Notebook: Super middleweights Benavidez, Andrade in talks

WBC schedules Foster-Hernandez purse bid; YouTube channel appearances; Wallin-Gassiev in works; Quick hits; Show and tell

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David Benavidez and Demetrius Andrade, two of the best super middleweights in the world, are in discussions to fight in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions Showtime PPV card penciled in for November, multiple sources with knowledge of the discussions told Fight Freaks Unite.

Both fighters want a shot at undisputed 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez and have called him out, but with Alvarez committed to a defense against undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo on Sept. 30 (Showtime PPV), neither Benavidez nor Andrade is on his dance card this year.

However, Alvarez signed a three-fight deal with PBC recently and the Charlo fight is the first bout of the agreement, meaning the winner of the potential Benavidez-Andrade bout could get a crack at Alvarez next year.

Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs), 26, of Phoenix, the WBC interim titleholder and one of Alvarez’s looming mandatory challengers, retained the interim belt in his biggest win on March 25, a hard-fought unanimous decision over former titlist (and Alvarez knockout victim) Caleb Plant in a Showtime PPV main event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs), 35, a southpaw from Providence, Rhode Island, is a former junior middleweight and middleweight titleholder who made his debut with PBC in a move up to super middleweight on Jan. 7.

Andrade scored a 10-round shutout decision over Demond Nicholson on the Gervonta Davis-Hector Luis Garcia Showtime PPV card in Washington, D.C.

A Benavidez-Andrade would be a clash of styles. Benavidez is a power-punching brawler with a sturdy chin and pressure style.

Andrade, a 2008 U.S. Olympian, is consummate boxer with superb defense. Although Andrade doesn’t carry a big punch like Benavidez, he has scored many knockdowns. He has struggled throughout his career to land a marquee fight and Benavidez would represent by far his highest-profile opponent.

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Foster-Hernandez purse bid

Having not made a deal by the deadline, WBC junior lightweight titleholder O’Shaquie Foster’s mandatory defense against Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez is scheduled for a purse bid on Tuesday at the WBC’s weekly press conference in Mexico City.

Promoters interested in bidding can either attend in person or participate via Zoom.

Foster (20-2, 11 KOs), 29, of Orange, Texas, was the WBC 130-pound mandatory challenger when he faced WBC featherweight titlist Rey Vargas for the vacant junior lightweight belt on Feb. 11 in San Antonio and turned in an impressive performance.

Foster won via clear decision (119-109, 117-111 and 116-112) to hand Vargas the first loss of his 13-year career. Under WBC rules, when a fighter wins a vacant title the first defense is supposed to be a mandatory.

Hernandez (34-1, 31 KOs), 25, of Mexico, has won six fights in a row since a stunning first-round knockout loss to Roger Gutierrez in July 2019.

Foster and Hernandez both were recently with the same promoter, Probellum, until it went out of business and both were ultimately given their release by Disrupt Promotions, which bought various assets and contracts from Probellum. Foster has remained a free agent and Hernandez has won his two fights since signing with Matchroom Boxing.

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Boxing King Media appearance

I joined my friends at Boxing King Media on Monday to discuss Dillian Whyte’s positive drug test that caused the Anthony Joshua fight to be canceled and my sources telling me that Whyte had multiple positive tests. Check out the video here:

Pro Boxing Fans appearance

Here’s the second part of a recent appearance with my friends at Pro Boxing Fans in which we discussed the Errol Spence Jr.-Terence Crawford fight, the prospect of the rematch and more. Check out the video here:

Quick hits

Heavyweight contender Otto Wallin (25-1, 14 KOs), 32, a southpaw from Sweden, whose lone loss was a decision in which he gave heavyweight champion Tyson Fury one of his toughest fights, is in the process of finalizing a match against Murat Gassiev (30-1, 23 KOs), 29, of Russia, the former unified cruiserweight titlist, who is 4-0 since moving up to heavyweight, sources with knowledge of the deal told Fight Freaks Unite. If the fight is finalized, it is pegged for late September in Turkey on card put on by Warriors Boxing, the sources said. Wallin is 5-0 since the competitive loss to Fury in September 2019. Since losing a lopsided decision to Oleksandr Usyk to unify the cruiserweight division for the undisputed crown in July 2018, Gassiev has boxed just four times.

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Showtime will stream three preliminary bouts Saturday (6:30 p.m. ET) from the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Showtime Boxing Facebook page before the start of the network tripleheader headlined by Melvin Lopez against Emmanuel Rodriguez for the vacant IBF bantamweight title (9 p.m. ET). The three bouts: bantamweight Michael Angeletti (8-0, 7 KOs), 27, of New Orleans, versus Jonathan Lopez (8-0-2, 4 KOs), 26, of Puerto Rico, in an eight-rounder; middleweight Jose Benavidez Jr. (27-2-1, 18 KOs), 31, of Phoenix, a former welterweight title challenger, against Sladan Janjanin (36-15, 25 KOs), 32, of Bosnia, over 10; and former junior featherweight title challenger Damien Vazquez (16-3-1, 9 KOs), 26, a southpaw out of Las Vegas, who is the younger brother of former junior featherweight champion Israel Vazquez, against the Philippines’ Jeronil Borres (12-8-2, 6 KOs), 28, in an eight-round bantamweight clash.

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Kameda Promotions won a purse bid for the fight between strawweight titlist Panya Pradabsri (40-1, 24 KOs), 32, of Thailand, and interim titlist and mandatory challenger Yudai Shigeoka (7-0, 5 KOs), 26, a Japanese southpaw. Kameda Promotions won with a bid of $213,000 USD to beat an offer of $170,000 made by Petchyindee Boxing Promotions. Pradabsri is coming off his fourth defense, an eight-round knockout of Japan’s Norihito Tanaka on June 28 in Thailand. Shigeoka won the vacant interim belt via seventh-round knockout of former titlist Wilfredo Mendez, of Puerto Rico, on April 16 in Japan.

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Just before Amanda Serrano retained the undisputed women’s featherweight title by one-sided decision in a rematch with Heather Hardy on Saturday night on the Jake Paul-Nate Diaz card, she made a deal to join the MMA promotion Professional Fighters League’s “PPV Super Fight Division” alongside Francis Ngannou, Jake Paul and Kayla Harrison. Serrano, the only woman to win world titles in seven divisions, who will also continue boxing, is 2-0-1 in MMA bouts, scoring both wins via submission. She is 5-0 with four submissions in No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu. Her first fight under the PFL deal is to be announced. DAZN is a partner of PFL’s “Super Fight Division” and will distribute the events.

Show and tell

When Roy Jones Jr., then the undefeated pound-for-pound king, made his first light heavyweight title defense he faced tricky southpaw Montell Griffin, who gave him a few problems in a competitive fight until Jones took over and seemingly knocked him out in the ninth round. However, after Griffin had gone to a knee, Jones struck him twice more and was disqualified, losing his title and undefeated record in a stunning result. Jones immediately exercised his right to a rematch and they met again five months later. Jones, still fuming over the loss, was not there to play around. He stormed to Griffin and pummeled him in a sensational first-round knockout victory to avenge the defeat and regain the title in one of the greatest performances of his legendary career. That memorable destruction took place on Aug. 7, 1997 — 26 years ago on Monday. Here is the poster (which I have had shrink wrapped) in my collection.

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Photos: Benavidez: Ryan Hafey/PBC

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