrade to a paid subscription for the most content. A paid subscription is your way of keeping this reader-supported newsletter going and supporting independent journalism. I am beholden to no network, promoter, manager, sanctioning body or fighter. If you have read my work at all during the past 23 years I’ve covered professional boxing you know that I keep it real and that will not change.
To upgrade your subscription please go here:
Thank you so much for your support of Fight Freaks Unite!
Photos: Ngannou/Tyson: Team Ngannou; Haney: Mikey Williams/Top Rank; Paul-Diaz: Most Valuable Promotions
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danrafael1/
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanRafael1
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanRafaelBoxing
