Notebook: Still unlicensed in U.K., Benn set to headline in Las Vegas
Amanda Serrano to defend in Puerto Rico homecoming with Jake Paul in co-feature; Jermell Charlo arrested; Quick hits; Show and tell
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Welterweight Conor Benn will be back in the ring on Feb. 3, just not against British countryman Chris Eubank Jr. for the long-awaited and heavily anticipated showdown that was in the works.
The rescheduling of that fight ultimately fell apart due to a disagreement over money between Eubank and his promoter, Wasserman Boxing, not to mention Benn remains unlicensed to fight in the United Kingdom, which was the ideal location for the fight, due to an ongoing case over his failed drug tests that caused the fight be called off in the first place.
Instead, Benn will fight in the United States for the second fight in a row when he meets Peter Dobson in a scheduled 12-rounder in the main event of a Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
While the start time was not specified, Matchroom Boxing’s announcement said card will take place in the “early afternoon in Las Vegas for prime time viewing in the U.K.”
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“Headlining in Vegas is a dream come true, not just for me, but for any fighter who grew up watching the sport of boxing,” Benn said. “Vegas has been the stage for many legends before me, and I can’t wait to step into that arena on Feb. 3rd against the undefeated welterweight Peter Dobson, who stepped up to accept the challenge when many wouldn’t.
“I was disappointed when my previous fight (planned against Eubank) fell through, but in this sport, when one door shuts, another one opens. This setback has brought me back to where I need to be, and I’m here to put the entire 147 division on notice.”
Benn fought for the first time in 17 months on the Richardson Hitchins-Jose Zepeda undercard on Sept. 23 in Orlando, Florida, and won a unanimous decision over Rodolfo Orozco in a junior middleweight bout announced the week of the fight.
Benn (22-0, 14 KOs), 27, was permitted to fight only after the Association of Boxing Commissions controversially removed him from the United States’ national suspension list and the Florida Athletic Commission agreed to license him despite Benn being barred from boxing in United Kingdom.
The reason is due to a heavily publicized doping scandal in which Benn failed two Voluntary Anti-Doping Association tests for the banned PED Clomiphene with the second result coming to light a few days before he was set for a major pay-per-view bout against Eubank on Oct. 8 2022.
The show was canceled and Benn has been in a battle with the British Boxing Board of Control and United Kingdom Anti-Doping since. His provisional U.K. suspension was lifted by the country’s National Anti-Doping Panel because of a technicality but the BBBofC and UKAD are have appealed the decision and a hearing is slated for early 2024.
Dobson (16-0, 9 KOs), 33, of Bronx, New York, has fought extremely low-level opposition throughout his pro career, which began in 2014. He has had just one scheduled 10-rounder and never had a scheduled 12 until the fight with Benn.
He had fights scheduled on Matchroom Boxing cards against Caoimhin Agyarko and Pat McCormack, but they fell through.
“I want to thank Matchroom for keeping their word and circling back to me after a few fights fell through previously,” Dobson said. “Let’s hope Conor Benn stays healthy and comes ready, but the fact is, I’ve said yes to everyone Matchroom has given me — Agyarko, McCormack and now Benn. Conor is coming to the U.S. and going to get his ass whooped. He’s not his daddy (British legend Nigel Benn).”
Also on the card:
Middleweight up-and-comer Austin “Ammo” Williams (15-0, 10 KOs), 27, a southpaw from Houston, will face Irishman Connor Coyle (20-0, 9 KOs) in the co-feature.
Popular British heavyweight Johnny Fisher (10-0, 9 KOs), 24, who was named the 2023 ‘Best Young Boxer of the Year’ by the U.K.’s Boxing Writers’ Club, will make his American debut against an opponent to be named.
In our latest podcast episode we preview the “Day of Reckoning” PPV, discuss the Anthony Joshua-Deontay Wilder deal that is pending if they both win Saturday, go over news of the week and much more. Give it a listen, a review, and also subscribe for an alert when the next episode drops. New show every Thursday and Sunday night.
Serrano, Paul card
Unified women’s featherweight champion Amanda Serrano will make a Puerto Rican homecoming defense in the main event of a March 2 card (DAZN) at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan with her more famous promoter, cruiserweight Jake Paul, stepping back from the spotlight to the co-feature, Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions announced.
Serrano (46-2-1, 30 KOs), 35, who fights out of Brooklyn, New York, but is from Carolina, Puerto Rico, will face IBF mandatory challenger and fellow southpaw Nina Meinke (18-3, 4 KOs), 30, of Germany, in a 12-round fight with three-minute, rounds, following through on her vow to compete under the same rules as men’s title fights instead of the 10 two-minute rounds that are standard for women.
In fact, Serrano recently vacated the WBC title and ended her status as the undisputed champion because the WBC has declined to sanction female bouts under those rules.
The fight will be Serrano’s first in Puerto Rico since 2021 and only her second since 2017.
“It is absolutely a dream come true to fight and headline at home at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico, Serrano said. “A special thank you to Jake Paul, who gave me an opportunity to fight as his co-main many times and allowed me to show my skills to the world. I am honored to have Jake as my co-main for the first time.”
Said Meinke: “My team and I have wanted this fight for a long time. Finally we got it and I am happy, well trained and motivated to be the first female boxer from Germany to go the 12-round distance. Amanda Serrano is an outstanding person, who has already made such a big change to women’s boxing and the fight for equal rights, so I am more than proud to be a part of that movement.”
Cleveland native and Puerto Rico resident Paul (8-1, 5 KOs), 26, the YouTuber and content creator turned boxer, will face an opponent to be named in an eight-rounder but it will be his second full-time boxer in a row after mostly facing name MMA fighters crossing over to boxing. Paul is coming off a crushing first-round knockout of Andre August on Dec. 15 in Orlando, Florida.
“Fighting for the first time at home in Puerto Rico alongside one of the greatest fighters ever, Amanda Serrano, promises to be the event of a lifetime,” Paul said. “I’m honored to be the co-main event on Amanda’s homecoming card, and I could not be more excited to bring this historic event to Puerto Rico as I continue my path to becoming a world champion.”
The card will include MVP’s newly signed featherweight Javon Walton, 17, of Atlanta, who is also an actor and model, making his pro debut, as well as a pair of Serrano-managed Puerto Rican fighters: WBO junior flyweight titleholder Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzalez (27-3-1, 14 KOs), 32, who will make his third defense, and junior bantamweight Krystal Rosado (2-0, 1 KO), 21. Their opponents are to be named.
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 four of the bouts from Saturday’s mega “Day of Reckoning” pay-per-view card — Anthony Joshua-Otto Wallin, Deontay Wilder-Joseph Parker, Daniel Dubois-Jarrell Miller and Dmitry Bivol-Lyndon Arthur — and Tuesday’s junior featherweight unification fight for the undisputed title between Naoya Inoue and Marlon Tapales. We also took viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:
Jermell Charlo arrested
Unified junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo was arrested last Saturday and charged with misdemeanor assault causing bodily injury to a family member, according to the Fort Bend (Texas) County Sheriff's Office. Charlo, 33, of Houston, made bail and was released on Monday.
The public records do not name the alleged victim but Chyane Westbrook, Charlo’s wife, has filed for divorce and also for a temporary restraining order against him, according to court records.
Charlo was also heard in a viral audio clip making the rounds this week in which he spoke about the incident, but did not mention the woman’s name.
“I hit that bitch like this in the eye. Socked her in the eye,” Charlo can be heard saying. “Big swole purple thing came open. That bitch called the cops on me. Like a woman. Like a regular woman.”
In May 2018, Charlo was arrested and charged with one felony count of domestic violence in Dallas, where he was training for a June 2018 title defense against Austin Trout, for allegedly trying to choke his then-girlfriend, Jazmyne Olison. He was eventually acquitted in 2019.
After 16 months out of the ring, Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs) moved up two weight classes to super middleweight for a shot at undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 30 in Las Vegas. Alvarez knocked him down in the seventh round and easily outpointed the extremely passive Charlo, 119-108, 119-108 and 118-110.
Quick hits
Weights from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for Saturday’s “Day of Reckoning” mega DAZN PPV card: Anthony Joshua 251 pounds, Otto Wallin 238.2; Deontay Wilder 213, Joseph Parker 245.3; Daniel Dubois 239, Jarrell Miller 333; Dmitry Bivol 174.6, Lyndon Arthur 174.2 (for Bivol’s WBA light heavyweight title); Arslanbek Makhmudov 262, Agit Kabayel 241.3; Jai Opetaia 198.4, Ellis Zorro 197.4 (for Opetaia’s lineal cruiserweight title); Filip Hrgovic 246, Mark De Mori 242.6; Frank Sanchez 238, Junior Fa 278.9.
After the camps did not make a deal by the deadline, the IBF scheduled a purse bid for a junior welterweight title eliminator between Richardson Hitchins (17-0, 7 KOs), 26, of New York, and British southpaw Jack Catterall (28-1, 13 KOs), 31, a former world title challenger, for the right to become the mandatory challenger for Subriel Matias. The auction to determine promotional rights is scheduled for Jan. 2 at the IBF offices in Springfield, New Jersey, and via video conference. A deal could be made until 15 minutes before bids are unsealed at 12 p.m. ET. What makes his unusual is that Matchroom Boxing promotes both fighters but has been unable to reach a deal.
Junior welterweight contender Arnold Barboza Jr., who recently signed with Golden Boy Promotions, now has an opponent for his first fight of the deal in Xolisani Ndongeni for a 10-rounder on the undercard of Vergil Ortiz Jr.’s return at junior middleweight against Fredrick Lawson on Jan. 6 (DAZN) at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. Barboza (28-0, 10 KOs), 31, of Los Angeles, has not fought since a close decision over Jose Pedraza in February in what tuned out to be his final fight with Top Rank, which had the right to match Golden Boy’s offer but declined to do so. Ndongeni (31-3, 18 KOs), 33, of South Africa, had his most notable fight in a 10-round decision loss to Devin Haney in 2019 and is coming off a 10-round decision loss to unbeaten Ernesto Mercado in July.
Also on the Ortiz-Lawson card, three-time middleweight title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko (14-5, 10 KOs), 38, a Ukrainian fighting out of Brooklyn, New York, has a new opponent in Rowdy Montgomery (10-5-1, 7 KOs), 37, of Victorville, California, for their 10-round super middleweight bout. Derevyanchenko was due to face D’Mitrius Ballard (21-2-1, 13 KOs), 30, of Temple Hills, Maryland, but he was forced out due to an elbow injury, according to Golden Boy. Derevyanchenko is looking to rebound from when he moved up to super middleweight and lost a wildly violent fight of the year contender by close decision to Jaime Munguia on June 10.
Belfast welterweight Lewis Crocker (18-0, 10 KOs), 26, will fight Jose Felix (40-6-1, 31 KOs), 31, of Mexico, in the main event as Matchroom Boxing returns to Belfast, Northern Ireland for a card on Jan. 27 (DAZN) at Newforge Sports Complex, it was announced Friday. Both are coming off their biggest wins. Crocker outpointed Tyrone McKenna on Dec. 2 in Belfast and Felix, who will move up in weight, scored a major upset when he knocked out then-unbeaten hot prospect Gary Cully in the third round of a lightweight fight in May in Dublin, Ireland. In the co-feature, cruiserweight Cheavon Clarke (7-0, 5 KOs), 33, of England, will fight former European champion Tommy McCarthy (20-5, 10 KOs), 33, of Belfast.
Show and tell
There has been much discussion about the legitimately stacked “Day of Reckoning” pay-per-view card on Saturday with Anthony Joshua-Otto Wallin and Deontay Wilder-Joseph Parker in the heavyweight co-features. There are also four other notable heavyweight bouts, a WBA light heavyweight title defense by Dmitry Bivol and a lineal cruiserweight title defense by Jai Opetaia. It is an excellent card on paper and well worth the $39.99 price, especially when compared to typical PPV cards that these days run between $70 and $85. As strong as the show is, I always hold with reverence Don King’s famed “Revenge: The Rematches” card, which was shown on SET (the original name for Showtime PPV), as the mother of all loaded pay-per-views.
The May 7, 1994 event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas was absolutely tremendous from top to bottom and featured four highly significant world title rematches. In the main event, the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez controversially avenged his first defeat after beginning his career 89-0-1 with an eighth-round technical decision over Frankie Randall to reclaim the WBC junior welterweight title. Also on the card: Gerald McClellan knocked out Hall of Famer Julian Jackson in the first round to win the WBC middleweight title after having knocked him out in the fifth round of their first fight; HOFer Terry Norris outpointed Simon Brown to avenge a fourth-round knockout loss and regain the WBC junior middleweight title; and James Leija dropped and outpointed HOFer Azumah Nelson to win the WBC junior lightweight title after they had previously fought to a draw. The card also featured another HOFer, Ricardo Lopez, outpointing Kermin Guardia to retain the WBC strawweight title. Here are two posters from the event — the pay-per-view and closed circuit versions, — in my collection.
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Jermell Charlo photo: Ryan Hafey/PBC
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Man…& i thought that Jermall was the Charlo with issues.
For all the hate people gave towards the last MVP card I hope they show up and do the same for this trash Benn/DAZN card.