Podcast: Benavidez interview; Canelo set for return vs. Ryder
Plus: previewing Zurdo-Rosado, Diaz-Gesta; latest on Fury-Usyk, Haney-Loma; memories on the anniversary of Chavez-Taylor I
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With the NCAA basketball tournament in full swing it’s a slow boxing weekend but we previewed the most notable card of the weekend, Saturday’s Golden Boys card on DAZN that will see light heavyweight contender Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez return from his loss to Dmitry Bivol to face massive underdog Gabriel Rosado and lightweight Joseph Diaz Jr. try to shake off two losses in a row by taking on Mercito Gesta. There is also my interview with super middleweight David Benavidez, who next week will defend his interim belt against Caleb Plant in the main event of a Showtime PPV card. We also discussed the announcement of Canelo Alvarez’s return and much more.
Here is what’s on the show (in order):
The announcement that superstar undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez will return May 6 to defend against John Ryder in a Mexico homecoming DAZN PPV fight.
Previewing Ramirez-Rosado, an epic mismatch on paper, and Diaz-Gesta.
My interview with Benavidez ahead of the grudge match with Plant. We covered a lot of ground: Why such bad blood between him and Plant; will they shake hands after the fight; comparing their victories over common opponent Anthony Dirrell; what did he think of Plant’s antics after the KO of Dirrell and his performance in a loss to Canelo; his desire to get a shot against Canelo after the upcoming fight.
Update on the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk contract drama.
Plans for undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney to defend against former unified titleholder Vasiliy Lomachenko on May 20 and what do we think about it being on ESPN PPV?
Oscar Valdez being slated to fight in the Haney-Loma co-feature.
Looking back on the 33rd anniversary of the 1990 fight of the year and the 1990s fight of the decade — the legendary junior welterweight unification battle between Julio Cesar Chavez and Meldrick Taylor, which ended with the most controversial stoppage in boxing history.
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David Benavidez photo: Ryan Hafey/PBC
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