Notebook: Zurdo to face Gonzalez in eliminator on DAZN as Bivol chase continues
Shields signs with Sky Sports; Eubank-Williams set; Galahad homecoming; PBC cards announced; Quick hits; Show and tell
Light heavyweight contender Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, the former super middleweight titlist, will face Yunieski Gonzalez in a WBA light heavyweight title eliminator that will headline a Golden Boy Promotions card on Dec. 18 (DAZN) at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, they announced on Thursday.
The Ramirez-Gonzalez winner would become the mandatory challenger for titleholder Dmitry Bivol, a fight Ramirez and Golden Boy are very interested in making. According to Golden Boy, it offered Bivol the fight but he instead plans to fight in December in his native Russia before entertaining the possibility of facing Ramirez next year. But Ramirez can force the issue as the mandatory challenger if he beats Gonzalez.
Ramirez (42-0, 28 KOs), 28, of Mexico, has won all three of his light heavyweight fights by knockout since moving up in weight in 2019, including an impressive fourth-round destruction of longtime contender Sullivan Barrera in his last bout on July 9.
“I’m happy and excited to be back in the ring before the year ends and showcase my talent again in Texas. Of course, I was a little disappointed that Bivol didn't want to sign the contract and make the fight happen, but that's boxing,” Ramirez said. “I know my team and Golden Boy have been working strategically to make this happen. Yunieski is a tough Cuban fighter, and I know I will need to be my best that night. With this being the WBA world title eliminator, I know he will do everything to change his life with this fight. Once this fight is over, Bivol will have nowhere to run and will have to face me.”
Gonzalez (21-3, 17 KOs), 36, a Cuban defector fighting out of Miami, has won three fights in a row since ending a 3½-year layoff in 2020.
“I am coming to give my all Dec. 18,” Gonzalez said. “It will be an interesting fight since I am the only Cuban boxer who's not a runner, so fight fans will enjoy every minute of all the action. I have worked hard for the last year and a half, and it has paid off.”
Golden Boy and DAZN announced three other 10-round bouts on the broadcast:
WBA women’s strawweight titlist Seneisa Estrada (21-0, 8 KOs), 29, of Los Angeles, will make her first defense against Maria Santizo (9-0, 5 KOs), 36, of Guatemala.
Junior lightweight contender Lamont Roach Jr. (21-1-1, 9 KOs), 26, of Washington, D.C., who has won two fights in a row since a competitive decision loss challenging then-world titlist Jamel Herring in 2019, will face former titleholder Rene Alvarado (32-10, 21 KOs), 32, of Nicaragua, who has lost two decisions in a row this year to Roger Gutierrez, who took his belt in January.
“I've been wanting a fight like this since my world title fight,” Roach said. “It's time to show everyone why I belong on the world stage again.”
Said Alvarado: “After the back-to-back to losses to Roger Gutierrez, this is the most important fight of my life to get back into the big fights. Roach Jr. is a good young fighter, but he doesn't have the experience and has not fought anyone close to my level. I'll show it.”
WBA women’s flyweight titlist Marlen Esparza (10-1, 1 KO), 32 of Houston, will make her first defense against former strawweight titlist Anabel Ortiz (31-4, 4 KOs), 34, of Mexico.
Shields signs with Boxxer, Sky Sports
Three-division world champion Claressa Shields (11-0, 2 KOs), 26, of Flint, Michigan, has signed “a multi-fight, seven-figure deal along with her longtime promoter Salita Promotions” with British broadcaster Sky Sports and promoter Boxxer, which has an output deal with Sky, it was announced on Thursday.
The first fight of Shields’ deal will come on Dec. 11 at Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales, where she will defend her unified WBC/IBF/WBA middleweight belts against WBC mandatory challenger Ema Kozin (21-0-1, 11 KOs), 22, a southpaw from Slovenia.
The card was supposed to also feature WBO women’s middleweight titlist Savannah Marshall in a defense as a prelude to a showdown early next year between Shields and Marshall, the only woman to defeat Shields during her 77-1 amateur career. However, Marshall injured her hand during a second-round knockout of Lolita Muzeya on Oct. 16 and will be out until February.
“I’m excited to be defending my titles in the U.K. and I appreciate Dmitriy (Salita) and Salita Promotions for making this happen,” said Shields, who is coming off a split decision loss in her second MMA bout. “I’m excited to return back to my first love — boxing — and fighting as a professional in the U.K. has always been a dream for me. Hopefully, I’ll be one step closer to shutting Savannah Marshall’s mouth with a victory on Dec 11th.”
Eubank vs. Williams is on
Boxxer’s Dec. 11 card in Cardiff will be headlined by a middleweight fight between Chris Eubank Jr. (31-2, 23 KOs), 32, of England, and Liam Williams (23-3-1, 18 KOs), 29, of Wales.
Eubank has won five fights in a row and is coming off a fifth-round knockout of Wanik Awdijan on Oct. 16.
“Liam Williams has been saying a lot to try to catch my attention and bait me into fighting him,” Eubank said. “It’s now got to the point where everyone is asking me to shut him up, and on Dec. 11, I’m going to give the people what they want. As I’ve said, I’m only involved in big fights from now on and this is the fight people want to see. They want to see if Williams can back up what he’s been saying, which he won’t. I’m on a mission towards world titles and Liam Williams is someone I’ve got to go through to get there. I’m looking forward to shutting him up.”
In his last fight, Williams got knocked down in the second round and lost a one-sided decision challenging WBO middleweight titlist Demetrius Andrade in April. He’s looking forward to facing Eubank, an opponent he had been calling out.
“I’m very excited to get the fight made. It’s been coming for a long time,” Williams said. “I can’t wait to shut his mouth once and for all. There’s nothing like a big domestic showdown to get the juices flowing. A lot of people have been calling for this fight for a long time. I personally think it’s the biggest all-British fight outside of AJ (Anthony Joshua) and (Tyson) Fury.”
Inside Boxing Live appearance
I joined my pal Dan Canobbio on his Inside Boxing Live show this week to discuss all things Canelo Alvarez following his 11th-round knockout victory over Caleb Plant to become the undisputed super middleweight champion. Also on the show is an interview with potential Canelo opponent David Benavidez, who fights Saturday on Showtime. Check out the show here: https://throwdownsports.com/programs/ibl135-cfcd85?categoryId=94274
Galahad homecoming
Kid Galahad’s years-long quest for a featherweight world title finally ended in August when he stopped longtime friend and sparring partner James “Jazza” Dickens in the 11th round to win the vacant IBF belt, which he had unsuccessfully challenged for in a split decision loss to Josh Warrington in 2019.
Galahad’s first defense shapes up as a celebration of his accomplishment with a homecoming fight against huge underdog and former junior featherweight titlist Kiko Martinez on Saturday (DAZN, 2 p.m. ET) at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield, England.
“Kid Galahad had grinded for many years, a product of Brendan Ingle’s great Ingle Gym, now gets the chance to headline in Sheffield,” Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said. “I know this is a very proud moment for himself and the Ingle Gym.”
Galahad (28-1, 17 KOs), 31, is indeed thrilled for the homecoming fight with a world title in tow.
“It’s took me a long time to get here, and I just can’t wait,” said Galahad, who has been a pro for 12 years.
That said, Galahad said nobody should for a moment believe he is taking Martinez (42-10-2, 29 KOs), 35, of Spain, lightly or not completely focused on the task at hand.
“Never in my career have I ever underestimated any fighter, on Saturday night trust me he’ll be wishing he never took this fight,” Galahad said. “I’m not going to take it easy on him. I’m going to seriously hurt him. Forget those unification fights for now. It’s all about Kiko Martinez on Saturday night, going in there and doing a job on him. I’m not looking to just go in there and win. He’s had some bad decisions in the past, so I know he’s going to come and not try leave it to the judge’s hands. That’s what I’m going to do — I’m not going to leave it to the judges’ hands, I’m going to go in there and seriously hurt him.”
Quick hits
David Morrell Jr. will defend his secondary super middleweight belt against Alantez Fox on Dec. 18 (Fox/Fox Deportes, 8 p.m. ET) at The Armory in Minneapolis, Morrell’s adopted hometown, Premier Boxing Champions announced on Thursday. Morrell (5-0, 4 KOs), 23, a Cuban southpaw, will be making his second defense. Fox (28-2-1, 13 KOs), 29, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, has won two fights in a row but lost the two times he stepped up in competition to Demetrius Andrade and Liam Williams. In the 10-round co-feature, lightweight Jose Valenzuela (10-0, 6 KOs), 22, of Mexico, a stablemate of super middleweight contender David Benavidez, will fight Austin Dulay (14-2, 10 KOs), 26, of Nashville.
Premier Boxing Champions made its final card of 2021 official on Thursday, announcing what has been widely reported — that welterweight Vito Mielnicki Jr. (9-1, 6 KOs), 19, a popular ticket seller from Roseland, New Jersey, will face Nicholas DeLomba (16-3, 5 KOs), 31, of Cranston, Rhode Island, in 10-rounder on Dec. 25 (Fox/Fox Deportes, 8 p.m. ET) at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. In the co-feature, middleweight Joey Spencer (12-0, 9 KOs), 21, of Linden, Michigan, will fight Limberth Ponce (18-4, 11 KOs), 30, of Mexico, in an eight-rounder.
Probellum announced its first event in the United Kingdom, which will take place on Dec. 18 at Rainton Arena in Sunderland, England. Former three-division titlist Ricky Burns (43-8-1, 16 KOs), of Scotland, will end a 26-month layoff when he meets Argentina's Emiliano Dominguez Rodriguez (26-9-1, 10 KOs) in the 10-round lightweight main event. Also on the card in 10-rounders are England’s Lewis Ritson (21-2, 12 KOs) against Mexico’s Christian Uruzquieta (20-4-2, 7 KOs) in a junior welterweight bout and England’s Thomas Patrick Ward (30-0-1, 4 KOs) versus Venezuela’s Leonardo Padilla (20-3, 14 KOs) at featherweight.
Matchroom Boxing announced it has signed Australian heavyweight Demsey McKean (19-0, 12 KOs), 31, a southpaw from Australia, to a multi-fight promotional deal. McKean, a sparring partner of Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte, will make his Matchroom debut on the undercard of the Demetrius Andrade-Jason Quigley middleweight title bout on Nov. 19 (DAZN) at SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. McKean is trained by Tony Sims at the Matchroom Elite Boxing Gym in Essex, England.
Show and tell
Since I first started covering boxing full-time for USA Today in March 2000, I have traveled all over the United States for fights. I’ve even had the opportunity to cover fights in three other countries. The place I have covered fights most often has been Las Vegas, which remains the fight capital of the world. The first event I traveled to Las Vegas to cover was when then-heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis defended the title against massive-punching mandatory challenger David Tua at Mandalay Bay. Including that event, I have made somewhere in the neighborhood of 120 trips to Las Vegas to cover fights. That first one, Lewis-Tua, was on Nov. 11, 2000 — 21 years ago on Thursday. Here is the ringside credential in my collection.
Galahad photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
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