Notebook: WBA to Bivol: Fight Zurdo next as it denies exception request

Tyson Fury retires (yet again); Showtime adds another bout to Aug. 20; Farmer-Bey canceled during the undercard; Estrada stripped of 115 title; Quick hits; Show and tell

Aug 13, 2022

A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: If you have upgraded to a paid subscription, thank you! If you have not, please consider doing so to receive the most content. A paid subscription is also your way of keeping this reader-supported newsletter going and supporting independent journalism.

The WBA has denied light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol’s request for an exception and insisted he fight mandatory challenger Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez next.

The fight was ordered on July 11 and the sides had 30 days to make a deal or have a purse bid called, but Bivol sought an exception in order to first face Joshua Buatsi (16-0, 13 KO), 29, of England. That is the fight Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, who promotes them both, wanted to make.

Golden Boy Promotions, Ramirez’s promoter, however, opposed the request. Ramirez has won two title eliminators and been chasing Bivol for more than a year. He and his team were not interested in stepping aside.

Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs), 31, of Russia, who is coming off a career-defining win over Canelo Alvarez in May, has not made a mandatory defense since March 2018.

Mexican southpaw Ramirez (44-0, 30 KOs), 31, a former WBO super middleweight titlist, was very pleased with the WBA ruling.

“I feel very happy to have the opportunity to fight for the title,” Ramirez said. “Thanks to the WBA and its president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza for making the right decision. For years I’ve wanted to fight Bivol. I feel I can beat him and I’ve told my team. Ever since I came to Golden Boy I’ve had the desire and now I’ll be able to do it.”

Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya was also thrilled to land his fighter the opportunity.

“We find the ruling fair and honest considering ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez has fought two elimination bouts and has been the No. 1 contender for this fight since his victory against Sullivan Barrera in 2021. We will continue to work hard to support Ramirez as he campaigns to one day become a two-division world champion.”

If the sides don’t make a deal for the fight, the WBA told Fight Freaks Unite it will hold a purse bid on Aug. 21 at 3 p.m. ET in Orlando, Florida. The minimum bid is $400,000 and the split is 75-25 in Bivol’s favor.

Another Fury retirement

Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, who has made several retirement announcements, made another on Friday — his 34th birthday — even though he had made videos earlier in the week talking about his return to boxing.

Given his penchant for retirement announcements only to recant soon after it’s hard to take it seriously, but he posted the latest one to Twitter.

“Massive thanks to everyone who had an input in my career over the years & after long hard conversations I’ve finally decided to walk away & on my 34th birthday,” Fury wrote, accompanied by a photo of him with trainer SugarHill Steward, who he apparently fired and replaced him with Isaac Lowe in a video he posted to social media earlier this week. “I say Bon Voyage.”

England’s Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) then thanked his wife, Paris, other family members and others important to him in his career.

Fury concluded. “See you all on the other side you big dossers. 2008-2022.”

The years mark the years of his career.

Fury still has yet to vacate the WBC title in conjunction with any of his so-called retirements.

Most in boxing, including Fury’s co-promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank, believe Fury is awaiting the outcome of the rematch between three-belt titleholder Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) and former two-time unified titlist Anthony Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs). They meet on Aug. 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with the winner against Fury for the undisputed championship the obvious biggest fight in boxing.

Showtime expands Aug. 20 card

Showtime has increased its Aug. 20 card to four televised bouts, announcing that junior welterweight prospect Brandun Lee (25-0, 22 KOs), 23, of La Quinta, California, will face Will Madera (17-1-3, 10 KOs), 31 of Albany, New York, in the opener of the show that will now begin at 8 p.m. ET at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Lee-Madera was initially slated to take place Aug. 6 on the Jake Paul-Hasim Rahman Jr. Showtime PPV card but the event was canceled.

“Madera is a technical fighter that will do whatever he wants if you allow him to, so it’s important that I check him right away," Lee said. "I have been in training camp for 12 weeks now as I was going to fight on August 6th, but the show got cancelled. I've run more miles, sparred more rounds, and put in more hours in the gym than I ever have before. I’m looking forward to stepping into the ring next week and giving the people what they want: knockouts. I'll be 26-0 at the end of the night, mark my words.”

Showtime also announced it will offer live streaming coverage of two eight-round preliminary bouts on the card on the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and the Showtime Boxing Facebook page (6 p.m. ET).

Heavyweight Lenier Pero (7-0, 4 KOs), 29, a 2016 Cuban Olympian, will face Joel Caudle (9-6-2, 6 KOs), 32, of Raleigh, North Carolina, and middleweight Fiodor Czerkaszyn (19-0, 12 KOs), 26, of Poland, will make his American debut against Gilbert Venegas Jr. (11-1, 7 KOs), 28, of East Moline, Illinois,

Former world titleholders Adrien Broner and Omar Figueroa meet in the junior welterweight main event with Alberto Puello facing Batyr Akhmedov for the vacant WBA junior welterweight title in the co-feature and Roger Gutierrez making a mandatory defense of the WBA junior lightweight title against Hector Garcia in the opener.

Among non-televised bouts are a pair of former world titleholders in eight-rounders. Former junior welterweight titlist Sergey Lipinets (16-2-1, 12 KOs) will face Carlos Portillo (22-4, 17 KOs) and former bantamweight titlist Rau’shee Warren (19-3, 5 KOs) takes on Francisco Portillo (17-11-2, 10 KOs).

Also, junior middleweight Evan Holyfield (9-1, 6 KOs), the son of heavyweight legend Evander Holyfield, will face Jurmain McDonald (7-6, 3 KOs) in a junior middleweight rematch. McDonald upset Holyfield by second-round knockout on May 14.

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 two fights, Teofimo Lopez’s junior welterweight debut against Pedro Campa in the Top Rank main event on ESPN on Saturday night and the lightweight PPV fight between former titleholders Tevin Farmer and Mickey Bey on Friday night. We also took viewer comments and questions and had a good time! Check it out here:

Quick hits

Weights from Las Vegas for Saturday’s Top Rank on ESPN card (10 p.m. ET): Teofimo Lopez 138.8 pounds, Pedro Campa 139.4; Xander Zayas 153, Elias Espadas 153.6; Jose Enrique Vivas 127.8, Edy Valencia 127.6; Andres Cortes 130.6, Abraham Montoya 131; Troy Isley 156, Victor Toney 156.8; Duke Ragan 126.6, D’Angelo Fuentes 125.6; Omar Rosario 140.8, Esteban Munoz 140.6; Charlie Sheehy 134.4, Juan Manuel 133.8.

The lightweight fight between former junior lightweight titlist Tevin Farmer and former lightweight titleholder Mickey Bey slated to headline a $29.99 streaming Redemption pay-per-view card Friday night was canceled during the undercard at the Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott, Arizona. Farmer and Bey, who said they were at their hotel, made the joint announcement that the fight was off during an Instagram live video. They did give details other than to mention there was a “lack of funds” and that their promotional partners did not do what they were supposed. The fight was initially scheduled for May 21 in Accra, Ghana but due to Covid-19 issues was moved on short notice to take place on the same date in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Then it was postponed until Friday following the death of the president of the UAE. Farmer (30-5-1, 6 KOs), 32, a southpaw from Philadelphia, and Bey (23-3-1, 11 KOs), 39, of Cleveland, were both supposed to return from long layoffs.

Because Juan Francisco Estrada has not responded to WBA inquiries about whether he will do the mandatory defense he was first ordered to make against “regular” titlist Joshua Franco (18-1-2, 8 KOs), 26, of San Antonio, in February, Estrada was stripped of the 115-pound belt on Thursday, leaving Franco as the lone WBA junior bantamweight titlist. In the WBA resolution, a copy of which was obtained by Fight Freaks Unite, the WBA said that on July 22 it requested that Mexico’s Estrada (42-3, 28 KOs), 32, who had not defended since March 2021 in a rematch with Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, communicate his plans but that he nor his team responded. Estrada may not have told the WBA, but Fight Freaks Unite has been told his plans are for a September tune-up fight and then a trilogy bout with Gonzalez in December.

The IBF on Thursday notified its registered promoters that it has scheduled a purse bid for unified champion Josh Taylor’s mandatory defense versus Jeremias Ponce for Aug. 23 after the sides did not reach an agreement by the deadline for a bout it ordered on July 7. The camps could still make a deal up to 15 minutes before the purse but that’s unlikely. Taylor likely will vacate or be stripped as his target is a November rematch of a controversial decision over Jack Catterall. If the IBF title is vacated it will leave the once four-belt undisputed champion Taylor only with the WBO title.

Belgium’s Ryad Merhy (30-1, 25 KOs) notified the WBA on Friday that he has vacated the WBA “regular” cruiserweight title because he is moving up in weight. Last month, the WBA ordered Merhy and “super” titlist Arsen Goulamirian (26-0, 18 KOs), of France, to meet in a mandatory bout as the sanctioning body continues its efforts to get down to one titleholder per division and both sides said they would negotiate the fight. However, Merhy changed his mind.

Spain’s Sandor Martin (40-2, 13 KOs) notified the WBA that he has withdrawn from consideration for a title eliminator versus England’s Ohara Davies (23-2, 16 KOs). A purse bid was scheduled for Tuesday. Martin’s team said the reason for the withdrawal lack of interest from the two main broadcasters in the United Kingdom, Sky Sports and DAZN. The WBA then ordered Davies to face the Uzbekistan’s Shakhram Giyasov (13-0, 9 KOs), but also he declined, citing issues making weight. The WBA told Fight Freaks Unite it would next order Teofimo Lopez to face Davies if Lopez wins his bout Saturday. Whomever faces Davies, the winner earns an eventual mandatory title shot following Ismael Barroso, who is next up for the winner of the vacant title bout between Alberto Puello and Batyr Akhmedov, who meet Aug. 20.

Junior welterweight Joseph Adorno (16-1-2, 14 KOs), 23, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, will face Hugo Alberto Roldan (21-0-1, 7 KOs), 29, of Argentina, in the 10-round main of the “ShoBox” card on Sept. 9 (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET) at Bally’s in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Adorno is replacing Shinard Bunch, who withdrew this week for personal reasons, Showtime announced.

Promoter Lou DiBella has signed free agent super middleweight Carlos Gongora (20-1, 15 KOs), 33, a southpaw from Ecuador, who has his first fight of the deal on Saturday in Melrose, Massachusetts, in a warm up fight with Oscar Riojas (28-15-1, 16 KOs), 38, of Mexico. Gongora, the nephew of former pro middleweight contender Segundo Mercado and a two-time Olympian, gained attention with a 12th-round knockout of then-unbeaten Ali Akhmedov in December 2020 but is coming off his only loss, a split decision to England’s Lerrone Richards in England this past December. “Carlos Gongora is a dangerous, experienced and skilled fighter. I am happy to be working with my friend (and Gongora manager) Mike Criscio on advancing his career,” DiBella said.

Show and tell

Heavyweight Anthony Joshua quickly became one of the biggest stars in boxing after turning pro in 2013. He won the IBF title in his 16th fight by drilling Charles Martin and went on to make six defenses in big events, including unifying the IBF and WBO belts by outpointing Joseph Parker and stopping the great Wladimir Klitschko in the 2017 fight of the year to retain the belts, win the vacant WBA title and send Klitschko into retirement. After Joshua was knocked out in an upset by Andy Ruiz Jr., Joshua regained the belts by lopsided decision in their immediate rematch. After a mandatory against Kubrat Pulev, whom Joshua stopped, Oleksandr Usyk, another mandatory challenger and the unbeaten former undisputed cruiserweight champion, outpointed Joshua to take the belts in another upset. On Aug. 20, Joshua will get an immediate rematch with Usyk and try to once again regain the titles. But it was on Aug. 12, 2012 — 10 years ago on Friday — that Joshua launched his career by winning the Olympic super heavyweight gold medal in his hometown of London. Here is Joshua’s rookie card from the 2012 Panini Adrenalyn XL Olympic set in my collection.

Bivol photo: Melina Pizano/Matchroom Boxing; LopezCampa photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

To upgrade your subscription please go here: https://danrafael.substack.com/subscribe

Fight Freaks Unite