Possible Wilder v Wawrzyk undercard.

On February 25th at the Legacy arena in Alabama, it's now Been announced that WBC champion Deontay Wilder (37/0 36 knockouts) will face Andrzej Wawrzyk of Poland (33/1 19 Knockouts) in his 5th defence of the championship he won nearly 2 years ago from Bermaine Stiverne in Las Vegas..    The undercard has not yet been finalised but word has it that tough Pole Artur Szpilka (20/2 15 Knockouts) will face Dominick Breazeale (17/1 15 Knockouts) in a battle of two former world title challengers, Szpilka having lost via stoppage to Wilder in his last outing while Breazeale received his only loss in an IBF title challenge to Anthony Joshua back in June via 7th round stoppage..   There looks to be another heavyweight co-feature on this card between tough Amir Mansour (22/2 16 Knockouts) and Travis Kauffman (31/1 23 Knockouts) a bout that looked destined to happen almost a year ago.. Amir looked set for a day in the sun last year when he dropped the unbeaten Breazeale before succumbing to an injury a round later, whereas Travis was unlucky not to have received a title shot in July against Wilder.. Having appeared to have done enough in his bout with Chris Arreola, even dropping the Riverside fighter in the third.. The fight was scored a razor thin split verdict for Arreola, before being changed to a NC following an Arreola drug test failure..  Arreola was given the call last minute to get his third shot at a title against Wilder back in July, regardless of his drug test failure after Wilders bout with Povetkin collapsed, ironically following a test failure by the Russian for Meldonium..  Although these two are probably the two more capable fighters on the card, they are the only two out of the 6 heavyweights that have yet to get a title shot..   I expect the winner of this bout at some point to get rewarded with such..

Briggs v Oquendo, WBA title fight in the works.

Word has it that a fight between WBA #5 Fres Oquendo and WBA #4 Shannon Briggs (60-6-1, 53 KOs) is expected to be announced in the near future for the vacant WBA  championship..  Australian Lucas Browne was lined up to fight Oquendo for the WBA title but a second drug test failure has sidelined Browne..  Briggs spent the best part of his comeback, first pursuing Wladimir Klitschko publicly before turning his attention on David Haye, even boxing on his undercard to initially honour a verbal contract to fight the former two weight champion until David opted for an easier route against WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew, reneging on the deal..  As luck would have it, the publicity proved fruitful, a championship bout with Browne was on the table 2 months ago, and now this more realistic deal against a live fighter in Fres who has stood as mandatory ever since his last bout, a decision loss to Ruslan Chagaev over 2 years ago for the Russians then WBA crown..
Oquendo is about to turn 44 in April, and a 2 year layoff is a long time for someone jumping straight back into a title fight..  Oquendo did however look competitive in his losing effort back in July 2014, the last time Oquendo actually won a fight was against journeyman Galen Brown in May of the same year..  His last meaningful victory was over journeyman Derric Rossy in 2013..
Both guys have had bouts of inactivity and have had suffered setbacks throughout their careers, even if Briggs is from another era, it could be an interesting fight between two very capable heavyweights..

Upcoming Tv dates for January.

Friday, January 13
Erislandy Lara vs. Yuri Foreman
(WBA super welterweight title)
Hialeah park casino, Hialeah Florida..
(Spike Tv)

Saturday, January 14
Badou Jack vs. James DeGale
(WBC/IBF super middleweight titles)
Jose Pedraza vs. Gervonta Davis
(IBF junior lightweight title)
Barclays centre, Brooklyn.
(Showtime Tv)

Friday, January 27
Erick De Leon vs Jose Salinas
(super featherweight)
Sportsmans lodge, Studio City, California.
(UniMas Tv)

Saturday, January 28
Carl Frampton vs. Leo Santa Cruz II
(WBA featherweight title)
Dejan Zlaticanin vs. Mikey Garcia
(WBC lightweight title)
MGM Grand, Las Vegas Nv.
(Showtime Tv)

Saturday, January 28
Francisco Vargas vs. Miguel Berchelt
(WBC super featherweight title)
Takashi Miura vs. Mickey Roman
(WBC super featherweight eliminator)
Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio California.
(HBO Tv)

Shumenov and Dorticos make WBA appeal against Lebedev.

An interesting appeal is taking place by two holders of the WBA cruiserweight championship..  WBA champion Beibut Shumenov and interim champion Yunier Dorticos are looking to have WBA (super) champion Denis Lebedev stripped of his title having recently lost by decision to Murat Gassiev in a championship bout where Lebedev's WBA crown was not up for grabs..  President Gilberto Mendoza has acknowledged the appeal and the WBA seriously considering action..  it was however noted that throughout boxing history it has occurred several times where a champion has lost and returned in his next bout to defend a crown..  Mendoza's example was that of Zabdiel Judah, who lost his WBC title to Carlos Baldomir, yet held on to his IBF belt (which was not on the line) only to defend it in his next fight against Floyd Mayweather..   I understand the implications here, the ideals behind a super champion status was consider the particular holder to be recognised as the divisions premier champion, in which case having lost his alternate title in a previous bout, the Super status is questionable..  

Beterbiev gets rid of Prieto in one.

IBF #2 world ranked light heavyweight Artur Beterbiev (11-0, 11 KOs) took very little time to demolish the usually durable Isidro Ranoni Prieto (26-2-3, 22 KOs) in the opening round of their NABA title fight on Friday at the Lac Leamy Casino in Gatineau, Quebec. The writing was on the wall as Beterbiev dropped Prieto within the opening 25 seconds. The relentless Russian had Prieto down a second time from a flurry of punches moments later, finishing the job at 2:44 of the round with referee Michael Griffin calling a halt with the Argentinian in no state to continue..
Beterbiev who lost marginally to the current WBO cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk at the 2012 olympics, looks on course for a shot at a version of the world championship in 2017, Prieto on paper looked to be a sturdy test for Artur at this stage of his career, but on this form its obvious that he is well ahead of schedule.

Other Results:

Danyk Croteau KO1 Alex Ebanks (middleweight)

Vislan Dalkhaev W8 Salvador Hernandez (super bantamweight)

Louisbert Altidor KO6 Alvaro Enriquez (super middleweight)

Vanessa Lepage Joanisse TKO3 Maria Jose Velis (female cruiserweight)

Determined Fury aiming at April return.

News has emerged today from Team Fury that Tyson is back in moderate training and could be in the ring as soon as April-May 2017..  Fury hasn't boxed since winning the unified championship from Wladimir Klitschko 13 months ago in Germany..   Tyson vacated his championships in September after revealing that he was suffering with depression and had struggled with bouts of substance abuse..
Fury is said to be weighing close to 270lbs but is determined that he can steadily return to the kind of condition that put him to the top of the division..
People are forgetting that Fury is still undefeated and has get to falter in the ring..
Peter Fury, Tyson's uncle and trainer has said Tyson is training hard everyday and will prove that he is the number 1 heavyweight in the world, his preferred direction would be to aim for Deontay Wilders title after a couple of tune ups..   since vacating the belts we now have three certified holders of the separated belts..    Fury still believes that he is far superior to the men that he says "Picked up the scraps."

Golovkin v Jacobs ticket information.

The long awaited unification match between WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight king Gennady Golovkin (36/0, 33 Ko's) and WBA regular champion Danny Jacobs (32/1, 29 Ko's) was announced last week..  The fight will take place on March 18th at New York's Madison Square Garden, the bout is to be distributed live via HBO pay-per-view..

Presented by K2 Promotions, Golovkin-Jacobs tickets are priced at $1000, $600, $400, $300, $200 and $100, and go on sale Christmas Eve, this Saturday, December 24th at 12:00 p.m. ET and can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.thegarden.com.

Who's next to face Joshua v Klitschko winner.?

Following the announcement of their huge unification match on April 29th, arguments have arisen as to whom the Wladimir Klitschko v Anthony Joshua winner should face as immediate mandatory. It was originally thought that the winner of the Wembley Stadium mega fight would face the now WBO champion Joseph Parker, but considering he veered down another route, it looked highly likely that it would either be WBA #1 Luis Ortiz or WBA intercontinental champion Kubrat Pulev.. Over the last few days WBA President Gilberto J. Mendoza told Media that the WBA wants the winner of the fight to face WBA #1 Luis Ortiz, but since the IBF championship is also on the line, Team Sauerland have made it known through social media that the winner has to face their fighter, IBF mandatory Kubrat Pulev, who recently beat an ageing Samuel Peter in Bulgaria..   it does look more than likely that because the WBA super title is going to be up for grabs, Ortiz should be the pick..  Pulev has been less willing to fight opponents of any note of late, since losing to Wladimir he has beaten George Arias, a 39 year old Mo Harris before squeezing past Derrick Chisora by the skin of his teeth in May and beating a Samuel Peter who had no business in the ring last month..   Pulev was already offered the opportunity to fight Anthony Joshua for the IBF prior to Molina getting the call, Pulev declined..

Recent tweet reveals Whyte could face Stiverne for WBC mandatory.

The boxing grapevine has an interesting rumour circulating tonight, revolving around WBC number 9 ranked heavyweight Dillian Whyte (20/1) 15 Knockouts, being the suggested opponent to fight the soon to be #1 contender Bermaine Stiverne (25/2) 21 Knockouts, for a shot at Deontay Wilders title..   Stiverne should have boxed his eliminator last week against Povetkin in Ekaterinburg, before Alexander failed a drug test for the substance Ostarine, when the WBC pulled its sanctioning of the fight, Stiverne saw no reason to fulfil any obligation to box a drug cheat with such little reward..  Victory on Saturday should have brought the winner the interim title and a direct shot at Deontay..   Looking at the top 10 rankings it could be understood how Whyte may be the considered opponent, although he is at number 9, those placed ahead of him have either other obligations or have recently been beaten. Duhaupas and Ruiz lost high profile bouts only a week ago, while Szpilka and Takam have been inactive for 18 months collectively. Pulev recently turning down a shot at the IBF to face an over the hill Samuel Peter..  and with Povetkin's number 1 ranking in jeopardy, Whyte looks the natural choice having recently beaten a highly regarded former title challenger in Derreck Chisora..  Dillian has made no secret of it, that he isn't afraid to face anyone and he's shown that he is enthusiastic to stay busy..
If Dillians recent tweet is to prove fruitful, it could make for an interesting fight..

Wilder looks to make ring return in February.

Word has it that WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (37-0, 36 KOs) will return to the ring on February 25 at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, in a voluntary defense against WBC #12 Andrzej Wawrzyk (33-1, 19 KOs). Wawrzyk has mixed in moderate company, his only loss in 34 was to Alexander Povetkin in 2013, his more notable wins came against former WBC title challenger Danny Williams and a faded Franz Botha.. Wilder suffered multiple injuries in his win over Chris Arreola last July, this will be his first active appearance in 7 months... Wawrzyk has won six straight by KO since his sole loss in May 2013.  Deontay won his crown from Bermaine Stiverne in January of 2015 and has made 4 successful defences against reasonable opposition, in Molina, Duhaupas, Spilka and Arreola..  the Arreola defence came about on short notice following the collapse of the Povetkin fight, due to the Russians drug test failure for the substance Meldonium.

Don King sounds off about the Povetkin situation.

In the aftermath of last weekends shenanigans in Ekaterinburg Russia, many including Don King (the promoter of Bermaine Stiverne) are questioning the integrity of a sport which allows a fighter to fail drug tests on more than one occasion, yet still box in a main event bout and get paid only days later..   King voiced his opinion yesterday, stating that Stiverne should be awarded the WBC interim title, the championship he could have won Saturday had Povetkin not fouled the rules..  Stiverne is the innocent party here, yet more than likely won't receive full payment for what was weeks of training and preparation prior to the event, and its embarrassing for all concerned that the Russian also flagrantly failed a test for Meldonium back in May, before the muted championship bout with Wilder..   King offered praise for the WBC and its clean boxing program along with the stance they took on Saturday by removing all sanctions for the scheduled bout..  Mauricio Sulaiman is to be praised for his dynamic leadership with the way he is bringing his governing body in line with current issues..
Stiverne flew home, the same way Wilder flew home after his wasted journey seven months ago, and I can't blame them, it seems that Povetkin is playing by his own particular rules, without repercussion it seems..