Notebook: Norman headed to Japan to defend welterweight title
Liam Smith returns; Foster-Fulton title bout agreed to; Dubois-Chisora ordered, but not happening; new role for Alalshikh; Plant-Resendiz undercard; Mbilli interim title fight; Quick hits; Show & tell
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WBO welterweight titlist Brian Norman Jr. is headed overseas for his second defense.
Norman will fight Japanese contender Jin Sasaki in the main event of a card on June 19 (ESPN+ in the U.S) at Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Top Rank and Ohashi Promotions announced.
Norman, who will make the nearly 7,000-mile trip from Atlanta to Tokyo, had no problem going on the road for the fight, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said.
“Brian Norman Jr. is a motivated and talented champion who didn’t hesitate when offered this opportunity,” Arum said. “Jin Sasaki has power and punches in volume, and their styles will make for a dramatic, action-packed world title showdown.”
Norman (27-0, 21 KOs), who at age 24 is the youngest current male world titleholder, was sharp in his first defense blowing away Derrieck Cuevas in the third round on March 29 in Las Vegas.
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Norman won the vacant interim title by upset 10th-round knockout of then-undefeated Giovani Santillan in last May and was later elevated to the full titleholder when undisputed champion Terence Crawford vacated to move up in weight. Norman did not fight for the next 10 months while recovering from a hand injury.
“The king from the South comes to take over the world. I like how that sounds,” Norman said. “On June 19, I’m ready to put on a stellar performance and write another triumphant chapter of ‘The Norman Experience.’”
In his last fight, Sasaki (19-1-1, 17 KOs), 23, won a one-sided 12-round decision over Shoki Sakai on Jan. 24 on the Naoya Inoue-Ye Joon Kim undercard in Tokyo.
In the co-feature, Filipino southpaw Cristian Araneta (25-2, 20 KOs), 30, and Thanongsak Simsri (38-1, 34 KOs), 24, of Thailand, will fight for the vacant IBF junior flyweight title.
They had been ordered to meet when Masamichi Yabuki vacated the 108-pound belt after he moved up in weight and won the IBF flyweight title on March 29.
The ESPN+ stream will also include a third bout, Japanese welterweight Sora Tanaka (3-0, 3 KOs), 23, against countryman Takeru Kobata (14-7-1, 6 KOs), 26, in a 12-rounder for the vacant OPBF regional title.
Liam Smith returns
British middleweight contender Liam Smith, a former WBO junior middleweight titleholder, who is looking to rebound from a harsh knockout loss, will end a 19-month layoff against unbeaten Aaron McKenna in a true crossroads fight.
They will meet in a 12-rounder on the undercard of the Chris Eubank Jr.-Conor Benn all-British mega middleweight fight on Saturday (DAZN, 12 p.m. ET) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, where a sold-out crowd of 62,000 will be on hand.
It was in September 2023 that Smith got knocked down twice and cut en route to a 10th-round knockout loss to Eubank in an immediate rematch of Smith’s upset fourth-round knockout win in January 2023.
Now Smith (33-4-1, 20 KOs), 36, of England, finds himself on his old foe’s undercard with his career seemingly in the balance.
Of course, he believes he has plenty left and that the loss to Eubank was because he went into the fight ill.
“Last time I was in the ring I had a horrendous performance,” Smith said this week. “It’s not secret, everybody saw it. I know the issues behind it. On Saturday I get to right that wrong. I was unfortunate I got ill. I didn’t get injured, I got ill. On Saturday, I get to right that wrong, and prove the people who wrote me off after that Chris Eubank Jr. second fight wrong.
“How can I be finished with no miles on the clock? After the first fight I'm the best middleweight in the world. The second fight I’m finished and need to retire. It doesn’t make sense. I know the issues behind it and I can only make it right the next time I get in the ring.”
Aaron McKenna (19-0, 10 KOs), 25, of Ireland, long considered a prospect, will take an enormous step up in opposition with Smith being by far the most notable opponent of his career.
Eubank Jr.-Benn lineup
Middleweights: Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3, 25 KOs) vs. Conor Benn (23-0, 14 KOs), 12 rounds
Light heavyweights: Anthony Yarde (26-3, 24 KOs) vs. Lyndon Arthur (24-2, 16 KOs), third fight, 12 rounds
Middleweights: Liam Smith (33-4-1, 20 KOs) vs. Aaron McKenna (19-0, 10 KOs), 12 rounds
Cruiserweights: Cheavon Clarke (10-1, 7 KOs) vs. Viddal Riley (12-0, 7 KOs), 12 rounds, for Clarke’s British title
Cruiserweights: Chris Billam-Smith (20-2, 13 KOs) vs. Brandon Glanton (20-2, 17 KOs), 12 rounds
Foster-Fulton agreement
Nothing is signed yet but Top Rank and TGB Promotions/PBC have reached an agreement for the Top Rank-promoted WBC junior lightweight titlist O’Shaquie Foster to defend his title against WBC featherweight titlist Steven Fulton, both sides told Fight Freaks Unite.
If the fight is finalized, it would likely take place on the undercard of a PBC on Prime Video pay-per-view this summer headlined by the rematch between WBA lightweight titlist Gervonta Davis and Lamont Roach Jr.
Fulton (23-1, 8 KOs), 30, of Philadelphia, would move up in weight and seek a world title in a third weight class in his first fight since winning the WBC featherweight belt via decision in a rematch with Brandon Figueroa on Feb. 1.
Foster (23-3, 12 KOs), 31, of Orange, Texas, would make the first defense of his second title reign. He lost the 130-pound title by split decision to Robson Conceicao last July but they had an immediate rematch and Foster regained the title, this time winning a split decision in November.
Dubois-Chisora ordered
As expected, the IBF on Wednesday formally ordered heavyweight titlist Daniel Dubois to next face mandatory challenger Derek Chisora.
The IBF notified both camps via email and gave them 30 days — until May 22 — to make a deal or a purse bid will be ordered. However, there almost certainly will be no deal, purse bid or fight, at least not any time soon.
Queensberry’s Frank Warren, who promotes Dubois and Chisora, has no intention of making the fight right now. He working with K2 to finalize a rematch between Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs), 27, of England, and lineal/unified champion Oleksandr Usyk for an undisputed title fight July 19 at Wembley Stadium in London.
Under IBF rules, Dubois is entitled to an exception to the mandatory order if he can line up a unification fight before a purse bid is ordered, and that is likely going to happen with the camps finalizing a deal for Usyk-Dubois II, sources told Fight Freaks Unite.
In August, 2023, Usyk, then the three-belt titleholder, made a mandatory defense against then-WBA “regular” titlist Dubois and dominated before eventually knocking Dubois out with jab in the ninth round. Dubois quit on his knee.
But since then, Dubois has won three in a row by knockout in impressive showings. He took the undefeated records from Jarrell Miller by 10th-round TKO and Filip Hrgovic on cuts in the eighth round to claim the vacant IBF interim belt. Then, after Usyk was forced to vacate the IBF title, Dubois was elevated and in his first defense scored a massive fifth-round KO of Anthony Joshua in a major upset in September at Wembley Stadium.
Usyk (23-0, 14 KOs), 38, of Ukraine, was the 2024 fighter of the year after back-to-back decisions over Tyson Fury, including winning the lineal title and unifying the four major belts in their first bout to become the division’s first undisputed champion in 25 years.
Chisora (36-13, 23 KOs ), 41, the British fan favorite, has had a resurgence of late, winning three fights in a row, all by decision, against former title challenger Gerald Washington, Joe Joyce in an upset and Otto Wallin in February.
BetUS Boxing Show
If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday on YouTube, please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel). We previewed and picked two fights on the DAZN PPV from London: the middleweight grudge match between middleweights Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn and the rubber match between former light heavyweight world title challengers Anthony Yarde and Lyndon Arthur, who are on the undercard. We also took viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:
New role for Alalshikh
Turki Alalshikh has been appointed president of the Saudi Boxing Federation, he announced on social media.
His term runs until 2028, adding another responsibility to a portfolio that includes being the head of Riyadh Season and the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, which funds the country’s numerous investments in sports and entertainment. Privately, he is also the owner of The Ring magazine and putting on boxing cards with its branding.
According to the Saudi Boxing Federation, it is responsible for the sport in the country and was founded in 1980. It’s role is “promoting and introducing the sport, training athletes and referees for international competitions, representing the Kingdom in international championships, organizing local tournaments, and encouraging and empowering youth to engage in boxing.” It is funded by the government and through sponsorships.
Plant-Resendiz undercard
Premier Boxing Champions announced the addition of two more bouts to round out a four-fight stream headlined by Caleb Plant’s WBA interim super middleweight title defense against Armando Resendiz on May 31 (Prime Video, 8 p.m. ET) at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Cuban middleweight Yoenli Feliciano Hernandez (7-0, 7 KOs), who fights out of Providence, Rhode Island, and Kyrone Davis (19-3-1, 6 KOs), 30, of Wilmington, Delaware, will square off in a 10-rounder.
Hernandez looked extremely sharp in his last fight in February in a fifth-round knockout of Angel Ruiz on the David Benavidez-David Morrell undercard and is taking a step up in competition against Davis.
“After this win, I’m ready for everyone at 160 or 168 pounds,” Hernandez said. “I’m here to change the narrative that Cuban fighters can’t be exciting world champions.”
Davis is coming off a big upset decision win over Elijah Garcia last June.
“I’m very confident in getting another win against a strong, good fighter,” Davis said. “I can guarantee action and I really think our fight may steal the show.”
In the junior middleweight opener, junior middleweight Isaac Lucero (16-0, 12 KOs), 26, will face Mexican countryman Omar Valenzuela (23-0, 20 KOs), 28, in either an eight- or 10-rounder.
Former middleweight and junior middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo faces Thomas LaManna in the previously announced 10-round super middleweight co-feature.
Mbilli back in action
Super middleweight contender Christian Mbilli will face Maciej Sulecki for the vacant WBC interim belt on June 27 (ESPN+) at Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada, Top Rank and Eye of the Tiger announced on Wednesday.
Montreal-based Frenchman Mbilli was initially ordered to fight unbeaten contender Diego Pacheco for the interim belt and a purse bid was scheduled. However, two weeks ago, Pacheco pulled out with his promoter, Matchroom Boxing, planning to match him in a softer fight against Trevor McCumby this summer.
“Christian Mbilli is one of the most exciting fighters in boxing today, and this is the moment he’s been waiting for,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, who co-promotes Mbilli with EOTT. “He’s taking on a tough, experienced veteran in Maciej Sulecki, who’s coming off a huge upset. This has all the makings of a firefight in front of one of North America’s best boxing crowds.”
Sulecki, a former middleweight title challenger in a fight he lost to Demetrius Andrade in 2019, suffered his first knockout loss to Pacheco in August. He rebounded for the upset Arum referenced, a 10th-round stoppage of Ali Akhmedov in February.
Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs), a 2016 French Olympian, is coming off a one-sided decision win over former title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko in August at Videotron Centre.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long,” Mbilli said. “I’ve worked so hard to get here, and there’s no way I’m leaving without the belt on June 27. I want to salute my opponent for having the courage to accept this challenge. But once we’re in the ring, he’ll have to face all the intensity and rage I’ve built up against those who refused to fight me.”
Said Sulecki: “Christian Mbilli will not be an easy fight, but I have never felt better since my return with my trainer,” Sulecki said. “I am in a great place with my team, and everyone is doing their part. I will make sure I do mine with a statement.”
In the 10-round co-feature, super middleweight Erik Bazinyan will face two-time world title challenger Steven Butler in an all-Canadian bout. Bazinyan (32-1-1, 23 KOs), 29, is coming off a 10th-round knockout loss to Jaime Munguia in September. Butler, who will be in his second fight since moving up to super middleweight, suffered knockout losses in two middleweight world title bouts to Ryota Murata in the fifth round in 2019 and Janibek Alimkhanuly in the second round in 2023.
Also on the card:
Russian heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov (19-2, 18 KOs), 32, who fights out of Montreal, will face Ricardo Brown (12-0, 11 KOs), 35, of Canada. Makhmudov has been knocked out both times he stepped up in competition, by Agit Kabyael in the fourth round in 2023 and in the eighth round by Guido Vianello in his last fight in August.
Female junior lightweight Leïla Beaudoin (12-1, 1 KO), 29, of Canada, will face former title challenger Elhem Mekhaled (17-3, 3 KOs), 34, of France, who is coming off a majority decision loss to former undisputed junior welterweight champion Chantelle Cameron in July.
Other Eye of the Tiger prospects will also be in action against opponents to be determined: Montreal junior welterweight prospect Jhon Orobio (13-0, 11 KOs), 21; Montreal lightweight Luis Santana (13-0, 6 KOs), 27; and Quebec City light heavyweight Wilkens Mathieu (13-0, 9 KOs), 20.
Quick hits
Weights from London for the Matchroom Boxing/Boxxer card on Saturday (DAZN PPV, 12 p.m. ET, $24.99 in U.S.): Conor Benn 160.05 pounds, Chris Eubank Jr. 156.4 (Eubank 0.05 over, Benn gets $500,000 per contractual weight penalty); Anthony Yarde 174.2, Lyndon Arthur 174.6; Liam Smith 160, Aaron McKenna 159.7; Cheavon Clarke 198.7, Viddal Riley 199.5 (for Clarke’s British cruiserweight title); Chris Billam-Smith 199, Brandon Glanton 199.5.
Super middleweight up-and-comer Darius Fulghum (14-0, 12 KOs), 28, of Houston, and “The Bully” Bektemir Melikuziev (15-1, 10 KOs), 29, a southpaw from Uzbekistan fighting out of Indio, California, will meet in a WBA elimination fight in the main event of a Golden Boy card on May 30 (DAZN) at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, a source with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite. Golden Boy has a request for the date at that site on the agenda of the upcoming Nevada State Athletic Commission meeting.
Most Valuable Promotions and Golden Boy are discussing a fight between MVP lightweight Lucas Bahdi (19-0, 15 KOs), 31, of Canada, and GB’s Floyd Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs), 22, of Austin, Texas, to take place on the undercard of the Jake Paul-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. card on June 28 (DAZN PPV) at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, a source with knowledge of the talks told Fight Freaks Unite. Bahdi is best known for losing every round to Ashton Sylve before rallying to score the extraordinarily violent 2024 knockout of the year when he knocked Sylve unconscious in the sixth round last July. The fight would be Schofield’s first since he was due to challenge WBC titlist Shakur Stevenson on Feb. 22 on the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol II card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but pulled out during fight week due to illness.
The WBC interim cruiserweight title bout approved between Michal Cieslak and Yamil Peralta “ran into complications” as the WBC put it with Peralta apparently unavailable. Therefore, the WBC said it has authorized Cieslak(27-2, 21 KOs), 36, of Poland, who has won six fights in a row since a decision loss challenging then-WBC titlist Lawrence Okolie in 2022, and former light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (37-7-1, 21 KOs), 42, of Canada, who is 2-1 since 2019, to fight for it on a date to be determine in Canada with the winner agreeing to fight Peralta (17-1-1, 9 KOs), 33, of Argentina. Meantime, full titlist Badou Jack will make his first defense against former titlist Noel Mikaelian on the Canelo Alvarez-William Scull undercard on May 3 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Top Rank announced that middleweights Jahi Tucker (14-1-1, 6 KOs), 22, of Deer Park, New York, and Lorenzo Simpson (15-2, 9 KOs), 25, a Baltimore southpaw, will square off in a 10-round grudge match on the Vito Mielnicki Jr.-Kamil Gardzielik undercard on June 21 (ESPN+) at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Tucker and Simpson have been bickering on social media and told conflicting versions of a recent sparring session, so now they get to settle their issues in the ring.
Most Valuable Promotions announced the signing of cruiserweight Keno Marley, 24, a two-time Brazilian Olympian, who will make his pro debut later this year. Marley, who began boxing at age 11, claimed silver medals in the 2019 and 2023 Pan American Games and 2021 World Championships. He represented his country in the delayed 2020 and 2024 Olympics, reaching the quarterfinals each time. “Signing with MVP is an important step in making a dream come true,” Marley said. “Now my focus is fully on making history and proving that Brazil has another boxing champion ready to take over the world.”
Salita Promotions announced it has signed two female world titleholders as it beefs up its female roster to join fighters such as Claressa Shields and Franchon Crews-Dezurn. Joining the company are IBF light heavyweight titlist Lani Daniels (11-2-2, 1 KO), 36, of New Zealand, and WBA light heavyweight titlist Che Kenneally (5-0, 2 KOs), 30, of Australia. “We are deeply committed to advancing equality in boxing by creating real opportunities for women to compete, succeed, and inspire on the world stage,” promoter Dmitriy Salita said. “Signing elite champions like Lani Daniels and Che Kenneally reflects our belief that women’s boxing deserves the same investment, visibility, and respect as the men’s game.”
Show and tell
While the boxing world girds for the massive middleweight grudge match between bitter rivals Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn on Saturday in London, one of the reasons for the tremendous anticipation for the fight is because of the two legendary bouts their fathers fought in 1990 and 1993. They were also fierce rivals and their fights remain revered in British boxing folklore and link their family names forever.
When they met for the first time at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre, Eubank scored an upset by knocking Benn out in the ninth round of a tremendous battle to take his WBO middleweight title. When they met three years later in a much-anticipated rematch it was an even bigger event as they squared off to unify super middleweight titles — Benn held the WBC title and Eubank the WBO belt — at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester, before a crowd of some 47,000.
It was a close fight all the way and in the end it was ruled a split draw. One judge had it 114-114, one scored it 115-113 for Eubank and one had it 114-113 for Benn as they each retained their titles and never faced each other again. Here are programs from both of their fights in my collection.
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Photos: Norman: Mikey Williams/Top Rank; Smith: Dave Thompson/Matchroom Boxing; Fulton: Esther Lin/PBC; Dubois, Yarde-Arthur: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
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Benn eubank1 is one of my favorite fights