Notebook: Rodriguez hungry to win another bantamweight title
Hrgovic risks mandatory position vs. McKean; Canelo-Charlo tour on tap; Hitchins to fight Zepeda on DAZN; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Emmanuel Rodriguez held the IBF bantamweight title for one year, from May 2018 to May 2019 and he has been striving for a second title reign since.
He now has the opportunity to reclaim his old belt and fulfill that goal when he meets Melvin Lopez for the vacant IBF 118-pound title in the main event of a PBC tripleheader on Saturday (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET) at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, which is just outside of Washington, D.C.
Rodriguez (21-2, 13 KOs), 31, of Puerto Rico, won the vacant belt by near-shutout decision against Paul Butler and defended it by split decision against Jason Moloney in the World Boxing Super Series.
In the tournament semifinals, Rodriguez lost the belt when he was blown away by Naoya Inoue in the second round. Inoue, of course, went on to win the tournament and eventually became the undisputed champion. When Inoue vacated all the belts in January to move up to junior featherweight, Rodriguez and Lopez were in position to fight for the vacant title.
Rodriguez put himself in position with an important win in his previous fight, winning clear-cut unanimous 10th-round technical decision against then-unbeaten Gary Antonio Russell in a rematch of their head-butt induced first-round no contest.
Rodriguez is looking forward to having a second chance to win a world title.
“I’m more mature and experienced now than I was when I first won the title,” Rodriguez said. “I guarantee you I’m gonna come out with the win on Saturday, because I’m the toughest opponent he’s ever faced. I’m gonna prove I’m the best fighter in the division. This is gonna send a message to all the other champions that I’m here to stay.
“I’ve had so much love and support from Puerto Rico already. The island is eager to see me fight and I want to give back all that love with a win on Saturday night.”
Rodriguez, who trained in Mexico, said his plan is to start at a measured pace, figure Lopez out and then pick it up once they hit the fourth round.
“Starting in the fourth round, I should be able to figure out what he’s got in store for me,” Rodriguez said. “Then I feel like I can stop him between the fourth and seventh rounds. The fans are gonna see an amazing show and the best version of Emmanuel Rodriguez. I guarantee that.”
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Lopez (29-1, 19 KOs), 25, of Nicaragua, who has won eight fights in a row since a ninth-round knockout loss to Jose Velasquez in 2019, begs to differ.
“He can say whatever he wants, talk is cheap,” Lopez said. “Saturday night is where it’s all shown. He’s gonna have to back it up. I’m not gonna guarantee a knockout. I’m an animal that hunts for his prey. I’m gonna try to get him where I want and whatever happens, happens.
“He says he’s the best in the division, and he’s gonna try to show it. But I’m gonna do the same thing. I’m gonna try to show that I’m the best on Saturday night. I’m gonna give it my all for the world title. We both want it badly.”
Rodriguez said it would mean a lot to him to join Puerto Rico’s roster of current world titleholders, which includes undisputed women’s featherweight champion Amanda Serrano, IBF junior welterweight titlist Subriel Matias, WBO junior flyweight titlist Jonathan Gonzalez and WBO strawweight titleholder Oscar Collazo.
“Becoming the fifth current Puerto Rican world champion would be amazing,” said Rodriguez, who trained with Matias. “Oscar Collazo and I are close too, and we stay in touch. We all root for each other. Matias always tells me to believe in myself and is a real motivator for me. Boricuas are riding the wave of success and we have to enjoy the moment.”
A win could propel Rodriguez into a unification fight with newly crowned WBC titleholder Alexandro Santiago, who outpointed future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire to win the vacant belt on the Errol Spence Jr.-Terence Crawford undercard on July 29.
“Being undisputed is hard and it’s my ultimate goal,” Rodriguez said. “Santiago’s performance surprised me a lot. I didn’t think he would win, but he fought flawlessly and put on a clinic against Donaire. I hope he can be my next opponent to unify titles in another edition of the Puerto Rico versus Mexico rivalry.”
In the other two Showtime bouts, both of which are scheduled for 10 rounds:
Junior welterweight up-and-comer Gary Antuanne Russell (16-0, 16 KOs), 27, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, the younger brother of former featherweight titlist Gary Russell Jr., will face Kent Cruz (16-0-3, 10 KOs), 30, of St. Louis.
Welterweight hot prospect Travon Marshall (8-0, 7 KOs), 22, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, will face Gabriel Maestre (5-0-1, 4 KOs), 36, a two-time Olympian from Venezuela.
Hrgovic title shot on line
Heavyweight contender Filip Hrgovic is one win away from assuring himself of a title shot.
Hrgovic, a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, is already the IBF mandatory challenger courtesy of a close unanimous decision over Zhilei Zhang in a final eliminator last August that was a struggle — and one that some thought Zhang won.
But having been out of action for a year, and with the title shot looming perhaps by the end of this year, Hrgovic will face Demsey McKean in a 12-rounder on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua-Robert Helenius fight on Saturday (DAZN, 2 p.m. ET) at The O2 in London.
A victory will assure Hrgovic the next shot at the winner of the Aug. 26 fight between three-belt titleholder Oleksandr Usyk and WBA “regular” titlist Daniel Dubois, who is the mandatory challenger ahead of Hrgovic in the sanctioning body rotation system used for unified titleholders to determine the order of mandatory fights.
Hrgovic (15-0, 12 KOs), 31, of Croatia, is anxious to shake off the rust, win and look to the title opportunity.
“I haven’t fought for a year, so I am happy to be back in the ring and one fight away from fighting for a world title,” Hrgovic said. “I am very excited, well prepared, and ready to rock and roll.
“I am glad the fight with Zhang happened. I didn’t look very well, but I know that was my worst night but I beat a good fighter. You saw what he did to Joe Joyce (in a stoppage win in April to win the vacant WBO interim title). He showed he’s a top 10 heavyweight and on my worst night I beat him. That’s good that I had that performance and people can underestimate me because I know that I can do much better, and I didn’t take this fight with Demsey lightly and I am ready for anything.”
On Aug. 1, the IBF notified Hrgovic and his team in writing that “should Usyk and Hrgovic win, the IBF will order Usyk and Hrgovic to commence negotiations immediately following their respective bouts.”
Underdog McKean (22-0, 14 KOs), 32, an Australian southpaw based in England, is hoping to ruin Hrgovic’s plans.
“I wake up every morning and tell myself: 36 minutes is all it takes to change my life,” McKean said. “There have been bigger upsets in heavyweight boxing, and I think that this is a very even fight. He waffles on about ‘who has he knocked out that I haven’t knocked out?’ Well, who has he decisively beaten? He only has Zhilei Zhang and that was a controversial decision. He’s a good fighter, I just think I have the tools to beat him and give him a hell of a night.”
Canelo-Charlo tour
Undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo and their teams will hit the road for a two-city media tour to promote their fight on Sept. 30 (Showtime PPV and PPV.com, 8 p.m. ET) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The two events are for media only but the first news conference will take place on Tuesday afternoon at a theater in New York’s Times Square.
Then they will head to Beverly Hills, California, for the second news conference, which is scheduled for late Wednesday morning.
The fight is the first of a three-fight deal Alvarez signed with PBC. Four-division champion Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs), 33, of Mexico, who is boxing’s biggest star, will be making his sixth super middleweight title defense overall and third of the undisputed crown.
If Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs), 33, of Houston, who is moving up two weight classes, wins he would join Terence Crawford as the second male boxer of the four-belt era to be an undisputed champion in two divisions.
Hitchins vs. Zepeda
Junior welterweight contender Richardson Hitchins and former title challenger Jose Zepeda will meet in the 12-round main event of a Matchroom Boxing card on Sept. 23 (DAZN) in Orlando, Florida, a source with knowledge of the deal told Fight Freaks Unite.
Hitchins (16-0, 7 KOs), 25, of Brooklyn, New York, was scheduled to fight Montana Love on July 15 in Detroit on the card topped by welterweight champion Alycia Baumgardner’s rematch with Christina Linardatou, but Love (18-1-1, 9 KOs), 28, a southpaw from Cleveland, pulled out with a rib injury and declined to reschedule the fight.
In his last fight, Hitchins scored two knockdowns and brutally battered then-unbeaten John Bauza en route to a 100-88 shutout decision on all three scorecards on Feb. 4 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Zepeda (36-3, 27 KOs), 34, of La Puente, California, has been a top contender for years and in November lost to Regis Prograis by 11th-round knockout in a fight for the vacant WBC 140-pound world title in Carson, California.
In his only fight since, Zepeda won a shutout 10-round decision over Neeraj Goyat on March 25 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
The Hitchins-Zepeda card is also due to include Jessica McCaskill (12-3, 5 KOs), 38, of Chicago, against Sandy Ryan (6-1, 2 KOs), 29, of England, in a women’s welterweight title unification fight, according to the source.
McCaskill will be returning to welterweight to defend her belts after having dropped down in weight and lost a decision to Chantelle Cameron in an undisputed junior welterweight title fight in November.
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 picked the three most notable Saturday main events: Emanuel Navarrete’s WBO junior lightweight title defense against Oscar Valdez; heavyweight Anthony Joshua versus Robert Helenius; and Emmanuel Rodriguez taking on Melvin Lopez for the vacant IBF bantamweight title. We also took plenty of viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:
Quick hits
Weights from Glendale, Arizona, for Saturday’s Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card: Emanuel Navarrete 130 pounds, Oscar Valdez 129.8 (for Navarrete's WBO junior lightweight title); Lindolfo Delgado 140.7, Jair Valtierra 139.4; Richard Torrez Jr. 235.4, Willie Jake Jr. 249.6; Emiliano Vargas 134.8, Jorge Luis Marquez Alvarado 133.7; Antonio Mireles 270.7, Dajuan Calloway 391.7; Eduardo Ayala 160, Sergio Rodriguez 161; Ricardo Ruvalcaba 141.6, Adrian Orban 141.5.
Weights from London for Saturday’s Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN: Anthony Joshua 250 pounds, Robert Helenius 249.4; Derek Chisora 251.1, Gerald Washington 237.9; Filip Hrgovic 243.1, Demsey McKean 245.5; Johnny Fisher 242.8, Harry Armstrong 250.8; Campbell Hatton 141.8, Tom Answell 141.9; George Liddard 162.3, Bas Oosterweghel, 164.7; Maisey Rose Courtney 114.4, Gemma Ruegg 113.8; Brandon Scott 131.9, Louis Norman 133.9.
Weights from Oxon Hill, Maryland, for Saturday’s PBC card on Showtime: Emmanuel Rodriguez 118 pounds, Melvin Lopez 117 (for vacant IBF bantamweight title); Gary Antuanne Russell 138.4, Kent Cruz 142 (Cruz was two pounds overweight, but fight goes on); Travon Marshall 146.8, Gabriel Maestre 146.6; Michael Angeletti 117.8, Jonathan Lopez 118; Jose Benavidez Jr. 158.6, Sladan Janjanin 160.6; Damien Vazquez 120, Jeronil Borres 12.6; Daniel Blancas 166.6, Devaun Lee 166; David Whitmire 149.4, Jordy Tientcheu 145.6; Marcus Browne 198.6, Adrian Taylor 204; Jesse Hart 172.2, Elio Heraldo Trosch 174.6.
With IBF cruiserweight mandatory challenger Richard Riakporhe (16-0, 12 KOs) pulling out of a purse bid for a title shot against champion Jai Opetaia (22-0, 17 KOs), 27, of Australia, hours before the auction on Tuesday, the IBF on Thursday notified Opetaia and former champion Mairis Briedis, who took over the mandatory position, that it has scheduled a purse bid for 12 p.m. ET on Aug. 22. Opetaia’s team had no interest in negotiating with Breidis (28-2, 20 KOs), 38, of Latvia, and requested an immediate purse bid, which is allowed under IBF rules. Neither man has boxed since Opetaia fought through a broken jaw in a grueling fight to win a unanimous decision and the title from Breidis last July in Australia. Breidis is the third mandatory challenger in short order following purse bid pullouts by Riakporhe and Mateusz Masternak before him.
The IBF on Thursday notified the teams of Denis Radovan (17-0-1, 8 KOs), 30, of Germany, and Andrei Mikhailovich (20-0, 12 KOs), 25, a Russia native fighting out of New Zealand, that it has scheduled a purse bid for a middleweight title eliminator because they did not make a deal by the deadline. The purse bid is scheduled for Aug. 22 at 12 p.m. ET, although the sides can make a deal until 15 minutes before bids are unsealed. If the fight happens, the winner would become the mandatory challenger for Vincenzo Gualtieri (21-0-1, 7 KOs), who won the vacant title by decision over Esquiva Falcao on July 1 in his home country of Germany.
Femke Hermans (16-4, 7 KOs), 33, of Belgium, and Mary Spencer (7-1, 5 KOs), 38, of Canada, will meet for the vacant IBF women’s junior middleweight title on Oct. 11 (ESPN+) at Casino de Montreal in Spencer’s hometown of Montreal, Eye of the Tiger announced on Friday. The bout will be an immediate rematch of Hermans’ unanimous decision over Spencer in December. “I’m very excited to have this opportunity to fight for the IBF world title, and I must say that facing Femke Hermans again brings me even more motivation,” Spencer said.
Show and tell
The late Hall of Famer Pernell Whitaker, one of the greatest fighters of all time and a four-division world champion, was never known for his punching power. It was his legendary defense, speed and skills that propelled him to No. 1 pound-for-pound for many years. So, when he put his WBC/IBF lightweight belts on the line against WBA titlist Juan Nazario in their meeting for the undisputed championship, the smart bet was Whitaker by decision. But a funny thing happened on the way to that expected result. Whitaker stunningly knocked out Nazario with a left hand to the chin in the first round to become undisputed champ. The loaded HBO card also included junior welterweight Hector Camacho scoring a one-sided 12-round decision over Tony Baltazar and Meldrick Taylor, five months after his shocking stoppage loss to Julio Cesar Chavez with two seconds left in their epic junior welterweight unification fight, returning for a 10-round decision win over Primo Ramos. The tripleheader took place on Aug. 11, 1990 — 33 years ago on Friday. Here is a gorgeous and very scarce thin cardboard site poster in my collection.
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Photos: Rodriguez-Lopez: Amanda Westcott/Showtime; Hrgovic and Joshua-Helenius: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing; Barrera, Navarrete, Valdez, Morales: Mikey Williams/Top Rank; Hitchins: Melina Pizano/Matchroom Boxing
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McKean will take it up to hrgovic