Notebook: Usyk, Dubois now on the clock to make mandatory fight
Lara-Wood II set; Roy Jones exits retirement, loses; HOFer Buchanan dies; Top Rank signs featherweight contender Villa; Berlanga return date penciled in; Quick hits; Show and tell
A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: I created Fight Freaks Unite in January 2021 and eight months later it also became available for paid subscriptions for additional content — and as a way to help keep this newsletter going and for readers to support independent journalism. If you haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription please consider it. If you have already, I truly appreciate it! Also, consider a gift subscription for the Fight Freak in your life.
With the prospect of an undisputed heavyweight championship fight between lineal/WBC champion Tyson Fury and three-belt unified titleholder Oleksandr Usyk collapsing last month due Fury’s untenable demands over terms of a rematch clause, Usyk was ordered on Monday to make his WBA mandatory defense against “regular” titlist Daniel Dubois.
The WBA agreed to delay ordering the fight for the sake of seeing the first-ever four-belt unification fight in heavyweight history and the crowning of the first undisputed champion in the division since Lennox Lewis’ decision win over Evander Holyfield in their 1999 rematch.
But when the proposed April 29 fight fell apart over Fury’s demands the WBA said it would follow through and order Usyk-Dubois and it did so on Monday, sending a letter to both camps notifying them of the particulars.
“On December 12, 2022, this committee issued the mandatory negotiation notification for the WBA heavyweight division,” the WBA letter said. “Since the Usyk vs. Fury fight is off, this committee hereby grants both parties 30 days mandatory negotiation period, beginning on April 4 and ending at the end of the business day (-5 GMT) on May 2, 2023.
“If an agreement is not reached by May 2, 2023, or if any of the parties expresses unwillingness to negotiate, the WBA championships committee may call a purse bid, with a split of 75% for Usyk and 25% for Dubos. Looking forward to hearing from you.”
Usyk, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion, wanted to fulfill his dream of also becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion by facing Fury. But with that no longer an option, at least for the time being, he plans to honor his mandatory obligations and the WBA is up next.
“The Fury fight is off but undisputed remains our highest priority,” Alexander Krassyuk, Usyk’s promoter, told Fight Freaks Unite on Monday. “Usyk needs to keep the belts. It means that he has to fight the mandatories. WBA is next in line in the rotation. The fight was ordered. So we are working on it.”
Coincidently, Krassyuk will find himself negotiating once again with Frank Warren, who is Dubois’ promoter and Fury’s co-promoter.
If a deal is made the fight is expected to take place this summer, although the WBA is waiting for a medical update on Dubois (19-1, 18 KOs), 25, of England, who injured a knee when he was knocked down three times in the first round but rallied for a third-round knockout of Kevin Lerena on Dec. 3 on the undercard of Fury’s 10th-round knockout of Derek Chisora.
After Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs), 36, a Ukrainian southpaw and a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, vacated the cruiserweight belts he moved up to heavyweight. He won two fights and then got a mandatory title shot against Anthony Joshua, whom he handily outpointed in an upset in September 2019 and then outpointed again in an immediate rematch last August. Usyk has not fought since.
Lara-Wood rematch set
Mauricio Lara will make his first defense of the WBA featherweight title in an immediate rematch with former titlist Leigh Wood on May 27 (DAZN) at AO Arena in Manchester, England, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn announced on Saturday during the Anthony Joshua-Jermaine Franklin card.
“We’re gonna run it back,” said Hearn, who was standing with both fighters in the ring between bouts to announce the bout and have them do a face off. “Tremendous fight last time in Nottingham. WBA world championship on the line. These two go at it again.”
Mexico’s Lara traveled to Wood’s hometown of Nottingham, England and stopped him in the seventh round on Feb. 18 to win the 126-pound title in an action-packed battle.
Wood (26-3, 16 KOs), 34, who was making his second title defense and first since becoming the lone WBA titleholder in the division, led on all three scorecards when Lara (26-2-1, 19 KOs), 25, he dropped him hard — flat on his back in the center of the ring — with a left hook late in the seventh round.
Wood beat the count and referee Michael Alexander appeared poised to allow the fight to continue when Wood trainer Ben Davison threw in the towel with six seconds left in the round.
Hearn said he offered Wood other options but he was adamant about invoking his right to an immediate rematch.
“There’s no other options for me. I made a mistake and I just want to put it right,” Wood said. “Whoever lands first. Let’s have a shootout. It’s gonna be early, for sure.”
Lara, who also knocked out British featherweight Josh Warrington on his hometown of Leeds, England in 2021, was fine with giving Wood a rematch.
“I’m not necessarily more confident,” Lara said through an interpreter about the sequel. “We know (Wood) is very capable. We’re gonna have a great show. Hopefully, he will have a better level than last time just as I will have.”
Hearn said the winner will be matched with former titlist Warrington later this year.
Hearn also announced that junior welterweight contender Jack Catterall (26-1, 13 KOs), 29, a southpaw from England, whom he signed last week, will fight in the Lara-Wood II co-feature.
Catterall has been idle since February 2022 following his highly controversial decision loss to then-undisputed champion Josh Taylor. A rematch was postponed multiple times and ultimately canceled earlier this year due a Taylor foot injury.
Roy Jones, 54, loses
Roy Jones Jr., who won world titles in four divisions from middleweight to heavyweight, spent a decade between 1994 and 2004 atop the pound-for-pound rankings and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame last summer, exited a five-year retirement and lost on Saturday night.
Jones, 54, dropped a majority decision to former UFC champion Anthony Pettis, who was making his professional boxing debut, at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pettis’ hometown, in the eight-round cruiserweight main event of a Gamebred Boxing pay-per-view card.
The 37-year-old Pettis won on two scorecards, 78-74 and 77-75, and one judge had it 76-76.
While Jones (66-10, 47 KOs) participated in a high-profile heavyweight exhibition against Mike Tyson in November 2020, he had not had an official fight since February 2018, when he returned home to Pensacola, Florida, for what was billed as his farewell fight and he won a lopsided 10-round decision over journeyman Scott Sigmon.
He did not have that kind of performance or ending on Saturday although the fight seemed like it could have gone either way.
“Man, he’s 54 years old, but you’ve got to give it up for this guy,” Pettis said. “He’s a legend in the sport, a GOAT (greatest of all time). Praise God for allowing me to get this opportunity. Give it up for Roy Jones Jr., man. I’m going to take it one fight at a time, take it day by day. I’m 1-0 as a pro and I’m excited for what the future holds.”
Jones did not close the door to continuing to box despite being a shell of what he once was. He also called for a rematch.
“For me, I like to come in and entertain the fans. My job is to come in and make sure that the fans get what they paid for, and I’m all good with that,” Jones said. “I think it was a good fight. He did a great job and fought a very smart fight. I think I educated him and taught him a lot in this fight. So I think if I fought him again it would be even better because he knows a lot more now. I think it would be a really good rematch.”
He does not want to go the exhibition rout either.
“I don’t do exhibitions, I fight real fights,” Jones said. “I’m not an exhibition guy, I’m a real guy. I want to win, or I want to lose, but I’m going to go out on my shield and I want to be able to do it again as many times as I want to. At 54 years old, that’s a beautiful thing, and he already said he’d do it again because one judge had it even. So that’s what I love.”
HOFer Buchanan dies
Ken Buchanan, the former undisputed lightweight champion and one of the greatest fighters ever from Scotland, died on Saturday. He was 77.
Buchanan, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2000, had been suffering from dementia and living in a nursing home.
“Ken Buchanan was a national hero in Scotland and brought fans around the world so many memorable moments during his championship career,” Edward Brophy, the Hall of Fame’s executive director, said in a statement announcing Buchanan’s death. “The Hall of Fame offers our condolences to the Buchanan family and joins the boxing world in mourning his passing.”
Buchanan (61-8, 27 KOs), who boxed professionally from 1965 to 1982, won the Scottish and British lightweight titles and then got a shot at WBA lightweight champion (and fellow Hall of Famer) Ismael Laguna in 1970.
Buchanan faced Laguna on his turf in San Juan, Puerto Rico and won a split decision to claim the title. In his first defense in 1971, Buchanan won a 15-round decision against Ruben Navarro to also win the vacant WBC title and become the undisputed champion. Later in 1971, Buchanan made his second defense and won a unanimous decision over Laguna in a rematch at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
After vacating the WBC belt and winning two nontitle fights, Buchanan met the legendary Roberto Duran, also at the Garden, in June 1972 and lost the WBA title via 13th-round knockout in a controversial result because Buchanan claimed Duran kneed him in the groin but referee Johnny LoBianco did not see the foul. Buchanan could not continue and Duran was awarded the TKO win.
Buchanan would later defeat Carlos Ortiz and Jim Watt and win the European title. In his final world title fight, he lost a decision challenging Guts Suzuki for the WBC lightweight belt in 1975.
Boxing Social appearance
I joined my friends at Boxing Social to talk about a few boxing topics. We covered my thoughts on all things Anthony Joshua off his decision victory over Jermaine Franklin on Saturday as well Robeisy Ramirez’s decision over Isaac Dogboe to claim the vacant WBO featherweight title. We also discussed the ongoing Conor Benn train wreck and that he plans to fight in June in Abu Dhabi despite having failed two drug tests and having not dealt with the issue. Check out the video here:
Top Rank signs Villa
Former featherweight world title challenger Ruben Villa has signed a multi-fight promotional contract with Top Rank, the company announced on Monday.
Villa will have the first bout of the agreement on the undercard of the Janibek Alimkhanuly-Steven Butler WBO middleweight title fight on May 13 at Stockton Arena in Stockton, California. He will face an opponent to be determined in an eight-rounder on the ESPN+-portion of the undercard.
“Ruben Villa has everything it takes to become a world champion,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. “He’s a young, talented southpaw who has already tested himself at the sport’s highest level. His future is very bright.”
Villa (19-1, 6 KOs), 25, of Salinas, California, suffered his only loss by competitive unanimous decision to Emanuel Navarrete, who knocked him down in the first and fourth rounds, for the vacant WBO featherweight title in October 2020 in the Top Rank “bubble” at the MGM Grand conference center during the coronavirus pandemic.
Villa has fought just once since, a ninth-round knockout of Horacio Garcia last April in Ontario, California.
“I have always dreamed of fighting on ESPN consistently and being with Top Rank to make the big fights,” said Villa, who is managed by Rick Mirigian. “I want to win a world title and to do it as soon as possible. I look forward to fighting in Stockton, where my hometown fans will be out in full force.”
Quick hits
Japanese pound-for-pound star Naoya Inoue has received a big-time honor. The Japanese government has produced a series of postage stamps with Inoue’s likeness to commemorate his achievement of becoming the undisputed bantamweight champion in December with a knockout of Paul Butler in their four-belt unification bout. Inoue is the current face of Japanese boxing and one of the country’s most decorated fighters ever. Inoue (24-0, 21 KOs) is a three-division champion and earlier this year vacated all the bantamweight belts to move up to challenge unified junior featherweight titlist Stephen Fulton on July 25 in Tokyo following a May 7 postponement due an Inoue knuckle injury.
Super middleweight Edgar Berlanga, who signed a multi-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing in mid-February after working out a separation agreement from Top Rank and attracting heavy interest from other promoters as a free agent, is penciled in to have the first bout of his new deal on June 24 (DAZN) as the headliner at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, a source with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite. Berlanga (20-0, 16 KOs), 25, a Puerto Rican from Brooklyn, New York, who began his career with 16 consecutive first-round KOs, has not fought since June. He outpointed former world title challenger Roamer Alexis Angulo, also at the Hulu Theater, but drew a six-month suspension and a $10,000 fine from the New York State Athletic Commission for attempting to bite Angulo during the bout and then joking about it during his post-fight interview.
Raymond Muratalla, the lightweight up-and-comer trained by Robert Garcia, will face his most notable foe in Jeremia Nakathila (23-2, 19 KOs), 31, of Namibia, in a 10-rounder in the opener of the Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko ESPN+ PPV card May 20 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Muratalla (17-0, 14 KOs), 26, of Fontana, California, is coming off a ninth-round KO of Humberto Galindo on March 25 in his first scheduled 10-rounder. Since losing a shutout decision to Shakur Stevenson for the WBO interim junior lightweight title in June 2021, Nakathila has won two fights in a row, including moving up to lightweight in his last fight 13 months ago and knocking out former junior lightweight titlist Miguel Berchelt in the sixth round.
Show and tell
It was a long slog getting the fight between Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia signed. There was a very difficult negotiation between rival promoters and it required Davis broadcaster Showtime and Garcia broadcaster DAZN to deal with each other. There was also Davis’ need to get past a January interim fight without losing or suffering any injuries and then the very thorny issue of his legal problems that saw him plead guilty in a hit-and-run incident for which he will be sentenced but not until a few weeks after the fight. In the end, the deal was made and they will meet on Showtime PPV on April 22 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in easily the biggest fight of the year, at least so far. It’s a fight that has boxing fans buzzing with excitement.
Here are their rookie cards in my collection from the ongoing SP Boxing program set. SP Boxing produces programs for many fights and over the last several years some of those programs have included card panels inside the program and are typically quite limited. I have written the card backs for the set. The Garcia rookie came in the program for Jamie Munguia’s junior middleweight title defense against Patrick Allotey in 2019. Garcia was scheduled to be in the co-feature but the fight was canceled because his opponent got arrested during fight week (can’t make that stuff up!). The Davis rookie came in the program for his knockout win against Hector Luis Garcia in January.
A note to subscribers
I sincerely appreciate your readership. If you’re reading, it means you love boxing just like I do. If you’ve been reading you also know the quality and quantity of what I produce. It’s one-stop shopping. Read the newsletters and there is no need to search multiple websites or click a multitude of links to get the latest news, opinion and detailed fight schedule. Everything you need is in one spot and delivered directly to your inbox (or via phone alert if you download for free the superb Substack app). You don’t have to hunt for the news; it comes to you.
I believe that is worth something, so while I will continue providing stories, notes and the schedule for free, I encourage you to upgrade to a paid subscription for the most content. A paid subscription is your way of keeping this reader-supported newsletter going and supporting independent journalism. I am beholden to no network, promoter, manager, sanctioning body or fighter. If you have read my work at all during the past 23 years I’ve covered professional boxing you know that I keep it real and that will not change.
To upgrade your subscription please go here:
Thank you so much for your support of Fight Freaks Unite!
Photos: Usyk and Lara-Wood: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing; Jones-Pettis: Phil Lambert/Gamebred Boxing; Inoue: Naoki Fukuda
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danrafael1/
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanRafael1
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanRafaelBoxing
You can't get a bigger Duran fan then me but his first title fight aside from his continuous fouling mostly by head butts but the after the bell low blow could arguably have got him disqualified even though Duran was ahead on pts. Duran then broke his contract and refused to rematch Buchanan to the point that New York stripped him of his licence. Buchanan wasn't a huge ko merchant like Duran but he was a slick boxer with some great wins on his resume, RIP champ.
Top Rank is really filling out their Feathweight roster. Robeisy, Conlan, Venado, and now Villa. Perhaps, if everything goes well, for the arrival of the Monster Inoue soon. Though I would rate the TR Featherweights just below below Leigh Woods, Bronco Lara, Rey Martinez. Add Brandon Figueroa, Kiko, Warrington, a perpetually hibernating Russell, Magasayo to the mix. That division may be the deepest in Boxing right now.