Notebook: New promoter Probellum making moves, signs Prograis, Jack, Stanionis

Fury-Wilder III undercard features on Kownacki & Anderson

Oct 05, 2021

Probellum, a boxing promotion and media company that announced its formation late last month with well known boxing executive Richard Schaefer as president, has begun signing fighters.

So far, Probellum has signed three boxers in addition to announcing several co-promotional alliances with companies around the world.

It’s biggest signing was announced Tuesday: former junior welterweight titlist Regis Prograis, whose signing came soon after the signing of former super middleweight and light heavyweight titlist Badou Jack and welterweight contender Eimantas Stanionis.

Prograis (26-1, 22 KOs), 32, of New Orleans, has been a free agent since parting ways with promoter Lou DiBella in 2020, having done one-off fights with Premier Boxing Champions and Triller in his last two bouts.

“Since I started boxing I’ve always wanted to become a world champion and fight all over the world,” Prograis said. “I decided to sign with Probellum because they are holding shows worldwide, and I can achieve my dream of fighting all over the globe. It is something I’ve always wanted to do, and I’m looking forward to this next chapter in my boxing career alongside Probellum.”

Schaefer added, “Signing Regis Prograis is a superb statement of intent and we are delighted to have him joining the team here at Probellum. He is one of the best fighters on the planet and we’re confident he will become world champion again soon.”

Jack (24-3-3, 14 KOs), 37, of Las Vegas, was promoted for years by Mayweather Promotions and most recently notched a win on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Logan Paul exhibition in June. Jack said he has been promised the chance to fight in Dubai.

“Dubai is my second home and I cannot wait to finally fight in front of all of my UAE fans,” Jack said. “My team at Badou Jack Promotions is excited to partner with the Probellum team to deliver several more exciting fights in this region.”

Said Schaefer: “He has been one of the best fighters in the world for nearly a decade and he still remains at the very top of his game. Badou made it clear that fighting in Dubai is something he has dreamed of for a long time, and due to our policy of working with all promoters across the world, we can make this happen and help him take the next step in potentially becoming world champion again.”

Stanionis (13-0, 9 KOs), 27, a 2016 Lithuanian Olympian based in Oxnard, California, was the first fighter to sign with the new company. He has been with Schaefer’s Ringstar Sports since turning pro in 2017 and elected to remain with Schaefer, who is shuttering Ringstar for the move to Probellum.

Before Ringstar, Schaefer was the CEO and co-founder of Golden Boy Promotions and guided the company during its heyday before he and partner Oscar De La Hoya had an acrimonious split in 2014.

Stanionis is positioned as the mandatory challenger for welterweight titlist Yordenis Ugas.

“I'm thrilled to continue my relationship with Eimantas Stanionis,” Schaefer said. “I've been working with him since after the Olympics in 2016, and he's on the verge of some tremendous fights.

“The world is his oyster and it's great to work with him at Probellum. We already have a strategic partner in Lithuania, so there are a million opportunities for him. We're looking forward to continue working with PBC who have done a great job with Eimantas. With manager Shelly Finkel, Eimantas has one of the best teams in boxing.”

Probellum has announced co-promotional alliances with Wasserman Boxing, Universum in Germany, LNK Boxing in Latvia, Glozier Boxing in New Zealand, Team Ellis Boxing in Australia, Box Office Sports in Ghana and Armin Tan Promotions in Indonesia with a goal to promote or co-promote 100 events a year, including about 20 in the United States. Schaefer said he is working on an American broadcast deal.

Probellum, which was founded by United Kingdom-based businessman Ali Shams Pour, the owner of Glentoran FC, has also added several staff with a lot of experience, including COO Eric Winter, a former Yahoo Sports and UFC executive, and Harrison Whitman, the former Top Rank attorney, who is Probellum’s chief strategy and legal officer.

“Our number one goal at Probellum is to empower fighters and galvanize a global fan base, while promoting the best and biggest fights to boxing fans around the world — regardless of promotional affiliation,” Schaefer said. “Boxing has always been fragmented between rival promoters and distribution platforms, which is why Probellum will co-promote across platforms and work with all promoters while investing heavily into grassroots boxing, worldwide.”

‘Do or die’ for Kownacki

Heavyweight contender Adam Kownacki was rapidly climbing the rankings and in position for a likely world title opportunity when he was ostensibly staying busy with a fight against 10-to-1 underdog Robert Helenius in March 2000 in Kownacki’s hometown of Brooklyn, New York.

Kownacki, whose goal has long been to become the first Polish fighter to win a heavyweight world title, dished out a beating for three rounds until Helenius rallied. He stunningly dropped and stropped Kownacki in the fourth round, dashing for the time being any notion of Kownacki fighting for a world title and sending his Polish army of fans home in shock.

Kownacki exercised his contractual right to an immediate rematch and although it has taken time to schedule the bout, they will meet again in a 12-rounder on the undercard of the third fight between heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former titlist Deontay Wilder on Saturday night.

Kownacki knows the fight is of the utmost importance if he is to get back on track toward the title shot he covets. I wrote about it for The Ring magazine website. Please read that story here: https://www.ringtv.com/628131-adam-kownacki-ready-for-do-or-die-rematch-with-robert-helenius-on-fury-wilder-3-undercard/

Anderson on Fury sparring

Blue chip heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson has been a professional for two years this month and so far everything is moving along as he and promoter Top Rank envisioned.

“The Real Big Baby” has been active, or at least as active as one could have hoped given the limitations brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, and he is widely viewed as the most promising American heavyweight.

At 6-foot-4, 245 pounds he certainly looks the part of rising heavyweight, and he punches like one too, scoring several highlight-worthy knockouts even as the level of his competition has steadily improved.

Anderson will take another step up in competition when he meets unbeaten Vladimir Tereshkin in a scheduled eight-round bout that will open the ESPN/Fox Sports pay-per-view card headlined by the much-anticipated third fight between heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former titlist Deontay Wilder on Saturday (9 p.m. ET) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Anderson is not only gaining experience in his fights, but also with numerous rounds of sparring with Fury. I talked to Anderson about his experience as Fury’s main sparring partner for the past two camps and wrote about it for The Ring magazine website. Please read that piece here: https://www.ringtv.com/628085-jared-anderson-talks-about-fighting-tyson-fury-in-sparring-and-for-real/

Quick hits

Fox and ESPN announced the broadcast team for the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder III pay-per-view telecast on Saturday night. Like the networks did when they partnered on the second fight in February 2020, they are mixing their usual teams. Brian Kenny will do blow-by-blow with analysts Lennox Lewis and Andre Ward. Heidi Androl and Bernardo Osuna will serve as reporters; Larry Hazzard is the unofficial scorer and rules expert; and Jimmy Lennon Jr. is the ring announcer. The desk host is Kate Abdo with Shawn Porter and Max Kellerman.

RDR Promotions announced it has signed super middleweight contender Jesse Hart (27-3, 21 KOs), 32, of Philadelphia, where RDR regularly puts on events. “Jesse is still one of the top super middleweights in the world, and he is very close to getting a big fight that will put him right back in the title hunt,” RDR Promotions’ Rodney Rice. Hart, who twice lost decisions to Gilberto Ramirez in competitive world title fights, was promoted by Top Rank for his entire career until they parted ways earlier this year. “I think this is a good deal for both me and RDR Promotions,” Hart said. “I think going forward, I will be back to 100 percent of where I was very soon, and the biggest goal is to keep me active, and I know Rodney will do that.” Hart’s first fight on the deal is penciled in for Nov. 27 in Philadelphia.

The three-card fall season on Spanish-language Telemundo is set. It kicks off with a show Oct.15 in Mexico City headlined by junior flyweight Axel Aragon Vega (14-4-1, 8 KOs) against Armando Torres(26-19, 19 KOs) in a 10-rounder. The main events for the other two shows are to be announced but they will take place Oct. 22 in Mexico City and Oct. 29 at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida.

WBA strawweight titlist Knockout CP Freshmart (22-0, 8 KOs) stopped Thai countryman Siridech Deebook (27-3-1, 13 KOs), 29, to retain his 105-pound belt for the ninth time on Tuesday in Buriram, Thailand. CP Freshmart scored a knockdown in the second round and two more in the third, prompting the referee Pinit Prayadsab to stop it at 49 seconds. CP Freshmart was fighting for the first time since March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Triller Fight Club is moving ahead with a card Oct. 16 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, without the Teofimo Lopez-George Kambosos lightweight title fight it hoped to include. The card, available via FITE, is headlined by Long Island junior welterweight Cletus Seldin (25-1, 21 KOs) against Brazil’s William Silva (28-3, 16 KOs). Junior welterweight Daniel Gonzalez (20-2-1, 7 KOs), of Woodhaven, New York, meets Brooklyn’s Petros Ananyan (15-2-2, 7 KOs) in the 10-round co-feature of the five-fight card.

Show and tell

If you’re a regular reader of “Show and tell” you know I love boxing cards and stickers, and what’s not to love? Many were produced overseas, as was the case with the 1997 Edigamma “I Grandi Campioni Dello Sport” multi-sport set from Italy. Translated, that means “The Great Champions of Sport.” The set contains 14 boxers and is not easy to find. Over time, I acquired the Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, George Foreman and Sugar Ray Leonard stickers. And now I introduce the two newest additions to my collection: Julio Cesar Chavez and Marvin Hagler.

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