Notebook: Nostalgia rules as Chisora set for 'Last Dance' vs. Wallin
3 fights revealed for Queensberry's DAZN schedule; Benavidez-Morrell PPV buys; Muratalla-Abdullaev deal details; Davis-Roach free prelims set; Duarte-Madueno official; Quick hits; Show and tell double
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As British fan-favorite heavyweight Derek Chisora heads into his fight with Otto Wallin in the main event of the Queensberry Promotions card on Saturday (DAZN in U.S.,12:30 p.m. ET; TNT Sports in U.K.) at Co-op Live in Manchester, England, there has been much reflection about Chisora’s colorful career.
He has faced a who’s who through his 18-year career: Tyson Fury three times, including in a world title fight, Vitali Klitschko in a world title fight, Oleksandr Usyk, Dillian Whyte (twice), Joseph Parker (twice), Kubrat Pulev (twice) Agit Kabayel and David Haye, among others.
Now he is winding down and the fight with Wallin, an IBF title eliminator for the No. 2 position (a sanction granted about week ago), is dubbed “The Last Dance” because Chisora claims it will be his final fight in England.
Chisora says he wants to get to 50 fights and have at last one in Africa; he was born in Zimbabwe.
“It was 18 years ago this month that he made his debut with me and we’ve had an off and on relationship over that period of time,” Queensberry’s Frank Warren reflected at Thursday’s news conference. “We’ve had some good times together and some good fights, which is what you get from him. This, for me, is quite poignant that we are here now for his 49th fight — and last in the U.K. — that it is with Queensberry and myself. I am really looking forward to it, looking forward to seeing Derek in action. He is in with a really tough competitor in Otto, who has only got two losses against former world champions in Tyson and AJ (Anthony Joshua) and he won his last fight with a KO in the first round.
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“This is a really good fight card, no doubt about it, and with Derek it is going to be something special. We have sold more tickets for this than some real big, iconic fights involving heavyweight in the U.K. That is the appeal of Derek, that is what he’s done over the years. He’s built his following up and the fans come out to see him. They are coming out for ‘The Last Dance’ and this is a big moment in time. He needs to win this fight; he’ll want to win it, no doubt about that. Then it will take him to his 50th fight and I’ll make sure that is his last one. Is that a deal? That is where we want to get to.”
Chisora also was in nostalgic mood.
“I appreciate you guys, even if you write shit about me,” he told the reporters on hand. “I still love you. Those who do write shit, I know where you guys live anyway. This is a big fight for me and the ‘Viking,’ (Wallin) although he is not a Viking anymore and he lives in New York.
“I love Manchester and I am buzzing for this fight. It is going to be one exciting fight, I’ll tell you that now. Do not sit down because we are going to drown this guy. I know for a fact he hasn’t trained the way I would expect him to train for me. I just want to fight. Before I came to Manchester my wife said to me, ‘Just go and enjoy yourself, don’t worry about anything and enjoy everything about it.’
“I’ve been training to enjoy it but, at the same time, it is very emotional because I love this game so much. I love the ups and downs of it. It is difficult to leave boxing if you are not told to leave it. I was told to leave it at 50 fights, so I have to get to 50 fights. If it was up to me, I would go to 100. I’m joking. Me and Frank have had our ups and downs, so thank you very much Frank for having me back on. Come Saturday night, my friend over there ain’t gonna know what’s hit him.”
Since then-heavyweight champion Fury knocked out his pal Chisora (35-13, 23 KOs), 41, in their third bout in December 2022, he has won two 10-round decisions in a row against Gerald Washington in August 2023 and Joe Joyce in a big upset in July in a fight of the year contender. Wallin (27-2, 15 KOs), 34, a southpaw from Sweden based in New York, got pummeled and stopped by Joshua in the fifth round in December 2023 and has won his only fight since via first-round KO against a low-level opponent.
Queensberry schedule
Frank Warren of Queensberry Promotions has a news conference scheduled for Monday at Co-op Live in Manchester, England, where he will announce some of the early fights that will be part of the company’s new exclusive deal with DAZN.
Queensberry’s deal with TNT Sports in the United Kingdom is about to expire and beginning April 1 all of its events will be stream on DAZN worldwide under a deal the companies made in November.
The first card, which will take place in April, will be headlined by an all-British heavyweight bout between veteran contenders Joe Joyce (16-3, 15 KOs), 39, and Dillian Whyte (31-3, 21 KOs), 36, sources told Fight Freaks Unite.
The co-feature planned for that show will be another all-British heavyweight fight between former bridgerweight and cruiserweight titlist Lawrence Okolie (21-1, 16 KOs), in his third heavyweight fight, taking on Richard Riakporhe (17-1, 13 KOs), 35, who is moving up to heavyweight following a decision loss to then-WBO cruiserweight titlist Chris Billam-Smith in their June rematch.
In May, the sources said, Anthony Cacace, who last week vacated the IBF junior lightweight rather than face mandatory challenger Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez, will instead defend his lesser IBO belt against two-time WBA featherweight titlist Leigh Wood (28-3, 17 KOs), 36, of England, who is moving up in weight and ending a 19-month layoff, in a much bigger fight commercially than had Cacace (23-1, 8 KOs), 35, a southpaw from Northern Ireland, faced Nunez.
Benavidez-Morrell PPV numbers
The David Benavidez-David Morrell fight, which headlined a PBC on Prime Video pay-per-view card on Feb. 1 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, generated between 150,000 and 160,000 buys across all United States platforms, sources with knowledge of the numbers told Fight Freaks Unite.
The pay-per-view was available on Prime Vide, PBC’s media partner, as well as traditional lineal television and PPV.COM at a suggested retail price of $79.99. At 150,000 buys it grossed nearly $12 million in domestic PPV revenue.
In an action-packed fight, Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) won a unanimous decision, hammering Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs) with big, clean shots throughout their showdown to win 118-108, 115-111 and 115-111. He retained the WBC interim light heavyweight title and won the WBA “regular” belt. He is the mandatory challenger in both organizations for the winner of the Feb. 22 rematch between undisputed champion Artur Beterbiev and former titleholder Dmitry Bivol.
It was Benavidez’s fourth consecutive PPV fight and third as the main event. His decision over Caleb Plant in an interim super middleweight title defense in March 2023 generated about 175,000 buys and his defense against Demetrius Andrade in November 2023 was a bit less than the Plant fight, sources said.
Benavidez’s other PPV bout was in his move up to light heavyweight in June, when he outpointed for champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk but that fight the co-feature of the Gervonta Davis-Frank Martin-headlined PPV.
Muratalla-Abdullaev update
Top Rank and RCC Boxing Promotions have made a deal for Top Rank to promote the vacant IBF interim lightweight title bout between Raymond Muratalla and RCC fighter Zaur Abdullaev, but the bout will not take place as planned on April 5 in Las Vegas, Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti told Fight Freaks Unite.
Top Rank requested an immediate purse bid and one was scheduled for this past Tuesday, but the sides were able to make a deal for the interim title made available while titleholder Vasiliy Lomachenko, who will be sidelined for several months, recovers from a back injury.
Although Top Rank planned for the fight to headline its ESPN card on April 5, as it turns out Abdullaev will not be available because of his observance of Ramadan, which begins Feb.28 and goes through March 29. Once it is over, Abdullaev will return to training and will need time to get ready for the fight. Moretti said while the deal is set, they need to lock in a site and a date. He said the bout probably would take place sometime in May or June.
Moretti said Top Rank is looking at options for a new April 5 headliner. The co-feature being planned is a junior welterweight bout between Lindolfo Delgado (22-0, 16 KOs), 30, of Mexico, and Elvis Rodriguez (17-1-1, 13 KOs), 29, a southpaw from the Dominican Republic.
Abdullaev (20-1, 12 KOs), 30, of Russia, has won nine fights in a row since his only loss, a fourth-round knockout to Devin Haney in a WBC interim title bout in 2019. Muratalla (22-0, 17 KOs), 27, of Fontana, California, fought three times in 2024, including his biggest win, a 10-round decision over former junior lightweight titlist Tevin Farmer in July. Three-division champion Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs), 36, of Ukraine, would be obligated to face the winner in a mandatory fight upon his return.
Tank-Roach Prime prelims
Former unified junior middleweight champion Jarrett Hurd will feature in the main fight of the two-bout Prime Video free preliminaries (6 p.m. ET) on the undercard of the Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach Jr. PBC on Prime Video pay-per-view March 1 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Hurd will face Johan Gonzalez in a 10-round middleweight fight and junior lightweight prospect Jonathan Lopez will fight Alex Dilmaghani in the 10-round opener before the PPV begins at 8 p.m. ET.
Hurd (25-3-1, 17 KOs), 34, of Accokeek, Maryland, is 1-2-1 in his last four and coming off a 10-round draw with former unified junior middleweight titlist Jeison Rosario in August.
“I’ve been working hard as ever to end my career the right way, back on top where I belong,” Hurd said. “Everyone knows what I bring to the ring. I’m going in there to make a statement.”
Gonzalez (35-4, 34 KOs), 33, of Venezuela, is 1-2 in his last three, suffering KO losses on PBC cards, in the ninth round to Jesus Ramos Jr. in May 2024 and in the seventh round to Yoenis Tellez in October. In between, Gonzalez knocked out a 3-9 opponent.
Lopez (17-0, 12 KOs), 21, a southpaw from Orlando, Florida, easily won his three bouts in 2024 with two knockouts and a wide decision.
“I’m super excited to be back in the ring,” Lopez said. “This is a perfect opportunity for me to showcase my talent and skills on a fight of this magnitude. I have to show everyone that my time is now.”
Dilmaghani (20-3-1, 7 KOs), 34, a southpaw from England, is coming off a seventh-round knockout loss to Rene Tellez Giron at lightweight in June.
Duarte-Madueno official
Golden Boy made it official on Thursday that junior welterweight contender Oscar Duarte will face short-notice replacement opponent Miguel Madueno in a 12-rounder in the main event of its DAZN card on Feb. 15 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Madueno (31-3, 28 KOs), 26, of Mexico, stepped in to face Duarte (28-2-1, 22 KOs), 28, of Mexico, in place of injured two-time titleholder Regis Prograis, who suffered a pinched nerve in his neck from sparring, leaving him unable to fight.
“It’s a shame that Regis Prograis was injured. As I said before, I was very happy to face a fighter of that level, a former world champion, and I hope he recovers soon,” Duarte said. “Despite the change of opponent, I do not lose motivation. I remain focused and prepare at 100 percent. I set a goal for myself, and I am not going to stop until I achieve it — to be world champion. I see that Miguel Madueno is a good fighter and very dangerous.”
Said Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya: “We applaud Miguel Madueno for accepting this challenge against Oscar Duarte. This main event will be even more explosive with two knockout artists, and I fully expect both to give the fight of their lives.”
Madueno, who has never been knocked out, is coming off a near-shutout 10-round decision loss to rising lightweight contender Keyshawn Davis in July. He accepted the fight right away when it was offered.
“You never know when that call will come, that’s why I stay ready,” Madueno said. “This isn’t an easy fight, but that’s exactly why I do this. Boxing isn’t just what I do; it’s who I am. I live it, breathe it, and right now, I’m hungry to get back in the win column. Oscar Duarte is a tough challenge, and I respect him for taking me on as a late replacement. But I’m not going to Anaheim to test my luck. I’m going to win. I’m going to fight, throw everything I’ve got, and prove that nothing great happens without taking your best shot.”
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 two fights that will take place on Saturday on the Queensberry Promotions show in Manchester, England: the heavyweight main event between veterans Derek Chisora and Otto Wallin and British and Commonwealth junior welterweight champion Jack Rafferty’s defense against Reece MacMillan on the undercard. We also took viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:
Quick hits
Weights from Manchester, England, for Saturday’s Queensberry card (DAZN, 12:30 p.m. ET in the U.S.): Derek Chisora 259.7 pounds, Otto Wallin 239.1 (IBF heavyweight eliminator for No. 2); Nathan Heaney 159.1, Sofiane Khati 159.1; Jack Rafferty 139.6, Reece MacMillan 139.1 (for Rafferty’s British and Commonwealth junior welterweight titles); Zach Parker 173.5, Mickael Diallo 174.1; Masood Abdulah 125.2, Zak Miller 125.1 (for Abdulah’s Commonwealth and vacant British featherweight title); Lewis Williams 230.1, Cristian Uwaka 219.5; Walter Fury 159.5, Joe Hardy 161.1; Joe Cooper 159.2, Artjom Spatar 158.2; Jermaine Dhliwayo 129.1, Mark Butler 130.1.
WBC strawweight titlist Melvin Jerusalem will meet Yudai Shigeoka, from whom he took the title by split decision in March, in a rematch on March 30 at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Japan, Kameda Promotions announced. Jerusalem (23-3, 12 KOs), 30, of the Philippines, made his first defense of his second title reign via unanimous decision over Luis Castillo in September. The rematch with Japanese southpaw Shigeoka (9-1, 5 KOs), 27, will be his second defense and take one day shy of one year since the first encounter in which Jerusalem scored knockdowns in the third and sixth rounds. Since losing the 105-pound belt Shigeoka has fought once, winning a 10-rounder against Samuel Salva in August.
Russia’s RCC Boxing announced that Khariton Agrb (15-0, 9 KOs), 29, a Russian southpaw, will face Kevin Hyler Brown (6-0, 3 KOs), 30, a Las Vegas-based Cuba native, in a WBA final eliminator on March 15 at the RMK Martial Arts Academy in Ekaterinburg, Russia. The winner will become the mandatory challenger for titleholder Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela (14-2, 9 KOs), 25, a Mexico native fighting out of Renton, Washington. Valenzuela is scheduled to defend the belt for the first time on March 1 when he faces Gary Antuanne Russell on the Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach Jr. pay-per-view undercard at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Former WBO light heavyweight titlist Joe Smith Jr. (28-5, 22 KOs), 35, has the flu, causing his 10-round cruiserweight fight against Devonte Williams (13-1, 6 KOs), 31, of Houston, to be postponed from Feb. 13 to March 22, Star Boxing’s Joe DeGuardia announced. The full card, which will be the 50th edition of Star Boxing’s “Rockin’ Fights” series at The Paramount in Huntington, New York, is moving to the new date. Smith, from New York’s Long Island, will be fighting in front of a home crowd in his first action since October 2023. He has dropped two in a row, by KO to Artur Beterbiev in a light heavyweight unification fight followed by a decision to Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in a move up to cruiserweight.
Show and tell
England’s “Prince” Naseem Hamed was one of the biggest punchers the featherweight division has ever seen and also one of boxing most exciting showmen ever. Early in my career I was fortunate to cover three of his fights at ringside (Wayne McCullough, Augie Sanchez and Marco Antonio Barrera). Naz made 15 successful title defenses during his 1995 to 2001 title reign and was eventually inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. One of his most notable victories was when he unified titles against well-respected American Tom “Boom Boom” Johnson. Naz was making his fifth WBO defense and Johnson was making his 12th defense of the IBF title in what was the first unification fight with a WBO belt at stake. Hamed would dominate Johnson and knock him out in the eighth round. The fight took place on Feb. 8, 1997 — 28 years ago on Saturday. Here is a mint site poster, which years ago I had shrink wrapped, in my collection.
More show and tell
My father was terminally ill with cancer for the past few months. I was in Las Vegas last week covering the David Benavidez-David Morrell light heavyweight fight and I woke up on Saturday morning at the MGM Grand to the news that he had died. He was 81. It was not unexpected and I still covered the fight, though that was not easy. My father was never a big sports fan. But he did enjoy grand slam tennis matches — I recall him being really into watching 1980s greats John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg — and he was also a mild boxing fan. He liked Sugar Ray Leonard and made it a point to watch his fights. For example, when I was 18 I recall visiting him one weekend when HBO was showing the replay of the Leonard-Donny Lalonde fight and it was something he was very much interested in watching, which we did. He also liked Mike Tyson and made it a point to watch his HBO fights. In 2003, when I was in Las Vegas to cover the Roy Jones-John Ruiz heavyweight title bout, he happened to also be there that week on business and wound up going to the fight with a friend of mine.
When I won the Boxing Writers Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism, he was among several family members who came to the annual awards dinner in 2014 in Las Vegas to see me be honored. Tyson, who I have known now for about 25 years, was in attendance at the dinner and my father was excited when I was able to introduce them to each other and get a photo of them together. RIP, Dad.
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Photos: Chisora-Wallin and Chisora: Leigh Dawney/Queensberry Promotions; Benavidez-Morrell: Esther Lin/PBC; Muratalla: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
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Dan, losing your father is a tough thing to weather at any age. I’m sorry you and your family are mourning his loss. How proud he must have been of you.
Sorry for your loss, Dan. Your pop raised a helluva a Fight Freak! Your legacy of reporting intelligently and diligently with fairness and integrity is a great reflection of your dad.