The last stand.. Deontay Wilder returns June 27th.

A ‘Tater man’ is a baseball term which refers to being a one shot home run hitter, in the late 80s, Ring magazine published a story referencing boxings equivalent of the quintessential ‘Tater man’ noting the one punch Ko artists of that period. If we were to create a fighter, most notably a heavyweight who perfectly fits the bill as a present day ‘Tater man’ we’d be doing a disservice if we didn’t include former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. Interesting Fact: between turning pro in 2008 and his first championship fight in 2015, not one of Wilders 32 opponents heard the final bell. In fact in those 32 fights he’d only actively boxed 58 rounds an average of 1.8 rounds per fight. However following 10 successful title defences as WBC champion, the inevitable happened as is often the case with fighters that are considered invincible, he suddenly appeared very human in his 0-2-1 trilogy against Tyson Fury. However, in defeat Wilder displayed remarkable courage and grit in very physical fights where he was outclassed and quite frankly out-muscled, a hard pill to swallow considering the high expectation the American public had burdened on him for a decade. Nevertheless out of the gun-smoke Wilder showed impressive character in rebuilding himself with the plan being, a handful of high profile victories leading to a lucrative yet later than advertised meeting with another former champion in Anthony Joshua.. unfortunately the one weapon that had acted as his saving grace, suddenly seemed to have abandoned him, losing twice in fights where he struggled to pull the trigger and appeared a frail shadow of his former menacing self. The final defeat a shockingly stark knockout at the hands of Zhilei Zhang looked to many as the final curtain. Everyone in boxing had the opinion that a return to the highest level was too steep a mountain to climb for the Alabama fighter, for the first time in 16 years the hazy mist of retirement hung in the air as the bullets that had once shot Wilder to prominence, were no longer firing. What followed was a personal odyssey, Wilder separated himself from long time partner Telli Swift and withdrew from the public eye following some domestic abuse allegations. Wilder recently disclosed that he felt extremely betrayed by most of those that surrounded him when he was riding the crest of his championship wave and felt that he was too giving and enabled certain individuals to exist and drain his positive energy along with his finances. Deontay felt that he had been far too generous to everyone close to him and after some deep soul searching and introspective healing, emerged as a more selfish man, in an attempt to reclaim his passion for competitive boxing. So here we are, June 27th, and a low key return to the ring in Wichita Kansas where he takes on 24-5 Texan, Tyrell Herndon in a 10 round heavyweight bout that will be televised on USA network as a PPV feature. In 2018 Wilder fired then head coach Mark Breland and employed former foe Malik Scott to fill the void, this week Wilder chose to part ways with Scott albeit amicably. Deontay now considers Don House as his head coach, the man who ironically prepared Bermaine Stiverne to face him on the night he won the championship. Deontay Wilder isn’t the Bronze Bomber that terrorised the division a decade ago, but it’s interesting to see if the rebirth of a more clear minded version with and more positive outlook can navigate himself back into some kind of relevance in the division, Herndon isn’t the type of opponent to put a fire in Wilders belly, but it’s a chance to evaluate where Wilder stands within the bigger heavyweight landscape, regardless of anything Wilder remains a colourful and refreshing addition to a fairly stagnant division and will always bring his unique brand of tenacity to the table. 

Hrgovic v Adeleye, fortune favours the bold.

An intriguing heavyweight fight appears to have presented itself for the 16th August, Cacace v Ford show in Saudi Arabia, see’s the colourful yet enigmatic David Adeleye roll the dice against the highly ranked and proven Filip Hrgovic in an attempt to gatecrash the upper echelon of the division. Both fighters have lost a sole fight, albeit at very seperate levels, Filip dropping a game challenge to Daniel Dubois in what would have been for the vacant IBF championship, whilst David was more surgically exposed by Fabio Wardley in his first challenge for domestic honours a year prior. Filip has maintained a reputation as a rugged yet one paced workhorse, beating a moderate diet of opposition leading to his world ranking, winning an arguably controversial decision over Zhilei Zhang in possibly his most stern test aside from his loss. Adam Booth, the studious trainer of Adeleye has prior intel on Hrgovic going back to his days as head trainer for then WBA heavyweight champion David Haye. Booth employed Filip as a sparring partner alongside Richard Towers and Deontay Wilder and understands the pedigree that his new charge may face in such a dangerous challenge. Booth stated that Filip has some great attributes and even against Dubois, put together a fantastic start by utilising his jab and straight right hand, unfortunately Booth has noticed that he can fade and lose desire when fights become taxing, adding that Hrgovic never seemed to take that opportunity to step up as an accomplished heavyweight, tending to repeat his cycle of one paced pressure for as long as he can maintain it. Booth did add that the one time he did display the grit and fortitude to overcome adversity, was against Joe Joyce in his most recent showing, where he showed a willingness to fight through the discomfort of fatigue to subdue the notoriously resilient Joyce. Adeleye hasn’t seen anyone even close to the level of a Hrgovic, yet Booth explained that when you have a young, charismatic and spirited prospect, who can punch, when these types of rare opportunities present themselves, you’d be foolish not to afford yourself the gamble. David was due to rematch Jamie TKV in a repeat of their recent British title snoozefest, but opted to sidestep the less relevant match, to reach for higher honours. David is gifted and powerful, but he’s also complacent and hasn’t yet fulfilled his true potential, his best display being the 1 round annihilation of Sol Dacres last year, in a fight where he let his hands go and committed to the challenge. Booth understands heavyweight boxing and knows the enormity of the challenge that lies ahead for himself and Adeleye, but he also fully understands the rewards that come with victory at such an elevated stage, boxing is about timing and styles dictate the playout and outcome of fights, this one appears intriguing from both perspectives. 

Disturbing disclosure of fight fixing threats in Kazakhstan.

Daniela Leona Asenjo has revealed she was coerced into losing her IBO super flyweight world title rematch against Kazakhstan’s Angelina Lukas 15-1 (8 KOs) on May 31 in Taraz, Kazakhstan. Officially, Asenjo retired in the sixth round due to a back injury, but the Chilean  fighter and her coach, Alejandro Concha, allege they received death threats intended to ensure her opponents victory. The rugged Asenjo 17-5-3 (2 KOs) had previously fought through a broken sternum in a 2024 bout against Gabriella Fundora, the type of resilient form that lead onlookers to hold a level of suspicion regarding this recent mid fight submission. 

Almost a week after the match, Asenjo and Concha recounted a disturbing incident to journalist, Grupo Diario Sur. Both recalled an account, claiming that the fight’s promoter, an Azerbaijani national called Taryel Jafarov visited their hotel room, nervously placed a stack of U.S. dollars on Asenjo’s bed, and used a phone translator to say, “Asenjo isn’t going to win today, no way.” He allegedly added a more chilling message in writing, stating that If she wins, his life was in danger, they are going to cut my throat, and you won’t be able to leave Kazakhstan.”

Asenjo had previously fought Lukas 2 years ago, earning a points victory in Turkey. 

Wardley pulls out late knockout to extinguish Huni’s hopes or gatecrashing the party.

In what was to originally be heralded as a show stopping homecoming, Ipswich heavyweight Fabio Wardley 18-0-1 (17 Ko’s) was due to meet the colourful Jarrell Miller outdoors at Ipswich Towns, Portman road soccer stadium. Like most things in life, the schedule headliner fell apart and the unlikely Australian Justis Huni 12-0 (7 Ko’s) answered the late call to substitute as a considerable underdog. Last night the lightly regarded Huni outhustled and outlanded the heavy handed favourite with intelligent punch picking and fast feet for 9 rounds, before Wardley finally sprung to life with a perfectly timed overhand right to close the show and extinguish Huni’s dreams of a career defining upset and the WBA interim title strap. John Latham counted out the stricken visitor at 1.42 of the round. It’s likely now that Wardley meets Michael Hunter in the summer with a view to meeting the winner of the Usyk v Dubois match later in the year. 

Duane Ford steps down as president of the NABF after lengthy service.

 Last week the executive committee of the North American Boxing Federation (NABF) met in Houston, Texas, to celebrate Duane Ford, who decided to step down from his long term presidency of the organization, paving the way for an historic event. Joanna Aguilar, from New Mexico, USA, was elected the new president of the NABF, becoming the first woman to lead this organization, which was founded in 1968. It was a very emotional meeting in which memories flooded back to everyone who took the microphone and knows the deep and loyal contribution that Duane has devoted to the sport.  Ford began with a very short career as an amateur boxer eventually leading him to fully love and understand the sport where he would serve as a judge and official before being recognised for his merits and being appointed as the commissioner for the Nevada state athletic control board. Duane presided over the commission during the golden age of boxing, during the time of the Four Kings (Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, and Durán). He has been a member of the World Boxing Council’s Board of Governors, a judge with over 300 world title fights, and finally, president of the NABF until last Saturday.

The WBC has however appointed Duane as the NABF Vice President for life.He was a great boxing commissioner, and as chairman of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, actively participated in the process of important changes that the WBC implemented in the rules that have changed our sport in many ways, most importantly in the protection of fighters’ health and life after boxing.

During those years, the famous Muhammad Ali Act did not exist. It was created when a handful of American politicians used boxing as a means to generate massive publicity for their campaigns and won their respective elections. They then abandoned our sport. This law created a terrible divide between boxing organizations and the U.S. boxing community.

The law prohibits commissioners from that country from belonging to any organization, and that’s how great commissioners like Duane Ford and Dickie Cole had to decide between becoming commissioner of their state or of the NABF or the WBC.

To this day, commissioners are prevented from participating in the organization, and a large valuable gulf has been created. Not having commissioners in international organizations has created a great rift and has caused important changes that the WBC has implemented in the rest of the world.  

Defying the odds.. Part 2. A meeting with Don King Productions.

                                   

With the small talk pushed aside, Elijah beckoned everyone to submit a small service tip for the waitress who had attended to them before swilling back the remainder of his ice tea and heading back towards the casino, snatching a customary toothpick from the cashiers cage as he passed by. Both Finger twins lagged behind to look in the resorts overpriced gift shop whilst Steve Jaye appeared more curious of a nearby craps table. I hung back to watch what had interested the heavyweight and noticed the huge amounts that were being wagered on each dice roll. Jaye, a smooth featured black fighter smiled and shook his head as the gamblers celebrated yet another successful victory at the green felt jungle. We slowly strolled back to Elijah’s ride and carefully merged onto Las Vegas boulevard rolling south. “We’ve got an appointment with Kings people fellers, we gotta lay down some foundations, make good impressions. “ we pulled into an employee entrance of the MGM grand which swung into a private yard, often used for large productions and premier events, Don King productions had put together a plaza of mobile trailers which served as an office base for the Tyson v Holyfield promotion, occupying the whole plot. Elijah pulled into the only parking space and flashed his headlights at the nearest trailer, as he cut off the engine Carl King appeared from the trailer door, smiling with his arms spread wide. “Chi Town” King called out, in reference to Elijah who had worked with King with a number of Chicago based fighters, including McCall. “How’s life Elijah?” Shouted King Jr, the adopted son of the extraordinary Promoter..  “I’m fine junior, my money isn’t up..  but i survive..” King invited us all into the trailer where it appeared they had been toiling feverishly in the final preparations of the following days huge event. Elijah offered brief introductions as we filed in and sat uniformly at a desk opposite Carl. It appeared to me that Elijah had planned to introduce his young heavyweight to the promoter in a strategic attempt to network his way back into the picture, unfortunately the immature Jaye was completely oblivious as to the importance of first impressions, slouching, still wearing his headphones, completely inattentive to the promoter. Carl a shrewd and switched on operator took a sideways glance at the heavyweight and didn’t appear impressed at his attitude, he acknowledged me with a smile having met me on a number of informal occasions, before enquiring about Elijah and his current health. Elijah played down his own shortcomings but mentioned that he was struggling to make ends meet in the boxing business these days. Carl laughed nervously, “Damn Elijah. No one wants that spot…. Who are the brothers? “ Elijah introduced both of the twins individually and made it clear that they were free agents, offering an opening for King to view them as potential cash commodities. Elijah glanced at the completely ignorant Jaye, who showed no social gravity towards such an important opportunity, sitting with his head to the side, pulsing to the beat of his music. After a few moments of small talk Carl and Elijah began to reminisce about fighters and events they were involved with together. “Who was the tall brother from Chicago, long rangy mothafucker, he fought Mike over at the plaza..   “The Fonz..  Alfonso Ratliff” offered Elijah, yeah a nice dude, a righteous brother.  He held the Cruiserweight title didn’t he Elijah.? Yeah man, he was slick, beat the brakes off Deleon. 

“Hey Elijah do you remember him boxing that tough fucker, another Chicago boy..  the guy with the fake leg..   “  Elijah laughed as did both Finger twins at such an outrageous claim..   Elijah continued, “yeah Ratliff gave him his first loss at the Pavilion on one of Cedric’s shows, yeah real tough dude..” I knew this guy and politely offered his name “Craig Bodzianowski.” That’s him..  exclaimed King..  The Alligator, that’s what they called him..   I remember him boxing on national Tv and that motherfuckin fake leg dropped off causing the referee to halt the fight whilst they reattached that thing..  King, both Finger twins and Elijah all bust into laughter, Jesus..   A beautiful but large black lady politely entered the trailer to ask if anyone wanted any refreshments, Elijah passed, stating that we didn’t want to hold them too long on the eve of such an epic fight. “He ready?” Asked Elijah, referring to Tyson on the eve of the fight..   Oh he’s ready, assured King, he’s perfect. I just know when those officials knock on Holyfield’s dressing room door “TIME!!! (Knocking on the trailer wall..)” imitating the moment to come to the ring..   That brothers ass gonna be twitchy..  He knows what’s coming..   Eric Brown, one time Tyson business aide entered the room and handed King some paperwork, along with Robert Ritchie, a long term DKP employee, both finding the theatrics highly amusing. Elijah and myself shook Carls hand before we offered our pleasantries and all filed out of the office towards the car park. Carl stood on the steps of the trailer and waved us off as Elijah sternly chastised his heavyweight..  “You should have paid more attention, this business is built on first impressions and connections. “ Elijah shook his head and drove off onto the strip.. 

Defying the odds, a look back behind the scenes of the 1996, Tyson v Holyfield.. Finally.

Sitting in the Golden Gloves gym in North Las Vegas watching the steely focussed young amateur fighters train in the facility that had only hours previously acted as the secret hideaway for the reigning heavyweight champion Mike Tyson as he headed into his biggest fight since emerging from the Indiana youth facility. Mike had just completed his afternoon session surrounded by his usual caravan of cartoon characters who celebrated as the champions entourage. The contrasting quiet in the gym was serene as I watched young heavyweight Steven Jaye go through his paces, under the watchful gaze of the ageless Elijah Thomas. Jaye shadowboxed at a lethargic pace, a complete polar opposite in tempo to that of his hyperactive team mates, the colourful Finger twins from St Louis, Missouri. Super lightweight Terrell was training for an upcoming bout with Desi Ford in Florida whilst unbeaten super welterweight twin brother Lavell had just scored his 18th straight win over the inept Ismail Tillis in St Louis, both brothers a product of the streets were lively and extremely eccentric. Elijah, a man of few words but a decorated reputation concluded the session and spoke candidly about the Tyson v Holyfield fight which was to take place in 48 hours time. Elijah, the former manager of Oliver McCall knows Tyson first hand having seen his charge employed by Mike for several of his best years as a chief sparring partner. Michael is a killer and will go straight for the throat, offered Thomas, he does things differently since coming out of the penitentiary, but still does enough to dominate what’s out there today. Young heavyweight Jaye appeared uneasy at hearing this coming from his manager, but offered his own take in joining Elijah in expecting a Tyson victory. The finger twins however offered a more philosophical stance, “That brother got Jesus..” referring to Holyfields religious preference, it’s hard to beat a man with his beliefs..  Elijah smiled in dismissal to Fingers outspoken opinion. Lavell the twin nodded in agreement, with an unwritten understanding from his life experiences, that Holyfield had too much character to overlook. We all left the gym after exchanging pleasantries with Gym proprietor Hal Miller a former police lieutenant who brought the Golden Gloves franchise to the valley. Elijah, Jaye, myself and the finger twins jumped into Thomas’s oversized Cadillac coupe D’eville and headed out of the elegantly named Fantasy lane towards Washington Avenue destined towards the Strip. Everyone in our company enjoyed the ride in silence as the eloquent sound of Curtis Mayfield narrated the journey. As the car stopped at a set of lights on Fremont street and Las Vegas Blvd, it seemed almost like a movie set, the glittery lights illuminated the car, complimenting the stylishly  dressed Thomas who was almost pimp like in appearance with his Versace eyeglasses and cream fedora. Jaye had secluded himself from the group and sunk into his seat under his hood listening to his headphones whilst the twins who held a distinct resemblance of R and B artists KC and Jojo whispered between themselves. Elijah had passed the Flamingo intersection and asked his crew if they wanted to eat..  All agreed enthusiastically at the exact time that Thomas had made the executive decision to pull into the parking area of the Aladdin hotel. This place is as good as any, a nigger casino if I ever saw one..  Jaye shook his head as both Finger twins found the comment distastefully amusing. We walked across the elaborately decorated, guilt Porche Cochere before strolling through the entrance and onto a hallucinogenic patterned carpet that led through the casino walkway. The plan was to eat at the popular Aladdin buffet, but the nostalgic Thomas walked me a little further to the entrance to the theatre of the performing arts reminiscing about fighters that he had brought here to box in the past under the banner of local promoter Tony Trudnich. “This was the joint to be back in the day, if you made an impression boxing on the smaller shows at the Aladdin, the Silver slipper or the Hacienda, you’d soon be fighting at Caesars across the street, fighters served their apprenticeship here.” Elijah’s eyes appeared glassy as he immersed himself in nostalgia before returning to realism and the importance of a buffet dinner. 

Over dinner it was interesting to observe the culinary selection of each individual at the table. Heavyweight Jaye had a plate of chicken and mashed potatoes along with some bread and collards. The Chicago fighter ate and made noises to reflect his eating satisfaction..  whilst Both finger brothers chose small plates of fish and salad greens, each poking a fork into separate dishes and eating vigorously. Jaye was seated opposite Thomas and commented on his selection of unorthodox foods. “Hey Lija, why you eat like that, you coulda had roast beef, chicken, Catfish, meatloaf.. anything..   referring to the small plates of romaine lettuce, beets, tomatoes and croutons that the 80 year old sage had opted for. Lavell finger jumped to Elijah’s defence..  brother, that’s why Lija is a fit and spritely example of life, those greens and beets are natures steroids, they supercharge your body, Terrell nodded in agreement, that there is the route to everlasting life, we should all be eating like this to call ourselves athletes. Jaye submitted to the facts and nodded in appreciation as he pulled the final strands of meat from a chicken thigh. I did find it amusing at how both Finger twins were dressed immaculately, their hair was almost flawless and fingernails manicured to death..   but were both freshman when it came to self awareness, completely oblivious to their communal surroundings, both brothers flagrantly ate and spoke with their mouths full of food, occasionally spitting as they made enthusiastic points in the conversation. I actually found it endearing as no matter what they were perfect gentlemen.        Continues…. Tomorrow 

A Meeting with Don King productions. 

Mystery surrounding Janibek Alimkhanuly choosing to travel late to Australia for Mikhailovich clash.

                                     

The status of a unified champion is one that is craved by so many fighters but achieved by so few, whilst that of an undisputed champion is one that can define a legacy. Now, there is one man closing in on the undisputed crown after picking up two belts with ease, although he has put himself at a major risk of losing it all. The skill of Janibek Alimkhanuly was realised years ago and the Kazakh was quickly deemed as the bogeyman of the middleweight division despite limited experience as a professional. However, in recent times, the middleweight division has been blown wide open after the reigns of Jermall Charlo, Demetrius Andrade and Gennadiy Golovkin were each brought to a close by the respective sanctioning bodies rather than worthy opponents. That left ‘Qazaq’ style well poised in a position to capitalize and pick up the world titles and that is exactly what he has done, being elevated to WBO world champion and then knocking out Vincenzo Gualtieri to add the IBF trinket to his collection. Yet, Alimkhanuly has ran into a new issue that may prevent him from becoming the undisputed champion – his weight.

The 2013 amateur world champion fainted ahead of a title defence against Russian-New Zealander Andrei Mikhailovich due to a strenuous weight cut back in July and caused the bout to be rescheduled for this Friday night in Sydney. Now, the undefeated southpaw is tasked with an additional concern after it was revealed that he will only arrive in Australia on Wednesday, failing to allow his body to adjust to the 17-hour time difference between Sydney and his residence in California.  Mikhailovich’s promoter, Marco Rose, admitted that news Alimkhanuly’s seemingly ill-prepared travel arrangements was a ‘shock’, speaking with Fox Sports.

I don’t know if it’s over confidence or a lack of respect for Andrei but I’ve never had an international fighter request to fly here so late….  Normally, they’re arguing with us about trying to get Down Under weeks earlier so that they can shake the jet lag and acclimatise. So I’m absolutely shocked Janibek is only arriving on Wednesday…. Especially given the fact that he’s coming off those issue where he didn’t make weight last time.  You’d think you would be doing everything possible to make sure his weight is right this time around because I can assure him, Australia’s scales are the same as the ones he missed on in the US.

Janibek will be dealing with all that jet lag while also trying to cut weight.

Teofimo Lopez reveals bizarre reason why he would choose not to fight Shakur Stevenson.

                                     

Teofimo Lopez says the reason he doesn’t want to fight lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson is because he saw how he was suicidal after a loss in 2015 at the National Golden Gloves in Las Vegas.

Lopez says Shakur wanted to go to the top of the hotel and “jump off.” Teofimo adds that he doesn’t want to have the “blood” on his hands if Shakur falls apart after losing to him and takes his own life. Fans saw Shakur cry after his defeat in the 2016 Olympic finals against Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez. He was all broken up after that defeat. The judges weren’t into giving Shakur a win after he was outworked by a young Robeisy, who was on the attack the entire fight, outslugging him. That fight showed the blueprint for defeating Shakur: attacking him relentlessly, chasing him down, and not letting him win rounds with his low output.

Teofimo fights at 140 now, and he’s big for that weight class. In making weight for Teofimo’s last fight against Steve Claggett on June 29th, he appeared badly drained and performed poorly, struggling to beat the fringe contender by a 12-round unanimous decision in a fight closer than the judges’ scores.

Shakur looks big for the 135-lb division, but his lack of power makes it near-impossible for him to move up to 140 to fight the stronger punchers like Teofimo, Alberto Puello, Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela and Liam Paro. Those guys hit too hard and would be difficult for Shakur to handle. Stevenson had recent hand surgery, but he’s expected to defend his WBC lightweight title against William Zepeda in February. That will be a very difficult fight for Shakur because Zepeda is a pressure fighter who can punch and has a high output. Moreover, Zepeda cuts off the ring well and walks through punches to land his powerful body shots. He’s kryptonite for runners.

Mauricio Sulaiman speaks on the heavyweight landscape.

                                   

The heavyweight division will always be the one that moves the world of boxing and sports fans in general.

The world heavyweight champion is considered the most fearsome and powerful man on the planet, ever since the beginning of the sport of fists.

John L. Sullivan was the last heavyweight champion when gloves were not used and fights were bare-knuckle, and he was also the first world heavyweight champion with gloves.

He was a legend, the first athlete in the history of the United States to become a celebrity, and the first to earn a million dollars.

Another legend defeated him and became champion, Jim Corbett, known as Gentleman Jim. Thus, the crown was passed between gladiators who shocked everyone in every place they stood. Then came Jack Johnson, the first black world heavyweight champion.

He was quite a character in a crude era of humanity and was hated by whites. The champion was imposing and feared nothing and no one. He married a white woman, which led to him being accused, imprisoned, and stripped of everything he owned.

Other giants who wore the award were Joe Louis, who defended his championship 25 times, Rocky Marciano, who retired as an undefeated champion with a record of 49-0, and Sonny Liston, a fearsome man considered invincible.

Then came Cassius Clay, who changed his name to Muhammad Ali, and was, is, and will be the most famous and influential athlete in history.

Ali changed boxing and the way sports are promoted forever. He was known by every human being who walked the earth and is still remembered today as the greatest.

In modern times, the impactful knockout artist Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, and the brothers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko also stood out.

And who brought interest back to the top division was the knockout artist Deontay Wilder, who was champion for five years, followed by Tyson Fury, who knocked him out twice, and the current champion, the Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk.

The boxing scene has changed and, above all because of the great campaign of fights between the world’s top heavyweights.

His Excellency Turki Alalshikh appeared on the boxing map, and in less than a year he has achieved a revolution.

In October, 2023, he put together the inaugural Riyadh Season event called Battle of the Baddest with the WBC world heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury, against the former champion of the same weight, but from the UFC, Francis Ngannou.

That card was exclusive to heavyweights and served as an elimination tournament. The best have faced each other, and today we can say that there are at least six to eight fights of great interest that may take place in the near future.

The best in the world have fought each other, and the possible combinations between Usyk, Fury, Dubois, Joshua, Wilder, Kabayel, Zhang, Sanchez, Okole and Ruiz continue.

This past Saturday, Turki Alalshikh with Riyadh Season, and under the promotion of Queensberry and Matchroom, filled the legendary Wembley with 96,000 fans to witness the fight between two English giants: the champion Daniel Dubois, and the former champion, Anthony Joshua.

The spectacular nature of this premier division came to light from the first round to the surprise of most fans. Joshua fell to the canvas after receiving a powerful right hook, just at the end of the round.

The second and third rounds were highly anticipated, because while Anthony tried to get back into the fight, Daniel clobbered him with blows that staggered AJ.

Finally, in the fifth Joshua managed to connect a tremendous right hand that sent Dubois to the ropes, and when he tried to finish him off, they exchanged right hands and Joshua fell, poleaxed.

On December 21, the rematch will take place between Usyk and Fury in Saudi Arabia and depending on the result, the division’s plan will be defined in 2025.

Devin Haney pursues legal action against both Ryan Garcia and GBP.

                                    

Devin Haney’s doesn’t appear to have come to terms in regard to how his April 20th fight in New York transpired. TMZ Sports has recently confirmed that Devin is now suing Ryan in an attempt to seek closure. Haney who appeared to lose the high profile bout, prior to the adverse findings, filed the lawsuit against Garcia in New York last Friday. Devin has alleged that Garcia committed battery and fraud in the leadup too, and during their April 20 event at Barclays Center.

Garcia initially was ruled to have won the fight after knocking down Haney multiple times … but the outcome was later ruled a no-contest after NYSAC officials found that Garcia had Ostarine in his system.

Haney said if he had known Garcia had ingested a performance-enhancing drug prior to stepping into the ring, he definitely wouldn’t have agreed to the fight. Therefore, Devin states that he never consented to being on the wrong end of Garcia’s punches under such circumstances. 

Haney also said, among other things, that by ingesting the banned substance despite agreeing to fight under the guise that he would test clean, Garcia made misrepresentations that would have caused Haney to withdraw from the match as well.

In addition to Garcia, Haney is also suing Golden Boy Promotions for a breach of contract.

In his suit, Haney is suing for damages, claiming the entire ordeal caused him both physical injuries and damaged reputation which will amount to millions of dollars, along with emotional and mental distress. 

We’ve reached out to Garcia’s attorney for comment, without any successful responses so far.