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Kenshiro Teraji could not summon another miracle finish.

Ricardo Sandoval proved more than a worthy challenger, as he overcame a fifth round knockdown to win the WBA and WBC flyweight titles via split decision. Judge Pawel Kardyni (114-113) had Teraji edging the contest, overruled by judges Leszek Jankowiak (115-112) and Joseph Gwitt (117-110), who awarded California’s Sandoval with the upset win atop a DAZN/U-Next title fight tripleheader Wednesday from Yokohama Buntai in Yokohama, Japan. 

Kyoto’s Teraji was coming off a 12^th round knockout of Seigo Yuri Akui to become a two-division unified titlist. Their March 13 thriller remains the leading candidate for 2025 Fight of the Year but was also a taxing affair that required Teraji to rally from a scorecard deficit.

Sandoval did his best to ensure that history wouldn’t repeat itself.

“It feels great. All the hard work paid off,” Sandoval said after the win. “I never stopped working since I was ten years old. Now we’re here, and we’re [a two-belt] champion.”

Action was measured out the gate. Sandoval boxed at a distance in his first career title challenge. Teraji – one of the sport’s top action fighters – didn’t waste any energy or punches, as he comfortably moved forward to create openings for his potent offense.

Sandoval popped his jab to open the second, to which Teraji quickly responded in kind. Teraji connected with a right hand after two previous attempts, while Sandoval sought to sneak in a counter left hook. Sandoval landed a three-punch combination, which Teraji took well.

Teraji picked up the pace in the third, though Sandoval was consistent with his jab down the middle. Action along the ropes saw both boxers connect with right hands. Sandoval’s shot allowed the challenger to get off the ropes and bring the fight to the center of the ring. Teraji landed a one-two, to which Sandoval responded with a left hook around the champion’s guard.

Sandoval continued to beat Teraji to the punch in the fourth. Teraji reached with his jab but Sandoval remained out of his foe’s effective punching range. Sandoval jabbed an incoming Teraji but missed with a right and was open for a counter left hook to the body. A right hand by Sandoval cracked Teraji on the chin, as did a left hook later in the frame.

Teraji bounced on his toes at the start of the fifth. Sandoval landed a jab and right hand to the body, but was backed into a corner by Teraji. He attempted to resume control but was floored by a heavy right hand behind a range-finding jab midway through the round.

The sequence immediately changed the course of the bout. Sandoval beat the count but Teraji immediately went on the hunt in his best effort to not squander the moment.  

Sandoval threw in combination in the sixth, though his punches momentarily lacked the same steam from earlier rounds. Teraji made every punch count and briefly cornered Sandoval, who managed a right hand to avoid pending danger. Teraji connected with a right uppercut just inside the ten-second mark.

The start of the second half saw Sandoval stand his ground in a bid to reclaim early round success. He fired off jabs and right hands with conviction, all which Teraji took well but without an immediate response. Teraji cut off the ring and landed a counter right on a cornered Sandoval. A brief clinch was met with a Teraji push, to which Sandoval responded with a left hook.

Action slowed in rounds eight and nine, which worked to Sandoval’s benefit. Teraji was measured but largely ineffective in his approach during these moments. Sandoval continued to stick his jab and right hand down the middle, to further disrupt Teraji’s rhythm.

Teraji landed a right hand in the tenth, his best moment in several rounds. Sandoval briefly switched to southpaw and scored with an overhand left. Both boxers landed with their jab but Sandoval got the better of the exchange with a follow-up right hand down the middle. Teraji and Sandoval each loaded up on right hands, neither of which hit the mark.

Sandoval dug a right hand to the body in the eleventh. Teraji responded in kind, to start off frequent two-way action throughout the frame. An uppercut by Teraji found the mark late, as Sandoval returned to his jab and fought at long range. Sandoval closed the high-volume round with a left hand out of a southpaw stance.

The final round approach by both boxers suggested each believed the fight outcome was very much in the balance.

Teraji slammed home a left hook to the body, which Sandoval took well and responded with two power shots. Sandoval landed upstairs but Teraji walked through it and charged forward to score with two right hands. Teraji slammed home another right along with an uppercut as Sandoval was forced on the defensive down the stretch. Sandoval launched a left hook, met with a right hand by Teraji just before the bell.

The post-fight body language was telling, without any knowledge of how the judges scored the contest. Sandoval was paraded around the ring by his team, while Teraji bore a sheepish grin as he stood in his corner.

It was reflected in the outcome, as Sandoval, 27-2 (18 KOs) and his corner erupted in celebration upon hearing “… and the NEW” from legendary ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jnr.

Teraji fell to 25-2 (16 KOs), as he snapped a seven-fight win streak spanning two weight divisions. He avenged his first career defeat, a September 2021 tenth-round knockout to Masamichi Yabuki with a one-sided, third round stoppage in their rematch. The feat saw Teraji reclaim his WBC 108lbs title, to which he added the WBA belt and lineal championship just one fight later in a rout of unbeaten countryman Hiroto Kyoguchi.

Teraji abandoned his junior flyweight title reign to campaign at flyweight, where he stopped Cristofer Rosales in the tenth round to win the vacant WBC title last October. His abovementioned win over Akui saw Teraji join Naoya Inoue as Japan’s only two fighters to unify titles in two or more weight divisions.

The accolades were enough to garner pound-for-pound consideration, though that came to a halt on Wednesday.

Sandoval has now won seven in a row following a July 2022 majority decision defeat to David Jimenez. An eleventh round knockdown was the difference on the cards.

It was also just enough to knock him out of title contention after he previously held the IBF mandatory position at flyweight.

There was no denying his dream in his first title bid, as Sandoval took down one of the sport’s very best to bring two titles home to the U.S.

“My team kept pushing,” said Sandoval. “We had an amazing game plan, we worked on it and worked on it and came away with the win. All the 29 pro fights I had and the amateur fights I had, I always trained like it was a world championship. All the hard work paid off.

“My family and my team, they always kept pushing me to be the best. Now that I’m the world champion, this is for them.”

Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.

If you were to re-write the sci-fi film Cocoon as a horror, you might get close to what we today see in boxing when it comes to retired fighters. 

Tempted by regenerating waters, they hear the promises, they smell the money, and they come shuffling out of the retirement home towards the pool. It is then, as they lower themselves into it and start to swim, that they realise all the pool contains is chlorine and all that happens is their skin starts to shrivel up and they find it increasingly difficult to catch their breath during front crawl. 

To make matters worse, a much younger swimmer in one of the fast lanes soon takes great pleasure in overtaking them and reminding them of their age. Then, just as they start to tread water and struggle to stay afloat, one of these young swimmers grabs the head of the older swimmer and pushes it beneath the water until everything goes dark and, as promised, they are no longer old. 

This, in boxing, is a familiar tale. Every year, in fact, we will witness a young boxer fight and inevitably beat a faded champion in order to signal the changing of the guard. Out with the old, and in with the new, it is as much a part of a former champion’s journey as a prospect’s journey and it is therefore easy to stomach and make peace with it. 

However, as if that’s now boring, we have recently seen new spins on this tradition and new ways to exploit the elderly. We have, for instance, seen neophytes like Jake Paul beckon Mike Tyson, at 58, out of retirement for eight lucrative rounds of fun on Netflix. We have also seen Shane Mosley (53) lose to some guy called Matt “The Jedi” Floyd, Manny Pacquiao (46) box for another world title, and Oliver McCall (60) keep going and going at the Texas Troubadour. 

These are all efforts to defy the ageing process and some will naturally make more sense than others. The problem is, because fighters can go on longer now than before there is a sudden drive on the part of young, active fighters to capitalise on this fear of ageing and abuse it. Case in point: last weekend Claressa Shields reiterated her interest in fighting Laila Ali, daughter of “The Greatest”, and the world just shrugged. We accepted it; expected it. We know that even if the fight appeals more to Shields than anyone else, that won’t stop the people involved trying to make it happen. After all, they know what works in 2025. They know that age is but a number and that names – big names – are the things that really count. 

As a result, there are now many big names out there willing to ignore the limitations placed on them by their age and instead dream of waters capable of making them younger. They see not ruthless promoters but Antareans. They think of themselves as aliens, not humans. They see their life as a film, one with a happy ending.  

Laila Ali

Age: 47

Reason for return: Laila Ali, daughter of the GOAT, and the GWOAT before women’s boxing got good and there were all these other GWOATs, hasn’t boxed since February 2007. She is also undefeated, winning all 24 of her pro fights, and the holder of many belts, most of them at super middleweight. 

Because Ali never lost, and because of her surname, there will forever be an interest in her returning to the ring, especially with women’s boxing now thriving and looking altogether different than it did back in her day. Now she has someone like Claressa Shields seeing the value in a fight against her and reportedly offering her $15 million to make it happen. That is the kind of figure Ali said she would need to hear to even entertain a comeback and Shields, in supposedly offering it, may well have called her bluff. For Shields, of course, the Ali fight would represent the one thing she has lacked of late: a compelling match against a big name capable of attracting a mainstream audience. 

Interest in seeing it: 1/10

Shannon Briggs

Age: 53

Reason for return: Shannon Briggs already did the comeback thing between 2014 and 2016, which is when he went around yelling “Let’s go, Champ!” and hoped that personality alone would get him a money-spinning fight. He chased Wladimir Klitschko at one stage, then settled for David Haye. Neither ended up sharing a ring with him, however, and Briggs therefore watched his career fizzle out under a cloud of performance-enhancing drugs controversy. 

Now, almost 10 years later, there is talk of Briggs again coming back, inspired, it seems, by the activity of Oliver McCall, his fellow American. McCall has been busy fighting on Country Box shows (“Where Music Meets Boxing”) in Nashville and Briggs has apparently expressed an interest in doing the same to build himself back up. His goal beyond that, according to reports, is a fight against Deontay Wilder, the former WBC heavyweight champion. Let’s go (home), Champ.

Interest in seeing it: 0/10

Chris Eubank

Age: 58

Reason for return: Given the recent traumas and issues Eubank has faced, very little of what he says or does should be taken seriously and this includes any talk of a return to the ring. That is something he has floated a few times of late, rather worryingly, though nobody expects the threat – and that’s precisely what it is – to amount to anything. In fact, Eubank remains forever interested in attention and knows that talk of a comeback will always guarantee that. What is more, he seems only to talk of a comeback when upset by the behaviour of his son, Chris Junior, and feels that doing something ridiculous – meaning, a return to boxing – might be his one way of getting through to him. Theirs is, alas, a complicated relationship. 

Interest in seeing it: 0/10

Carl Froch

Age: 48

Reason for return: Not only did Carl Froch end his career on the perfect note – knocking out George Groves with a right hand in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium – he also invested his money wisely to ensure the temptation to return would not be so great once he settled into retirement. That said, money isn’t the only thing that drags a retired fighter back to the ring. There is also the need for attention, publicity, and worship, all of which leave a fighter the second they hang up the gloves and try to remember how to act like a civilian content with new-found insignificance. 

In the case of Froch, it would be wrong to say he has struggled with this, for he has managed to stay retired for over a decade, but there are signs nonetheless that he still wants to be involved in the sport. There have, for example, been punditry gigs and a fairly successful podcast to boot. There has also been an ongoing “feud” with Jake Paul, whom Froch derides whenever he gets the opportunity and would clearly like to fight. He would like to fight him, one, because he sees it as an easy fight, and two, because Froch has a nose for a pound note and knows that being attached to Jake Paul in a business capacity will do wonders for his profile. 

Interest in seeing it: 3/10

Tyson Fury

Age: 36

Reason for return: If we pretend for one moment that Tyson Fury is actually being serious this time and is properly retired, of all the potential comebacks we might see this year, it is his that makes the most sense. For one, he is still only 36 years of age and has shown few signs of wear and tear. Two, he is still a huge name in the sport and stands to make a lot of money –  more money – by announcing a “return” to the ring less than a year after he said he was walking away for good. Even if talk of a third fight against Oleksandr Usyk smacks of desperation, there is no doubt that Fury remains a powerful player at heavyweight and is still one of the only boxers left who is able to call the shots. 

Interest in seeing it: 6/10

Ricky Hatton 

Age: 46

Reason for return: Ricky Hatton’s issues with letting go have been well-documented and are not uncommon. He has had his struggles, as they all have, and he has had comebacks, too. In 2012, he returned to the ring to fight Vyacheslav Senchenko only to discover it had been a mistake once the fight got underway, punches started to land, and everything started to hurt. He then supported his son, Campbell, on his own professional journey, which for a while helped to distract Ricky, divert his focus elsewhere, and remind him of both his age and his responsibilities. 

Now, though, things have changed again. Now Campbell has retired, at the age of just 24, and Ricky, his father, is getting back in the saddle. In fact, it was around the same time that his son realised the sport wasn’t for him that Ricky, at 46, announced a fight in the United Arab Emirates against Eisa Al Dah on December 2. It made for the strangest example of torch-passing in recent memory.  

Interest in seeing it: 0/10

Wladimir Klitschko

Age: 49

Reason for return: Although Carl Froch and Andre Ward both left the sport to the sounds of a victory march, it could be argued that Wladimir Klitschko’s exit was even more perfect than theirs. After all, despite losing against Anthony Joshua in his final fight, Klitschko kind of got everything he needed that night at Wembley Stadium in 2017. He got the adulation of the fans for the spirited nature of his losing effort and he also got a reminder from the boxing gods that his time had passed and that there were younger, fresher heavyweights coming through, each of them eager to usher him towards the exit. 

That, for a fighter half in and half out, is exactly what they need – if not want – as their career stutters towards the finish line. The problem for Klitschko, of course, is that he is a heavyweight and heavyweights are known to (a) go on longer than anyone else and (b) always make money if they carry a big enough name. With Klitschko, the temptation to return is now only increased by the growing influence of Saudi Arabia and the blank cheques they can throw in the direction of big names, particularly heavyweights. It’s why we have seen the Ukrainian waver a little bit in recent times and why rumours of a comeback refuse to go away. 

Interest in seeing it: 1/10

Ricardo Mayorga

Age: 51

Reason for return: In May, some six years after his last pro fight, former two-weight world champion Ricardo Mayorga competed in an exhibition bout against Luis “Yori Boy” Campas in Nicaragua. It was a six-round bout, which Mayorga won, and hopefully it represented the end of something rather than the start of something. Because the truth is, Mayorga, at 51, and Campas, at 53, have not lived the lives of athletes and are therefore both older, in fighting terms, than even their ages would suggest. Mayorga, in particular, was notorious for living wildly and fighting recklessly and any proposed comeback in 2025 would be a continuation of this lifestyle rather than something wise or advised. 

Interest in seeing it: 0/10

Floyd Mayweather

Age: 48

Reason for return: Happy to do exhibition bouts for bags of money, Floyd Mayweather has reinvented himself as a semi-pro boxer in the last few years and as far as we can tell has no desire to go full-time. In the land of exhibitions, he can call the shots, follow a script, and get away with lots of cash and very little damage. 

Yet there will surely always be a pull towards boxing for Mayweather, if only because it is, to him, as natural as breathing. He is also a massive name in the sporting world and presumably arrogant enough to look at someone like Manny Pacquiao, his great rival, and say to himself, “Well, if he’s coming back and fighting for titles, why shouldn’t I?”

Interest in seeing it: 0/10

Andre Ward

Age: 41

Reason for return: If you think Carl Froch completed the game and fled at the right time, Andre Ward did all that and more. He not only beat Froch, you see, and remains the only professional fighter Froch never defeated, he also left the sport in his prime without having ever lost a pro fight. His last fight, in 2017, saw him stop Sergey Kovalev and it wasn’t long after that that he announced his retirement. Only 33 at the time, many had expected Ward to go on for years, so were understandably stunned when he confessed that he had had enough. 

Since then, he has managed to somehow stay close to the sport – as a pundit; commentator – yet remain strong enough to deny his natural urges or get too close. That is something with which most retired fighters struggle, and yet Ward, more intelligent than your average, has been able to maintain the balance and his perspective. It is only recently, in fact, that he has teased the idea of a return to the ring and even then one cannot be entirely sure of the motive. Perhaps he meant it. Or perhaps he was just bored and wanted some attention. 

“I am hard-wired to compete,” Ward said in an interview with Stephen A. Smith eighteen months ago. “The problem with retirement, and why other guys go to different vices, or depression sets in, is because they lose their identity and don’t redirect that drive. I’ve always been a man on a mission. 

“Every now and again that hard-wiring gets active. It’s like I’ve had to retire multiple times. I’ve had to talk myself off the ledge [of coming out of retirement] multiple times. It’s not easy. Retirement is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. It’s been six years and nobody has called my name. There is a reason for that.”

Interest in seeing it: 3/10

“The Camden Buzzsaw” finally ground to a halt on Friday, when Dwight Muhammad Qawi – one of the great light heavyweights and cruiserweights – died at the age of 72.

Qawi was unique – a hand grenade of a man who stood less than 5ft 7ins but routinely whipped bigger men, and even moved up to heavyweight. He also did not have a single amateur fight before going pro, and made his professional debut just one month after being released from prison.

Qawi, then Dwight Braxton, served five-and-half years for an armed robbery when he was 19, and while prison was tough, he put his time there to good use.

He decided his life should take a different path. He studied and earned his general diploma, and he started to box.

By the time he got out, he was a keg of dynamite, venom and mistrust and, with a reputation as a street fighter, a man Dwight knew as Ike Hammonds saw him walking the streets after his release.

“What are you doin’?” Hammonds asked.

“Not much,” snapped the gruff Camden man.

Hammonds bought him some sneakers and took Dwight straight to Joe Frazier’s Gym on North Broad.

“This guy can fight,” bragged Hammonds excitedly. Boy, could he fight.

A month later, Dwight made his pro debut. He only drew with Leonard Langley, but such was Dwight’s improvement he wiped Langley out in two rounds two years later.

But it was not easy at the start. Braxton was 1-1-1 in his first three fights, even if the six-rounder he lost – to Johnny Davis – was a robbery.

“Braxton bullied and pummelled Davis in all corners all night only to lose a split decision in six,” read one report. The education continued. 

He’d catch the early train from Camden to Philadelphia at around 5am, do a day’s work, go to Frazier’s, and catch the train back to get home by 10pm.

In the Philly gyms he sparred the likes of Willie Monroe, Bennie Briscoe, and Marvin Johnson

“They put me in the ring with those guys and I did good,” he recalled.
 However, frustrated by his uneven start, he asked coaches Wesley Mouzon and Quenzell McCall to help him with his defense.

“There’s got to be a better way of getting at these guys when they’re running,” he said.

With that, Braxton adopted the cross-and-block style, improved his head movement, and practised cutting off the ring.

“I learned my skills well and knew boxing wasn’t all bout blood and guts,” he once told me. “You need determination and a killer instinct, but it’s a sweet science. For every action, there’s an opposite, an equal reaction, and there’s a counter for everything.”

After eight fights Qawi boxed the undefeated 6ft 3ins South African Theunis Kok in South Africa during apartheid.

It was a hard fight to the extent that he later said: “That was that intense I can’t tell you nothing about it.” He made just $2,000 for stopping Kok in the 10th and final round.

Braxton had come out of nowhere and was causing such a stir that people didn’t think he was who he said he was. They thought Dwight was a ringer.

“He’s had more fights than he’s saying,” cried Angelo Dundee, Kok’s trainer. “He’s going under pseudonyms. Who is he really?”

Braxton’s education continued in the gyms, and he started working with the 1976 Olympic gold medalist Michael Spinks, sometimes sparring eight five-minute rounds a day.

“We were going at it – it was even better than the fight we had,” Braxton said.

What he was picking up in the gyms was priceless. He parlayed it into battering the former WBA champion Mike Rossman in seven rounds in Atlantic City, by when his reputation was preceding him. “I was confident I could just look at a guy and stop him,” he snarled.

He’d beaten Johnny Davis in their rematch, too, and after Rossman, despite saying he would never go back to prison, he returned.

It was inside the walls at Rahway State Penitentiary where Braxton faced the leading contender James Scott, who was still allowed to box behind the prison walls despite his conviction on a homicide charge. 

There was bad blood between the pair. Braxton claimed Scott owed him a few hundred bucks for services rendered as a sparring partner when he was inside and usually it was Scott who was the bully, cutting a bald, menacing and intimidating figure.

Dwight laughed off whether he was apprehensive about going into Rahway for the fight, and when they boxed, in September of 1981, Braxton outworked his old prison buddy over 10 rounds.

That was the victory that earned Dwight his first title shot, and he was paired with fan-favorite Matthew Saad Muhammad for the Philadelphian’s WBC title. The winner would earn a lucrative unification fight with Spinks; Saad-Spinks was the dream fight of the generation.

Braxton simply loved fighting. In the lead up to the contest, he recalled sparring as many as 30 rounds a day working on what he needed to in order to claim Matthew’s coveted WBC crown. Braxton doubled up on sweatsuits and cranked up the heat in the gym, knowing that there was a storm coming his way.

Saad Muhammad was a warrior, known for always being able to battle back from the brink of disaster to often stop or knock out his opponents. He had done it time and again, to the extent that he’d been dubbed “Miracle Matthew”.

“In training, I told myself this guy keeps coming back,” Braxton explained. “He was very good. He hurt me in that fight and the whole room turned upside down. He did a lot of things that were textbook.

“[But] I knew he was made for me. I knew what was going to happen in that fight.”

It was the night Saad Muhammad, brutally beaten in 10 rounds, ran out of miracles. It was the night when a young Mike Tyson recalled crying in the Brownsville ghetto realizing that Saad Muhammad’s superpowers had an expiration date.  

After winning the title, Dwight changed his name to Dwight Muhammad Qawi. You could argue he was never adored by the fans because of their love for who he took the title off. No matter, he doubled down.

“I’m going to knock the ‘a’ out of him and make him Sad Muhammad,” Qawi said, heading into the rematch.

Not only had Saad Muhammad run out of miracles, but the previous beatings he’d absorbed as the heartbeat of a brutal 175lbs era had crippled his durability and previously-insane powers of recuperation.  

“The second fight was a blowout – I was right at the top of my game,” said Qawi, who then battered Saad in six.

A couple of decades later, I asked Qawi if Saad was “shot” by that point. “If he was, I shot him,” he replied.

Qawi had said it then, in 1982, he said it years later and he said it into old age – that was Qawi at his violent best. A sawn-off-yet-sophisticated beast; a calculated pressure fighter with a ridiculously good jab for a small man who, despite always giving away height and reach, was hard to hit, despite often being stood in range. He could outslug opponents, sure, but he could outbox them, too.

Crushing Saad brought Qawi to Spinks, and one of the biggest 175lbs fights in history. Qawi lost a decision and while the Camden warrior wanted a return, a pinched nerve in his shoulder meant that the rematch was scrapped. 

Outside of the ring, Qawi’s life was filled with constant challenges.

His brother Lawrence had beaten their father Charles to death (Charles’ skull was fractured and a pipe was found nearby). Qawi was going through a divorce and when the cruiserweight division was created, he saw another way of getting Spinks back in the ring.

Having won the WBA cruiserweight belt in South Africa against Piet Crous, Qawi signed to defend against Leon Spinks, Michael’s older brother. One South African reporter had said watching Crous’ shots bounce off Qawi’s formidable dome was like watching “peashooters against a tank”. Qawi figured that if he could annihilate Leon, he would goad the younger sibling into a return and sure enough, Qawi had his way with Leon, taunting and teasing him all the way through a savage beatdown in Reno before Spinks was stopped in the sixth round.

The cruiserweight division, however, was then in its infancy. Several reporters were calling it boxing’s “bastard son”, and Qawi volunteered to be the man to legitimize it.

“One guy wrote that there are no great athletes in boxing at 180, 190lbs,” he said at the time. “That’s nonsense. True, there have been no great names as cruiserweight champion. But I have a chance now to stop them from saying that the division is nothing. I owe it to my peers; to those who will follow after me.”

Spinks, after everything, didn’t entertain the return. He moved up to heavyweight but by then the 1984 Olympics had created another star in Evander Holyfield, and he made his debut at cruiserweight.

Holyfield was 11-0 when he took on Qawi, by then a 30-fight veteran, for the WBA cruiserweight belt.

The fight was in Atlanta, Holyfield’s hometown, and Qawi felt he got a raw deal. 

“They had it in for me,” he lamented. “All [Holyfield] had to do was stand up at the end.”

As negative as Qawi was about the fight, he made history. It was one of the great fights. Arguably it is still the best cruiserweight fight of all time. He had put the division on the map. And it was possibly the last great 15-round fight. Holyfield won a split decision.  

Qawi actually rocked Holyfield in the first round, but Holyfield blazed back, thus setting the tone.

“He’s going to come right at you,” shrieked Lou Duva, with George Benton, in Holyfield’s corner. “If he bangs you, bang him right back. Don’t show him respect. Keep the fight even for six rounds and then turn it on.”

But Qawi was not deterred. KO Magazine wrote that the champion “marched forward constantly, sneering, spitting, snarling, and winging left hooks from somewhere in the third row”. That was Qawi to a tee.

In later years, Qawi would make accusations of foul play against Holyfield, but they were never proven, with Holyfield never having failed a test. 

“Everyone gets a second wind, but in the ninth round you don’t come back and get a second wind and look better than you did in the first,” said an exasperated Qawi. Ironically, post-fight, Holyfield said of Qawi: “He was tough, like I expected. I did everything I could. Qawi kept pressing. I felt he’d get tired by the sixth or seventh round, but he didn’t.”

Some 18 months on, they did it again. Qawi had lost to Ossie Ocasio and before stepping into the ring with Holyfield, Qawi reckoned he had heard what each fighter was due to make. Holyfield’s purse was $1m; Qawi’s was just $75,000. 

The air left the challenger, and a deflated version of Qawi made it to the ring, thinking he would fire his shots early and get it over with. But when that didn’t work in the opening exchanges, he questioned what he was doing there for such a paltry sum. “If you’re only going to give me $75,000, then I’m not going to be here all night,” he remembered thinking, and in the fourth round he went down. He rolled on to his stomach, turned to face the referee, thought about getting back up but stayed down.

“They treated me like a piece of meat, like they all did, and that was my way of saying, ‘Here’s one back at you. Stick it,’ I gave the fans my all, but I waved that one off,” he told me.

Away from the ring, things got no easier and he battled depression.

He told the hall-of-fame journalist Steve Farhood: “I’m a nervous eater. I eat a lot when I’m nervous.”

He drank to celebrate the wins, and he drank to soften the defeats. It became an addiction, and his weight ballooned.

Three months after fighting Holyfield at 190lbs he was 222lbs to face George Foreman at heavyweight. He pocketed $50,000 for the seven rounds he lasted with the returning ex-champion. 

“I never fought anyone that big,” he smiled, reflecting. “He looked like a giant… If I’m being honest, I wasn’t really into it.”

He later shed around 20lbs but admits by that point he had got in with the wrong people and alcohol was now being paired with cocaine.

He isolated himself from old friends; he nurtured a big ego based on his achievements but his self-esteem had run dry.

He still tried fighting, but he could feel the ravages of it taking hold.

He fought as a heavyweight through the 1990s as a functioning alcoholic. 

“That stuff affects your body,” he said. “It was starting to take an effect on me. I wasn’t focused and it took a big edge off me.”

He tried several comebacks, winning two of his final three bouts in 1997 but by that point he could see what his future looked like if he fought on. He had won 41 bouts, lost 11, and drawn one, scoring 25 knockouts.

“I’m not going to come back and be a name for nobody – this stuff is not going to happen to me,” he said. “They’re not going to rob and steal from me. So I walked away and said that’s it.”

He did more than that. He got sober, fought the demons of his past and in 2004 was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. 

Having struggled towards the end of his career, he remained a passionate advocate about a union for fighters, and spoke of the need for a pension fund.

“If they stop looking at us like pieces of meat, there’s enough money out there to do that and have some left over,” he would say. “They make money off us, but their attitude is that we owe them.” [=img:119245::=]

Away from the ring, life got better, and he improved his own by helping others. He lived in Somers Point in New Jersey, and worked at the Lighthouse, helping addicts and those facing tough living situations. He found it rewarding above all else.

“I work with kids and help them overcome drugs and alcohol because I conquered it,” he said. “The one thing I love is recovery and helping people. I do something I really have a passion for. I don’t fix anybody and I don’t claim to. But I am helping them and I think I have a knack for it. I’m a mentor to those kids and I’m loving it.”

No longer in the bad-guy role he’d unfortunately assumed having defeated Saad, Qawi was a good man.

We last talked on the phone in 2021, and he spoke softly. He said he wished, in particular, his fights with Saad Muhammad had not been so violent given how Saad’s health suffered in retirement.

“If I could have done things a little differently, I would have,” he said.

When Matthew was on his deathbed, Dwight visited but he couldn’t bring his old rival back. Dwight left a note that simply said: “Saad, Qawi came to see you. Love you for the sake of Allah.” 

In his final years, Qawi struggled with dementia. He had moved to Baltimore and I asked him if he was doing okay. “Somewhat,” he replied.

He wanted to write a book. He had a helluva story to tell but, on Friday, July 25 and at the age of 72, finally the “Camden Buzzsaw” stopped buzzing.

Manny Pacquiao took to social media this week to thank the WBC for giving him a chance to return to the ring after a four-year layoff.

“One week after my fight with Mario Barrios, I still feel a lot of emotions,” Pacquiao wrote on X. “I want to thank the WBC for believing in me and giving me the chance to fight for the title. I proved to myself and to the world what Manny Pacquiao is all about.”

The fight ended in controversy, with many fans and analysts questioning the judges’ decision to rule it a draw. Some believed Pacquiao had done enough to earn the victory, especially given his strong early performance. Barrios, 16 years younger, weathered the early storm and capitalized on Pacquiao slowing down in the middle rounds.

While Barrios’ team has expressed interest in a rematch, Pacquiao’s camp appears ready to move on. There is already speculation that Rolando “Rolly” Romero could be next in line, with Pacquiao confirming he plans to continue fighting despite turning 47 in December.

The drugs test Francisco Rodriguez failed for his June fight with Galal Yafai wasn’t his first. He also failed a drugs test for the bout he had before facing Yafai.

The Texas Commission has informed BoxingScene that Rodriguez’s previous fight, an eight-rounder last December with Josue Jesus Morales, had been changed to a no contest because of a doping violation.

BoxingScene has requested more details, but promoter Eddie Hearn – who works with Yafai – was today asked about yesterday’s WBC ruling, which concluded that Rodriguez’s use of a banned substance was unintentional, reinstated Yafai as the interim WBC titleholder and called for an immediate rematch between Yafai and Rodriguez.  In their first meeting, Rodriguez battered Yafai en route to a wide unanimous decision win.

“To make it even worse, I found out last night that he also failed a drugs test in his last fight, and that was ruled a no contest as well,” said Hearn. “Because I was sadly scrolling through BoxRec just looking at Francisco Rodriguez, and I noticed his fight before Galal Yafai was a no contest. I spoke to the Texas Commission and they confirmed he failed a drugs test for that fight. 

“I spoke to Mauricio Sulaiman [the WBC president] last night; he said he didn’t know anything about it. I believe him. But let’s look at this, he’s failed back-to-back drug tests on the night and he’s gone 12 rounds with Galal Yafai in a fight that physically damaged Galal Yafai. In two weeks, to just rule that it was accidental, he can just come back and have a rematch, is so bizarre. I’ve been through that process with Conor Benn. It took two years to get a decision. 

“Also, I believe fighters should get the opportunity to explain themselves, but I don’t believe that can happen without a B-sample, in a two-week period and you can just say, ‘Yeah, no problem. Let’s run it back.’ So I think now with the news coming out from the Texas commission as well, this could change everything, and I believe Galal should be installed as the mandatory challenger.”

Asked whether Yafai wanted a rematch, Hearn said it was down to the fighter    

The Morales bout, at Boeing Center in San Antonio, was changed to a “no decision” on December 6.

And British Boxing Board of Control head Robert Smith said the WBC’s statement yesterday was not in any way linked to them or the judgment they will pass down.

“UKAD are working on it on our behalf, so they are looking at the case now,” said Smith.

“Nobody informed us [of the previous test results] and we’d been given all of the normal documentation; that’s something we’re going to have to look into. If we had a boxer going abroad, we would have notified the commission.”

It was a fight that turned one way and then, definitively and with crushing finality, the other. It left one boxer facing the first real questions of his career and the other seemingly looking at an unstoppable future. Within just a few months, however, the narrative had changed; the loser would rebuild and ultimately find himself in the Hall of Fame, while the winner’s name would become a byword for dishonesty and cheating.

Seventeen years ago this weekend, on July 26, 2008, Antonio Margarito, of Tijuana, Mexico, and Miguel Cotto, from Caguas, Puerto Rico, met at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to establish welterweight supremacy. Cotto, a former 140-pound titleholder, held the WBA strap. In order to face him, Margarito had been forced to abdicate his IBF throne, to which he had recently ascended courtesy of a stoppage of Kermit Cintron.

Cotto was undefeated at 32-0, with 26 KOs, while Margarito brought a record of 36-5, also with 26 KOs, into the MGM Grand ring. Cotto was the betting favorite, but Margarito, renowned for his strength and toughness, was the upset pick of more than a few canny insiders. Hope was widespread for an explosive confrontation, although few, if any, could have predicted not only the way the fight ultimately unfolded but also the repercussions that eventually would ensue.

***

My first time watching Cotto fight was on the first card for which I had been credentialed, headlined by Shane Mosley’s controversial rematch win over Oscar De La Hoya. Cotto stopped Demetrio Ceballos that night; two fights later, I was ringside as he beat up and broke down Victoriano Sosa before stopping him in the fourth.

Top Rank’s Lee Samuels had told me of Cotto, prior to the Ceballos win, “We think he could be our next De La Hoya.” I didn’t see it at first, even after the comprehensive defeat of Ceballos; the win over Sosa, however, made me a fan. His body punches landed with such authority that evening that I found myself wincing as they found their target.

Over the next couple of years, Cotto walked through the likes of Lovemore N’dou, Kelson Pinto, Randall Bailey and Muhammad Abdullaev. Ricardo Torres threatened to upset the apple cart when he dropped Cotto in their 2005 tussle in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but Cotto stopped him in seven. Paulie Malignaggi was beaten up, Carlos Quintana swept aside and then Zab Judah and Mosley defeated in back-to-back outings at Madison Square Garden, which saw Cotto force his way onto most observers’ pound-for-pound lists.

No less an authority than Sugar Ray Leonard was enthused. 

"I've been impressed with that young man for years," he told me prior to Cotto’s fight with Margarito. “He is like the Terminator. He has no expression.”

Unfortunately, that impassive nature carried over to his demeanor outside the ring, and it was there that comparisons with De La Hoya seemed especially inapt. The Golden Boy never missed a chance, when asked, to deliver a sound bite with a smile; Cotto seemed to regard the appearance of a microphone with the kind of enthusiasm most people reserve for an impacted wisdom tooth.

But that week in Las Vegas, Cotto seemed finally to be coming out of his shell. He willingly answered questions. He was increasingly comfortable speaking in English. He was relaxed and amenable. A couple of times, I saw him smile. He wasn’t exactly Chuckles the Clown, but he carried the confident air of a man without a hint of self-doubt. As I watched him that week, I thought I was watching boxing’s next big star.

***

Antonio Margarito had taken a more winding path to reach this point.  Whereas Cotto had been an Olympian, Margarito, like many Tijuana fighters, barely even dabbled with the amateur code before turning professional at the astonishingly tender age of 15. Unsurprisingly, he hit some roadblocks along the way, dropping decisions in three of his first 12 bouts. But he then rattled off 16 straight wins, including over former Julio Cesar Chavez Snr conqueror Frankie Randall and future middleweight champ Sergio Martinez, before challenging Daniel Santos for the WBO welterweight belt in July 2001.

A first-round head clash and a cut over the eye of “The Tijuana Tornado” made that challenge a mighty short one, but when Santos moved up in weight, Margarito won the vacant crown with a TKO of Antonio Diaz. He held the title through seven defenses, over four and a half years (including almost taking off Sebastian Lujan’s ear in a particularly bloody bout), before dropping it to Paul Williams in 2007.

Two more knockout wins, over Golden Johnson and then Cintron to take the IBF strap, followed before he signed to face Cotto.

***

If Cotto was quiet class, Margarito was a junkyard dog of a fighter, unafraid to be loud and lewd, and he was possessed of an iron chin and a two-fisted battering ram of an offense that ground his opponents to dust.

Over the first half of the fight, class told.

Cotto boxed and moved, firing off combinations and sliding out of the way of Margarito’s retorts. Time and again, Margarito ground forward, looking for a way in. Time and again, Cotto moved out of the firing line and responded with flurries from angles. Even when Margarito did land, such as with a right hand that momentarily stiffened the Puerto Rican in Round 5, Cotto slipped under every of his opponent’s follow-ups, even as Margarito had him seemingly trapped in the corner.

Halfway through the sixth round, I began composing my postfight report in my head.

“This was supposed to be Fight of the Year,” I anticipated writing. “The reason it wasn’t is because Miguel Cotto is that good.”

But the narrative was not yet complete.

Margarito may not have been landing much, but when he did land, he took a little bite out of Cotto. Slowly, if not initially surely, the Mexican was chipping away at his foe’s resistance.

Among those to pick Margarito prefight was boxing historian and bon vivant – and my future co-host of HBO prefight videos – Bert Sugar. One of the reasons he gave was the fighter’s toughness: “If lightning struck Margarito,” Sugar declared, “my money would be on Margarito.”

Another specifically referenced one of Cotto’s bad habits. The Puerto Rican, Sugar noted, not only had a tendency to retreat to the ropes, but he would often bend forward at the waist when he did so. That could be catnip to an uppercut-throwing monster like Margarito.

Sure enough, beginning in the sixth round and accelerating in the seventh and eighth, Margarito began to land with growing authority as Cotto’s legs grew heavier and his movement more stilted.

In the seventh, a Margarito uppercut clearly rocked Cotto, who was forced to hold on. Margarito landed a series of right hands, and when Cotto broke free, he spat a glob of blood onto the canvas.

Cotto tried to stay moving, but his punches were increasingly attempts to just keep his oncoming opponent away. Far from demonstrating his superiority as a boxer, Cotto was now trying to limit the punishment Margarito meted out and survive to the end.

Finally, in the 11th, the dam broke. After Margarito landed a crushing combination, Cotto dropped to a knee in a corner. He rose to his feet, but after referee Kenny Bayless counted to eight and confirmed Cotto wanted to continue, the fighter took a knee again before Margarito could land any more.

At that moment, Cotto’s uncle and trainer threw in the towel. Cotto had suffered his first loss, and the welterweight division had a new king.

Referencing the fact that Floyd Mayweather Jnr had reportedly been offered and refused $8 million to face Margarito, promoter Bob Arum declared, “He’s a guy everyone has ducked for years, and now he’s here saying, ‘Come and get me.’”

Margarito’s future looked bright. But storm clouds were on the horizon.

***

Six months later, Margarito faced Mosley at Staples Center in Los Angeles and was beaten badly. Mosley tore into him from the opening bell, landing power shots almost at will until even Margarito’s previously impregnable chin cracked and Mosley secured a ninth-round TKO.

Of greater significance to his career even than his first knockout loss was what happened beforehand. Mosley’s trainer, Naazim Richardson, had spotted what he thought was white powder in Margarito’s handwraps. The wraps were confiscated by the California commission, which at a subsequent hearing suspended Margarito and trainer Javier Capetillo for a year for adding what was described as a plaster-of-paris-like substance to the wraps.

Suspicion immediately fell on some of Margarito’s other wins, including the one over Cotto. And although there was no evidence that any previous Margarito victory merited an asterisk, the court of public opinion soon rendered its verdict. Cotto, unsurprisingly, was convinced the circumstances of his defeat to Margarito were nefarious, dangerous and unjust.

***

Following his suspension, Margarito returned to the ring in May 2010 with a tune-up win before taking on and being battered by Manny Pacquiao. Although Margarito took his pound of flesh, he was no match for Pacquiao’s hand speed and devastating combinations. In addition to a unanimous decision loss, Margarito suffered a broken orbital bone. 

So great was the damage to his eye, there was uncertainty about whether he could be licensed to box again. Not until a year after the Pacquiao loss, in November 2011, did he step back into the ring. His opponent was Miguel Cotto.

***

The rest of Cotto’s career would be one of peaks and troughs. After two comeback wins, he took on Pacquiao and, after four rounds of sustained back-and-forth action, was worn down and eventually stopped in the 12th. He dominated Yuri Foreman and Ricardo Mayorga, and gave Mayweather one of his toughest fights.

He lost to Austin Trout in what was always a terrible style matchup for Cotto. But then he partnered with Pacquiao’s Hall of Fame trainer, Freddie Roach, and capped his career with a knockout of Sergio Martinez to become lineal middleweight champion of the world.

It is unlikely, however, that any win ever felt as good as the rematch victory over Margarito. Targeting his opponent's damaged eye relentlessly and with a cold hatred, Cotto forced a doctor’s stoppage after nine rounds. As the crowd exulted, Cotto walked to the middle of the ring and stared down his stricken foe, as he exorcised the demons of that night in Las Vegas and soaked up the sweet sensation of revenge.

Kieran Mulvaney has written, broadcast and podcast about boxing for HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Reuters, among other outlets. He presently co-hosts the “Fighter Health Podcast” with Dr. Margaret Goodman. He also writes regularly for National Geographic, has written several books on the Arctic and Antarctic, including most recently Arctic Passages: Ice, Exploration, and the Battle for Power at the Top of the World, and is at his happiest hanging out with wild polar bears. His website is www.kieranmulvaney.com.

Erik Magraken is a Canadian combat sports lawyer and commentator who follows the business of combat sports closely, and has been awaiting the developments around the Ali Act.

A bill proposing changes to the Act recently became public and has been labelled the Ali Revival Act.

Some of the language is confusing, and some are desperate for you to hear about some of the benefits – like minimum wage for boxers per round, and improved drugs and medical testing. But what does it all actually mean? Is there a downside? Is this not what boxing has always needed?

Magraken answers some of the questions that have inevitably followed, and explains some of the details that had remained unclear.

We knew this was coming and now the bill is out there in the open. Could it change the face of boxing?

Erik Magraken: Absolutely. And change the face of boxing in a way that it’s going to strip the rights of boxers. So the Ali Act, introduced a good 25 years ago, was brought in because boxers were being exploited financially through promoter practices. And this bill basically says, “Hey, a new type of promoter could be created that doesn’t have to comply with the Ali Act so long as they do certain things”.

So that’s terrible for boxers and boxers need to pay attention to this because their rights are under jeopardy right now. And this bill could set back the rights of boxers decades if it passes.

Do you feel that they will pay attention to it? Or do you think that some people are chasing short-term money without looking at the longer-term picture?

I hope boxers will pay attention is the best thing I can say.

I don’t want to be negative. The one thing that’s difficult is boxers, unlike a lot of other organized sports, don’t have a union. There’s not a centralized place where a body of boxers are together and they could respond in a collective way.

But the Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association, the MMAFA – even though MMA is not boxing – the MMAFA has been organized for well over a decade, and they’ve been pushing to reform the Ali Act to expand it to all prizefighters. It makes no sense that boxers have certain rights, but other prizefighters – be it kickboxers, Muay Thai, mixed martial artists – can be exploited in a way that boxers can’t be exploited. And so they’ve been pushing for years and years for the Ali Act to be expanded.

And they’re also pushing for the Ali Act to be protected. So boxers’ rights shouldn’t be stripped away. And if I was a professional boxer, or if I was a high caliber amateur boxer, thinking of turning professional and concerned that my rights were going to be stripped, I would go to the Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association.

I would organize with them collectively to make sure your voice is heard, because this law shouldn’t be passed to simply look after a promoter’s financial interest. If you’re a congressperson and you’re going to vote on this, you want to make sure it’s good for the industry. You want to make sure it’s good for the health of the sport.

And I can’t think of any world in which boxers’ voices shouldn’t be heard. And I’d encourage boxers to reach out to the MMAFA to make sure that their concerns are heard.

When you talk about the sort of internal support of unions, what do you think about the ABC’s [Association of Boxing Commissions] stance on this?

I’m concerned about the ABC stance. And I’ll tell you why. A few years ago, and this is something I’m proud of, we – me, Carla Duran, Rose Gracie – we asked the ABC to create a fighters’ committee, an athletes’ committee.

It made no sense to me that all these regulators get together and they make decisions about boxing and MMA, and they don't have a formal way to reach out to fighters. And they listened to us. And they created something called the Athletes’ Voice Committee.

And they appointed several people from different sports – MMA, boxing, officials, regulators, a whole bunch of people were put on this Athletes’ Voice Committee to make sure that athletes had an avenue to be consulted when important legal developments were arising. The Athletes’ Voice Committee was not consulted by the ABC. The ABC – I think they spoke on behalf of their board.

This is just in the press releases or the articles I read, but they basically said that the ABC, their board, unanimously supports this legislation. Those articles came out before the legislation was even public. I’ve got the bill here that just came out this week.

But before this bill was published by congress, there were articles saying that the ABC’s board unanimously supported it, which means the ABC’s board saw this before the public saw it. And the Athletes’ Voice Committee never saw it. The Athletes’ Voice Committee asked the ABC to share this with them to keep them in the loop.

The Athletes’ Voice Committee was told that they would be kept in the loop and they weren’t kept in the loop. Just like a Congress person, why would you vote yes for this or no for this if you haven’t consulted with the athletes, which the Ali Act was designed to protect athletes? So why wouldn’t you listen to athletes before changing the Ali Act? And if you’re a regulator, you’re there to protect athletes, right? Combat sports are regulated to protect athletes from exploitation and to have certain health and safety standards in place.

Why wouldn’t you talk to athletes? And if you’re the ABC and you created an athletes’ committee, and that athletes’ committee wants to know what’s going on, why wouldn’t you loop them into the conversation? So I don’t know why the ABC board unanimously is supporting this. And I’ve heard from some state athletic commissions – I’ve talked to a few commissioners, and they tell me they were not kept in the loop. So when the board says they unanimously support it, that doesn’t mean that all of the state commissions support this.

A lot of the state commissions, from what I can tell, had never seen this bill before the ABC board was saying they approve it. So I’m not sure what’s going on over there. But I think there’s a lot of scrutiny that’s required moving forward.

But people have said for the longest time that boxing is broken; it needs an overhaul. That we could do with one set of rankings and one champion for each weight class. Is this not a step closer to what boxing needs?

Well, if that’s the concern somebody has – we have too many championships – this is creating more championships. This doesn’t fix that at all.

This is adding another belt or endless other belts. So if you’re cynical, you could look at this bill and say this is designed to let the UFC get into boxing. But you can’t write a law that says this only applies to the UFC, so anybody that complies with the law can do it.

So at a bare minimum, if this law passes, you end up having the UFC or TKO or Zuffa Boxing or whatever they’re going to call themselves – you can have this new promotion, and they have the right under this law to create their own belt, their own title. And they have the right to decide the rankings.

And they have the right to decide who fights for that belt. And that’s separate from all the ABC alphabet belts that exist right now. So if somebody’s saying, “Hey, there’s too, too much going on in boxing, too many belts” – this is giving more belts.

So I don’t see how that addresses that concern. This adds to that concern. And by the way, beyond TKO Boxing, or Zuffa Boxing, you can have 100 other promoters come in and create their own belts. So it just completely waters down that landscape. And then I say, “Okay, is it designed to let one entity basically monopolize boxing?” And so there’s really only going to be one belt because they monopolize boxing? Well, that’s not healthy for the sport or for boxers.

Or is it designed to have a whole lot of competition with a whole bunch of new competing promoters with their own belts that really, really, really waters down the title picture? So I’m not sure people that say that have a persuasive argument.

You are approaching it with a critical eye, but do you see anything that suggests this could work out? Do you see an end game where this can make positive changes? We’ve seen things about different pay structures; $150 minimum for rounds; they’re saying more safety steps; things that have been discussed in the past… But, also, is that going to be really difficult for the smaller promoters to pay to cover? 

Yeah – two things.

One, there’s something positive in this bill. And that’s what's being presented to the public. But that’s the distraction, not the main story.

The main story is this punches at the heart of the Ali Act protections. That’s what this bill really does. That’s what it is.

But on the fringes, there’s some minimum things that are good – minimum pay, and minimum insurance requirements. And so obviously, having minimum pay for pro boxers, so you get $150 a round instead of some promoters paying boxers $1 per fight. You can’t do that nonsense.

So sure, there’s a minimum protection and there’s a minimum insurance that boxers are going to get under this. Nobody’s saying that's bad. Not one critic of this bill is saying, “Please don’t give boxers those protections”.

The criticism is why are you creating a new – I’ll call it a super promoter. This new breed of promoter that doesn’t have to comply with the Ali Act. That’s where the criticism is. But on the second point, when you create these minimum requirements, what that’s going to do – this is not criticizing minimum requirements. This is just the practical result of it – you’re going to kill some club shows. You’re going to have some club, low-level boxing shows that won’t be able to afford to comply with this. And so you’re going to have a concentration of power; you’re going to have fewer lower-level promoters.

And what that’ll do in the long term, the concentration of power, I guess, is never good because it leads towards the potential for monopolization of the sport. And so there’s a concern there.

This act and the changes, though, make no difference in world boxing. It’s clearly a huge issue for boxing in North America, but it doesn’t apply worldwide, right?

Yeah, we’ll have to see if this passes. We’ll have to see which fighters go along with this new promotional entity and what the sort of end game is of that. But you’re right. Boxing is a global sport and boxing has a rich history and tradition around different pockets of the world.

And so the United States is not the be all and end all, but it’s an extraordinarily important market. And having monopolization in that extraordinarily important market is a bad thing for the overall health of professional boxing. And so, again, we have to see if this bill actually passes, because I think there’s a handful of concerns with it.

I think there’s going to be pushback on this bill. I think any congressperson that looks at it critically and listens to the concerns that boxers are raising will have some pause about whether voting to support it. But if it passes, I don’t think it’s going to do anything good for the long-term health of boxing in the United States.

And if you harm the health of boxing in the United States, I don’t know what that does on the global stage. But I just don’t see any positives from this bill in the long run. That’s my take.

Do you think the people in power at government-level are strong enough to push back, because when you look at the people involved, they were close to Donald Trump’s push for presidency. It seems like they’re going to be very brave and have to make their voices very loud. Are people are invested enough to do that? 

Boy, the US political scene – I’m in Canada, by the way – but the US political scene from the outside looking in is incredibly wild and tough to predict. Like it’s just from week to week. I don’t know what is going on there or what’s going to happen.

I think there’s a lot of chaos in terms of whether the current folks in power are going to stay on the same page. I don’t know. I don’t know if this is important to enough people in congress right now to take a hard stand one way or the other.

What I do know is it will impact current professional boxers. It will impact future professional boxers and those individuals really ought to review this, understand it, and if they’re concerned about it, organize and make sure their voice is heard. And I can’t think of a better forum to do that than reaching out to the Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association.

People have said that the Ali Act, as well-intentioned as it was, has been somewhat toothless in terms of enforcing certain issues. You must have heard that criticism over the years.

Yeah, I hate that criticism for a few reasons.

So first, if you say the Ali Act is entirely useless, it doesn’t do anything, – well, why are you changing it, right? Like why does it need to be changed if it doesn’t achieve anything? Like it’s a non-problem, right? People are saying it’s nothing; doesn't do anything. Well, why are you changing it to not make it more toothsome? You’re not giving people more rights here.

So that argument falls on deaf ears. But here’s the other thing – it’s not toothless.

When people say it’s toothless, or it’s never enforced, it means the government never enforces it. You don’t get state attorney generals prosecuting people under the Ali Act. That’s true.

But boxers have a private right of action. So boxers, if they say, “Hey, you guys aren’t complying with the Ali Act”, they could sue. And there’s been many, many, many boxers that use those rights.

And they’ve sued promoters, or they’ve sued sanctioning bodies. They’ve sued people for not following the Ali Act. And there’s settlements, right? That forces people that are abusing boxer rights to then do things right.

So you can’t ignore a boxer who earns a legitimate title shot. You can’t not give them a title shot. You can’t force a boxer to sign a long-term exploitative contract to get that title shot.

There’s real rights. If you’re the headlining boxer, you can’t keep the revenue secret from that boxer. The boxer gets to find out how much money is actually being made.

Maybe they signed a terrible contract, and they’re stuck with it, but then they find out how much money was made. Guess what? They’re going to have an informed negotiation for their next contract. And if a boxer is not being shared that information, they could sue to get that information. So it’s not toothless at all. It’s got meaningful, meaningful remedies for boxers. So those arguments are distracting and incorrect soundbites.

How concerned would you be with what you've seen if you were heading up the IBF, the WBO, the WBA and the WBC?

If I was one of them, I’d be concerned. I think they’re being threatened.

If we could just speculate as to what’s going to happen. Let’s say the UFC gets into boxing, which they are; they have a massive war chest; they’ve got a massive influential relationship with media; their own and others. And think of it as a slow burn over a number of years – let’s hypothesize that a lot of club level shows dry up, don’t exist. Let’s hypothesize that the UFC finds a way to have the remaining shows feed into their new boxing venture, like they do in MMA, they’ve got something called the contender series, which basically takes the champions from the regional scene, gives them a shot and locks them into the contract structure.

So they’ve got it sort of tied up from top to bottom. Well, let’s say that’s the game plan. And over the years, they start doing this with professional boxing.

And then to the public, it’s sold that their belt is the belt that matters. If you’re one of these other sanctioning bodies, the public might not think your belt matters all that much. And there would be concerns.

So I’m curious what those sanctioning bodies have to say whether they support this; whether they don’t; whether they think it’s good for the sport; whether not. I’m curious for their public comments on it.

Could boxing instead go in a completely different route where the traditional side of boxing stays the same with the four governing bodies, and this new brand is created, and it’s either a dominant or a challenger brand?

I always say this – I just can’t predict the future. I don’t know what it looks like in the long run.

If you followed the UFC antitrust lawsuit, their argument was, the plaintiffs would say, “Hey, you guys are an unlawful monopoly, you’re abusing your power, and it’s hurting us in the market”.

That’s an oversimplification but that’s what the case is. The UFC said, “You’ve got nothing to sue us for. We’re not an abusive monopoly. We’re just really, really good at promoting fights. That’s why everybody else sucks. And that’s why we make so much money”. That’s an oversimplification of their argument. Then the UFC says, “Hey, we’re gonna get into boxing”.

OK. My question then is, why hasn’t the UFC gotten into boxing yet? If they are such miraculous promoters, why haven’t they started promoting boxing and just crush the competition? Why do they need a federal law to change before they get into boxing? That has nothing to do with how well they promote a fight. They want a certain structure in place before they get their foot in the door.

I just have overall concern about what this law is; what it's hoping to achieve.

And then if it achieves what I think it's designed to achieve, which is to let the UFC really monopolize things – at least in the United States – I think you're going to see one big brand dominating the sport, in an industry where the labor, the fighters can’t unionize, and can’t push back because independent contractors can’t form a union. So it just seems like it’s a recipe for a power imbalance between fighters and promoters.

So your main concern is fighters losing their rights? Would some fighters still be able to make huge money, like the tens of millions we hear about?

I’ll put it this way – if a fight can generate massive amounts of money, for whatever reason resonates with the public, who deserves to pocket most of that money, the people in the ring, taking in some cases, incurable lifelong damage, right? Like prize fighting is a nasty, nasty business.

If an event in prizefighting generates a large prize, who deserves it? The fighter, or the person putting it on? Now, I’m not anti-business. If you’re putting it on, and you’re taking a risk, of course, you deserve to make a profit, but who deserves the lion’s share? And if you say, “Yeah, the prizefighter does not deserve the biggest prize”, what you have in mixed martial arts – I’m going to give rough estimates – but in the antitrust case, it came out that the fighters take home about 20 per cent of the revenues, collectively. I’m not talking about the headline [fight].

I mean, all the money that comes in, the fighters combined, take home about 20 percent. Now in boxing, fighters could take home 50 percent, 60 percent, 80 percent. If they self-promote, or the Mayweather route, they could take home almost all of the money.

That’s a brilliant thing. So do you want to change the law, where eventually you could have a promoter giving the fighters only 20 per cent? Is that a good thing? Now 20 per cent, whether it’s a lot or a little that just depends on the boxer; the times; the storyline; public interest. And so I don’t like putting out the number like $100million, because that’s crazy – like boxers are getting paid too much.

If the event generates that much money, who deserves that money? That’s the way I look at it. And I wouldn’t want to see a landscape where prizefighters take home 20 per cent. And other people involved in the industry, primarily the promoters, are pocketing almost all the rest of it – that just seems like a terrible power disparity.

And if that’s created, that’s tough to fix. It’s again – the lack of unionization rights for independent contractors. It just becomes a tricky thing. And so I get all of the reasons why the Ali Act was created – this seems to just be undoing all of it, for no good reason.

I just don’t see the logic or the reasons behind undoing the boxer protections of the Ali Act.

What’s the timeline looking like on this – how long until it goes before the authorities?

I’m not a US political commentator but my understanding is congress has basically shut down for the summer. In the fall, they’re going to reconvene. And I imagine that’s when the rubber hits the road.

What I know is the bill says that if it passes, once it passes, it’s only 30 days. So it’s going to be implemented like that [clicks fingers]. I imagine, the UFC is ready to hit the ground running if and when this passes, because it’s a 30-day window after it gets passed into law.

How long that’ll take? I don’t know. But I think the fall is when the action is going to happen.

We’ve mentioned some of the headlines of the bill. As you ingested the rest of it, what were your overall thoughts?

The main thing this does is it creates something called Unified Boxing Organizations.

And it says, so it’s called a UBO. And it says, if you are a UBO, you don’t have to comply with the Ali Act. So all these protections fighters have, they don’t matter anymore, if you’re a UBO.

And so then to be a UBO, it basically says, “Here’s what you need to do, you have to promote fights, have fighters under contract, you have to basically give them the health and safety checks that athletic commissions already give eye exams, HIV tests, those kinds of things”. So you’re basically like an in-house athletic commission… pregnancy tests, MRIs. And then this gets interesting.

You have to have an in-house anti-doping program, which the UFC already has. And you have to have your own training facilities, which the UFC already has. And basically comply with all of these things and a handful of others, and you’re a UBO.

And you don’t have to comply with the Ali Act anymore; fighter rights are gone. So the fighters, they don’t get to know how much money you’re making. The fighters, they don’t have rights in the title; they don’t have rights in the ranking anymore; you get to decide those kinds of things.

That’s what this law says. That’s as I read through it – that’s what it says to me. And then it throws in those other protections for fighters; minimum insurance; minimum pay per round in about, but the gist of it, the heart of it is creating this class of super promoter that has special privileges and rights compared to all the other promoters out there.

Do you think other promoters are going to sign up to this and run their businesses the same way? Or will they be able to run their businesses the way that they do already, just with the additional costs and additions?

It’ll create a big barrier for entry for a lot of existing promoters. I’m not talking about the biggest promoters, but if you want to promote boxing or MMA, there’s not a lot of barriers to entry.

Like it’s not hard to get a license; it’s not expensive, and there’s not a whole lot you need. But now on top of whatever it costs to get a license, you need to have your performance institute; you need your training facilities that the boxers could use. And you need to create and pay for your anti-doping program.

It’s actually interesting – the way it reads is you don’t need to have out-of-competition testing, but you can do out of competition testing. But when you run a card, you yourself are going to have to test half of those fighters in competition for anti-doping purposes. And so it’s just created a lot more expense that the promoter must bear to get into the game.

So there’s more of a barrier of entry. I don’t know what the main promoters believe about this. I don’t know if they’re going to be cooperating with the UFC or if they’re happy to have this new entity existing, competing against them.

It’s interesting the way this was designed. 

Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, is on The Ring ratings panel and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.

The WBC has opted not to suspend Francisco Rodriguez after his brutal 12-round beatdown of Galal Yafai.

Rodriguez’s post-fight drugs test through VADA and the WBC’s Clean Boxing Program detected the stimulant heptaminol.

Instead, the WBC have placed Rodriguez on a 12-month probation period, changed the result of the bout to a no contest and reinstated the Olympic gold medalist Yafai as their interim champion after Rodriguez claimed the belt from him in June. They have also ordered a rematch. 

Because the bout happened under the jurisdiction of the British Boxing Board of Control, however, Team Rodriguez must await the verdict of the governing body of the sport in the UK.

Rodriguez set CompuBox records in the process of his resounding victory. Yafai, 32, had to go to hospital and took around two weeks to recover from the loss, which marked his first defeat as a professional.

VADA collected the sample from Rodriguez on fight night, after the bout in Birmingham in June. The WBC said that they carried out an investigation “of the specific circumstances, health concerns, and legal precedent surrounding the adverse finding in light of the governing WBC rules and regulations and WBC CBP protocol”.

The sanctioning body also explained: “After a thorough factual and scientific review of the adverse finding, and considering champion Rodriguez’s admission of the circumstances of his non-intentional ingestion of a banned substance, and the fact that Mr Rodriguez had reported in his WBC CBP registration document the use of an over-the-counter energy booster which label included two banned substanced [sic], the WBC and champion Rodriguez agreed to enter into an adjudication agreement.”

The WBC ruled that the ingestion was “accidental, unintentional, unknowing and not directed to enhance performance”.

They are also placing Rodriguez, 33, on “probation status” for 12 months from the date of the sample collection.

One member of Yafai’s team called the ruling “absolutely ridiculous”, while one of Galal’s brothers Gamal, a retired fighter, took to social media to write: “A 12-month ban and a rematch… couldn’t write it and what a load of conmen.”

Graduation night arrived for Xander Zayas on the night his promoter bid farewell to its eight-year output deal with ESPN.

A disciplined performance from the unbeaten Puerto Rico-born Zayas resulted in a WBO 154lbs title-winning unanimous decision over Mexico’s Jorge Garcia. Judges Tony Paolillo (116-112), Tom Schreck (118-110) and Robin Taylor (119-109) all scored it wide for Zayas atop the final “Top Rank Boxing on ESPN” telecast Saturday evening from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

“Man, it’s amazing to be here, to represent Puerto Rico at the highest level,” Zayas told ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna after his title haul. “I want to give a big shout-out to my mom. She never gave up on me, she always supported me.”

At just 22, Zayas is now the youngest male titleholder in the sport. He supplanted Top Rank stablemate Brian Norman Jnr, the 24-year-old reigning WBO welterweight titlist, on that list.

Zayas took the traditional route to this point, while Garcia had to pull off a few upsets to earn his first title fight. A split decision win over then-unbeaten Charles Conwell in April put Garcia in position to vie for the vacant WBO 154lbs title, for which Zayas – a South Florida-based Puerto Rican – was the leading challenger.

The contention from Zayas regarding that fight was that Conwell lost due to his failure to adjust to what he described as a straightforward Garcia.

Zayas was determined to prove that on fight night – his eighth on MSG grounds and fourth in the Theater – and immediately went to the jab against his more experienced foe. Garcia, a 28-year-old contender from Los Mochis, was slow out of the gate and forced to ride out an early right hand. Zayas missed with a left hook upstairs and was later tagged by a Garcia right hand. He landed a right to the body, but Garcia stood his ground and traded jabs with the young gun.

Garcia mixed up his offense a bit in Round 2. Zayas continued with what worked, but Garcia was able to connect with a sweeping left hook behind a jab. Zayas landed a right hand but was forced to absorb another left hook by Garcia. The sequence was enough to prompt Garcia to go on the hunt, while Zayas played matador defense to run out the clock. 

A two-way exchange saw Garcia land a right uppercut and Zayas respond with a left hook to spark a three-punch volley. Action at center ring saw Zayas continue to enjoy success with his left hook, as Garcia briefly clinched to slow his opponent’s momentum. Zayas landed a right and a left hook, then effortlessly slipped a looping counter left hook by Garcia.

The jab continued to dictate the pace and distance for Zayas throughout the third before he picked up his intensity in the fourth. Garcia realized he was getting outworked during most exchanges and attempted to create distance in hopes of finding counter opportunities. Zayas was too disciplined in his approach and always in position to step out of harm’s way on such occasions.

Garcia lowered his head and let his hands go in the fight. It didn’t at all change his success. Conversely, it only allowed Zayas to land his power shots with conviction. A left hook by Zayas found the mark. Garcia loaded up on his attempted counter, which Zayas ducked by dipping his knees, then sprung forward with a left hook to the chin.

Zayas continued to beat Garcia to the punch in the sixth. Left hooks downstairs and straight rights to the chin all found the mark before Garcia could even think about his next punch to throw. Both fighters landed hooks with 45 seconds to go in the round. Zayas responded with a booming right, which sent Garcia to the ropes.  

A jab exchange was followed by a left hook from Zayas to start the seventh. Garcia remained determined to turn the tide but was never permitted the chance to let his hands go. Zayas landed a counter left hook-straight right combination to draw cheers from the partisan crowd. Garcia attempted a left hook to the body against an escaping Zayas as the round drew to a close.

Zayas opened the eighth with a left hook that found its mark. Garcia was methodical in his come-forward approach and was picked apart by Zayas’ jab upstairs and to his chest. A left hook by Zayas was followed by a right hand upstairs, which prompted Garcia to clinch. Garcia landed a right hand in the final minute and then later scored with a left hook along the ropes.

The strong finish wasn’t enough for Garcia to carry that momentum into the ninth. Zayas quickly resumed control through his more polished approach. Garcia was wide and off the mark with his left hook but later snapped back Zayas’ head as the Puerto Rican walked into an uppercut.

Zayas offered constant movement throughout the 10th. His superior conditioning allowed him to use as much of the ring as he desired, while Garcia was slower to the draw. Zayas stepped back whenever Garcia lunged with his power shots, and connected with a left hook before the bell. 

The bell sounded to begin the first 11th round of Zayas’ career. Garcia did his best to make things uncomfortable, letting his hands go as Zayas sought to hold. Zayas landed a left hook that snapped back Garcia’s head at center ring midway through the round. Garcia stood straight up as he walked into a body shot before later getting caught with a three-punch combination.

Zayas offered constant lateral movement during the first half of the final round. Garcia recklessly threw wide, looping shots – though one left hook managed to catch a mobile Zayas. The crowd rose to its feet at the 10-second mark as Zayas circled the ring until the bell, before he mounted the ropes in the corner to salute his fans.

The dominance of Zayas, 22-0 (13 KOs), was reflected on the scorecards and through final punch statistics. CompuBox credited Zayas with landing 199 of 522 total punches (38.1 percent), compared to 130 of 603 (21.6 percent) for Garcia, 33-5 (26 KOs), whose eight-fight win streak was snapped by the lopsided defeat.

Meanwhile, Zayas continues to see his stock soar. The title win came a little more than six years after he signed with Top Rank, at just 16 years of age. 

On Saturday night, the transformation was complete, from that young boy to a man.

“Boxing 101,” Zayas said of his performance. “I knew I had to box my way to victory.” 

The belt acquired by Zayas became available when Sebastian Fundora, 23-1-1 (15 KOs), opted to move forward with a rematch against Tim Tszyu in lieu of the WBO-ordered mandatory title fight.

Fundora took care of business one week ago in Las Vegas, where he dropped Tszyu in the opening round before earning a stoppage after seven rounds. Zayas was tuned in for the night, still eager to make that fight happen.

“Sebastian Fundora just fought last week,” noted Zayas. “I heard he’s looking for an opponent [for his next fight]. I’m waiting and I’m ready to go in December.” 

Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.

It wasn’t quite the “Shu Shu Show,” but it was more than enough for Bruce Carrington to continue his winning ways.

The unbeaten Brooklyn-bred featherweight Carrington picked up the WBC interim title Saturday after a lopsided unanimous decision victory over Namibia’s Mateus Heita. Scores were 120-108, 119-109 and 119-109 for Carrington in the Top Rank Boxing co-feature on ESPN from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 

“I really wanted to show that I could go the full 12 rounds,” Carrington told ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna. “That’s the championship level right there. I feel good, I felt sharp and am just ready for that next level.”

Action was measured out of the gate. Carrington primarily used his jab, while Heita offered constant herky-jerky upper-body movement to disrupt the local favorite’s rhythm.

Heita landed his first significant shot of the night with a right hand in the second. It caught the attention of Carrington, who fought at a distance and continued to work his jab. Heita landed a body shot at the tail end of a combination. Carrington came back and was able to land a classic one-two and then reverted to his stick-and-move approach.

Carrington remained committed to his jab in the third. Heita attempted to respond in kind but was unable to close the distance. Carrington took his offense downstairs and connected with jabs and right hands to the body just before the final minute of the round. Heita connected with a right but left himself open for three consecutive Carrington right hands to the body.

Momentum remained with Carrington in the fourth. Heita once again overcommitted with a jab and was countered with a three-punch combination. Carrington repeated the sequence later in the round, this time slipping a wide right hand, which he countered with power shots upstairs. 

Heita was reduced to a plodder by the fifth. Carrington controlled the distance and the tempo, while Heita was clearly weary from being countered off any wrong move. 

A triple jab by Carrington set the tone in the sixth. Heita was consistently beaten to the punch at every turn and spent the round following Carrington, who connected with short right hands on the inside. Heita briefly cornered Carrington late but was unable to land anything of substance. 

Carrington opened the seventh with a jab to the body and a right hand to the chin. Heita was able to respond with a combination and landed a few jabs. Carrington adjusted and picked up his activity midway through the frame. Heita chased and reached with his jab, which Carrington repeatedly slipped with minimal effort.

Two-way action threatened to break out in the final minute of the eighth. Carrington allowed Heita – in fact, dared him – to work his way inside, and the visiting Namibian used the moment to let his hands go. Carrington avoided getting clipped with anything meaningful and brought the action to center ring, where he landed a right to the body and then up top. 

Carrington connected with a left hook a minute into the ninth, which was followed by a right hand and left hook upstairs. Heita was hesitant to let his hands go, which prompted Carrington to create his own openings. He did just that with body shots to set up a left hook, which found its way around Heita’s tight guard and to his chin. 

A right hand to the body connected for Carrington early in the 10th. Both fighters sought to work their way out of a clinch, after which Heita chased Carrington behind a long jab. Boos began to trickle through the packed venue, but both fighters stuck to their respective game plans – which was good news for Carrington.

The pace slowed to a crawl over the final six minutes. Conversations could be heard in the crowd as neither fighter shifted into the next gear, though Heita, 14-1 (9 KOs), badly needed a knockout while Carrington could have used the highlight reel as he entered the title picture.

Carrington, 16-0 (9 KOs), landed 207 of 492 total punches (42.1 percent), including 70 body shots. Heita, 14-1 (9 KOs), was the slightly busier of the two, with 549 punches thrown, but landed just 122 – a dismal 22.2 percent of his total punches.

With the interim belt now in tow, Carrington is now the mandatory challenger to full titleholder Stephen Fulton, 23-1 (8 KOs).

However, it’s not exactly a clear path to an upgrade. 

Fulton is next due to challenge WBC 130lbs titlist O’Shaquie Foster, 23-3 (12 KOs), though both fighters eagerly await a date for the attractive matchup. They were due to meet on an August 16 show that was also supposed to house Rey Vargas-Carlos Castro.

Mexico’s Vargas, 36-1-1 (22 KOs), was removed as WBC 126lbs titlist because of an injury and downgraded to “champion in recess.” The designation means that such claimants are able to demand a title shot whenever in position to challenge for their old belt.

The abovementioned detours were taken into consideration when this fight was made. Carrington’s newfound secondary title status is basically an insurance policy. The WBC can either force the full titleholder to make a mandatory title defense or upgrade Carrington when that time comes.  

The preferred path to a top featherweight fight may have to come in house.

WBO featherweight titlist Rafael Espinoza was ringside and immediately caught the attention of Carrington when asked who he would like next.

“I see Espinoza in the crowd,” Carrington said before stepping around Osuna. “I see you in the crowd – I want you, bro. You already know. My team has already approached your team. I want to fight you, I want to fight [WBA titlist] Nick Ball, I want to fight Stephen Fulton since I see he’s not occupied.

“But you [Espinoza] – we can fight in September. I see you don’t have an opponent yet. Come talk.”

Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.

Emiliano Vargas did not give his newfound fan base much time to take in his brilliance.

It was just enough time, however, to confirm that he is a star on the rise.

Vargas, a second-generation pro boxer, racked up his quickest knockout to date, as he needed just 42 seconds to take out Ecuador’s Alexander Espinoza. A pull-counter right hand was enough to produce the bout’s knockdown. It also produced the end of the fight in the ESPN-televised opener Saturday evening from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

“Twenty-six years ago, my father [Fernando Vargas] fought here. History repeats itself,” Vargas told ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna while standing alongside his family patriarch. “If I can be half as great as he was, I’ll make it a long way.”

Emiliano Vargas, 15-0 (13 KOs), has primarily fought on the West Coast since his pro debut a little more than three years ago. His venture out East came last June and ended in just 92 seconds – more than double the amount of time he needed on Saturday. 

“I was ready for 15 rounds tonight,” Vargas insisted. “It was a blessing that I was able to get the job done so quickly. I don’t get paid for overtime.” 

Vargas exuded patience early and sought opportunities to draw in Espinoza, who was fighting in the U.S. for the first time. Jabs landed upstairs and to the body for Vargas, who continued to measure up his foe. Espinoza, 20-4-1 (9 KOs), threw a jab but kept his left out long enough to get clipped with a counter right.

There was a brief delay as Espinoza’s knees buckled, before he fell onto his side. He rolled over on the canvas, at which point referee Ricky Gonzalez stopped the contest.

Vargas has now stopped his past six opponents. The past five came in bouts scheduled for eight rounds. He is clearly ready for 10-rounders, though the distance would seem to matter little; he has yet to be extended beyond the sixth round through 15 pro fights.

Rohan Polanco turns away crafty Qunton Randall

Rohan Polanco was determined to become the first fighter to stop Quinton Randall. The unbeaten Dominican welterweight front-loaded, though, and instead for a victory. Scores were 97-93, 99-91 and 100-90 for Polanco in the final bout of the ESPN+ preliminary undercard.

Polanco, 17-0 (10 KOs), immediately took the fight to Houston’s Randall and forced an aggressive pace throughout the contest. Randall, 15-3-1 (3 KOs), did his best to put his massive 8ins reach to good use but was unable to keep the heavier-handed Polanco at bay.

Tempers flared after the end of Round 2. Polanco was in the midst of throwing a right hand, and the shot landed after the bell. Randall attempted to respond in kind, but referee Shawn Clark immediately intervened and directed both boxers to their respective corners.

The more telling blows over the balance of the contest were landed by Polanco. Randall’s offense shut down to the point that Polanco roared, “Come on!” daring his opponent to trade in the fifth. The taunt didn’t immediately take, though Randall enjoyed a brief momentum shift with a straight right hand late in the seventh. 

It was enough of a course corrector to provide occasional uncomfortable moments for Polanco, who lunged with his shots and left himself open for counters. Those moments were too few and far between, however, for Randall to leave an impact on the judges.

Juanmita Lopez racks up another TKO at MSG

Juan Manuel “Juanmita” Lopez returned to the site of his pro debut Saturday, and he once again enjoyed an early night at the office.

A second-generation pro boxer and 2024 Olympian for Puerto Rico, Lopez made quick work of fellow Boricua junior bantamweight Jorge Gonzalez, whom he dispatched inside of two rounds. Lopez, 3-0 (2 KOs), scored a pair of opening-round knockdowns and remained in control before the fight was suddenly stopped at 1 minute, 14 seconds of the second round.

Gonzalez, 5-3 (4 KOs), vehemently protested the stoppage – and for good reason. He was already down twice – first from a hook and then from an accumulation of punches – but seemingly with his wits about him in the second.

Lopez remained on the hunt and landed a body shot. A follow-up right hook cupped behind Gonzalez’s head, which pushed him to the canvas. Referee Shada Murdaugh decided that the fight no longer needed to continue, to the dismay of Gonzalez.

The fight was already Lopez’s third since his February 14 pro debut at this very venue. The 19-year-old southpaw is the son of Juan Manuel “JuanMa” Lopez Snr, the former two-division titlist who also fought for Top Rank.

Yan Santana dominates Aaron Alameda over 10

The once-vaunted power of Yan Santana already appears to be a thing of the past. However, the unbeaten Dominican continued to climb the featherweight ranks after a shutout win over Aaron Alameda.

All three judges scored the contest 100-90 for Santana, 15-0 (12 KOs), who has now gone 10 rounds in three of his past four fights. The 25-year-old contender Santana – who is co-promoted by Top Rank, Promociones Miguel Cotto and H2 Entertainment – knocked out his first 11 opponents but has settled into the role of a crafty boxer who prefers to play to the crowd.

That said, Mexico’s Alameda, 30-3 (17 KOs), has never been dropped or stopped in 33 pro fights. The list includes defeats against a pair of two-division titlists in Luis Nery and Angelo Leo.

Steven Navarro tested, goes eight rounds for first time

Steven Navarro went the distance for just the second time in an eight-round, unanimous decision victory over Christopher Rios. Scores were 77-75 across the board for Navarro in their hard-fought heat between California-based junior bantamweights.

Navarro, 7-0 (5 KOs), comes from a boxing family – including his uncle, 2000 U.S. Olympian and former title challenger Jose Navarro – and relied on those deep roots to prevail over a determined Rios. An early scare came when blood streamed from Navarro’s nose and from a cut outside of his left eyelid in the opening round. 

Rios, 11-3 (7 KOs), connected with hooks over the top, but Navarro was able to roll with the shots to minimize damage. Navarro constantly switched between southpaw and conventional success. His best moments from either side came when he was at close quarters, including an overhand right and an uppercut that visibly stunned Rios.

The action suggested the fight was very much on the table in the later rounds, but Navarro dug deep to consistently beat Rios to the punch. Rios kept throwing until the final bell, after which both fighters embraced and then jointly paraded around the ring.

Julius Ballo successful in pro debut

Julius “JuJu” Ballo’s presence was felt on both sides of the ropes. 

The former amateur standout and now lightweight hopeful enjoyed a successful pro debut with a four-round, unanimous decision over Brandan Ayala. The battle of unbeaten lightweights saw Ballo, 1-0 (0 KOs), prevail by scores of 40-36 on all three scorecards in the opening bout of the five-fight ESPN+ preliminary undercard.

Fighters slotted as the first bout of the night often appear before a nearly empty venue. That was not at all the case for Ballo, who boasts more than 1,000,000 followers across all social media platforms and whose family made the trek from San Diego, California, to lend its support.

Ballo, 22, found frequent success with his jab and right hands over the top, as well as his counter left hook. Ayala, 2-1 (1 KO), was not without his moments, as he tested Ballo’s chin and mettle in a competitive second round.

Ballo – who is co-promoted by Top Rank and Overtime Boxing – originally intended to turn pro on March 22 in his San Diego hometown. However, a hand injury forced him off the date and to the sideline until Top Rank was able to find an ideal slot for the popular lightweight.

Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.

For the third straight fight, Andy Dominguez dug deep to eke out a close decision in a hard-fought fight.

The 27-year-old strawweight contender from The Bronx, New York, scored the biggest win of his career Friday, using his boxing skills to outpoint former title challenger Byron Rojas by split decision at The Tropicana in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Two judges scored the fight for Dominguez, 97-93 and 96-94, while a third had it for Rojas by the tally of 97-93. The win earned Dominguez, 13-1 (6 KOs), a minor WBC regional belt, while Rojas, 29-5-3 (12 KOs), showed he was still a dangerous matchup at age 35 despite having his three-fight winning streak snapped.

Early on, the 27-year-old Dominguez, a native of Mexico, was too sharp for the more experienced Rojas, outboxing him to gain an early advantage. Rojas began to close the gap in the third round, using his uppercuts to force Dominguez backwards. Dominguez made an adjustment in the fourth round, rolling out to his left after he finished punching to avoid the return fire, though nothing Dominguez connected with could slow Rojas’ pressure.

A cut opened on the forehead of Rojas in the fifth round as Dominguez continued to box, though Rojas never stopped throwing, finding success in the middle rounds by throwing heavier right hands in between Dominguez’s quicker but lighter combinations.

Rojas continued to surge in the seventh as Dominguez, slowed down by swelling above both eyes, was forced to exchange more than was likely the game plan laid out by head trainer Marvin Somodio. With the fight close heading into the final rounds, it was Dominguez’s disciplined adherence to his strategy to box and move that earned him the victory, and he closed the fight on a strong note.

Dominguez showed respect to Rojas afterwards, saying the fight was “good experience,” admitting that he was concerned that the decision could have gone either way.

“I thought I won the first three rounds and the last three rounds,” said Dominguez, who brought a sizable crowd from his home gym, Mendez Boxing in Harlem. A bus was commissioned by Mendez Boxing to bring gym members to see Dominguez in action in the Boxing Insider Promotions main event, which aired live on DAZN.

In the co-featured bout, Chicago-based journeyman Alex Martin scored a big win on the road, defeating popular Philadelphia junior welterweight Daiyaan Butt by unanimous decision. The three judges scored the fight 79-73, 78-74 and 77-75, all for Martin, 19-8 (6 KOs), who used his tighter technique to control the exchanges throughout.

Butt dropped to 20-3 (10 KOs) with the loss.

In other action, Bruce Seldon Jnr, 7-0 (6 KOs), continued his early march through the sport, knocking out Alexis Soriano, 3-3 (1 KOs), of the Dominican Republic, 46 seconds into the first round. Seldon, 30, is the son of former heavyweight titleholder Bruce Seldon, also from Atlantic City.

Heavyweight prospect Roney Hines, 15-0-1 (8 KOs), of Cleveland, remained undefeated after a methodical eight-round unanimous decision over St. Louis-based Ed Fountain, 14-10 (7 KOs), winning the all-southpaw outing by scores of 80-72 on two cards and 79-73 on the third.

Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.

Xander Zayas has been taught from an early age to always trust the process.

The unbeaten junior middleweight contender has done his best to abide by that rule, as he’s been brought along the right way ahead of his first major title fight. 

That moment will come this Saturday, when Puerto Rico’s Zayas, 21-0 (13 KOs), and Mexico’s Jorge Garcia Perez, 33-4 (26 KOs), meet for the vacant WBO 154lbs title. Their bout will headline an ESPN tripleheader this Saturday from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 

However, it was at this very venue when Zayas stood in the ring and – for a moment – questioned why the next step didn’t match his lofty dreams. 

“I’ll admit, I thought I was ready for the world title last year,” Zayas confessed to BoxingScene. 

The ambitious thought was for good reason. A then-21-year-old Zayas effortlessly outpointed former WBO 154lbs titlist Patrick Teixeira over ten rounds last June at The Theater. The night marked his first ESPN headliner, in front of a rabid pro-Boricua crowd on the eve of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City. 

After a dominant win over a former major titlist, Zayas was eager to seek out the current titleholders. His powerhouse team – Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum and his Top Rank staff, manager Peter Kahn and head trainer Javiel Centeno – asked for just a little more patience.

“I thought it was time for a world title right after Teixeira,” Zayas believed. “But it gave me two more chances to prove that I am worthy of that world title shot. 

“I did that. I proved it against Damian Sosa, who went in averaging like 60, 70 punches per round. He couldn’t do that against me, I dominated him. Then, I got an undefeated guy (Slawa Spomer) who was ranked by the WBO. I got him out of there in nine rounds.” 

The win over Spomer also took place at this location as part of a February 14 ESPN show. The main event saw Keyshawn Davis win his first major title in a rout of then-unbeaten WBO lightweight beltholder Denys Berinchyk. 

Zayas appreciated the evening’s main event, which he treated as a preview for his own next fight. The win over Spomer allowed the Florida-based contender to move into the WBO number-one position and was named mandatory challenger just one month later. 

The sanctioning body ordered a fight between Sebastian Fundora, 23-1-1 (15 KOs) – who held the WBC and WBO titles at the time – and Zayas. The matter went to a scheduled purse bid hearing, which was canceled when Fundora relinquished the belt to instead enter a rematch with former titlist Tim Tszyu. 

Zayas held his ground and was first in line for the vacant title. By that point, he no longer cared who would be in the opposite corner this weekend. 

“I really wanted to take the title – two titles – off Sebastian Fundora,” Zayas lamented. “I know all the work I put in had me ready for that fight and to become champion. I wanted to show the world that I am ready to become the face of this division.” 

There is still time to prove that – he’s only 22, after all. 

Zayas still has the matter of getting past the opponent in front of him. While a -500 favorite according to bet365 sportsbook, the six-year pro is mindful of the history carried by Garcia, who upset then-unbeaten Charles Conwell to land his own first major title fight. 

After all, Garcia beat the guy that Zayas figured - back in April - that he would be facing this weekend. 

“I didn’t think it would turn out that way when the fight was made,” Zayas admitted. “Charles Conwell didn’t know what to do with the opponent he had in front of him and credit to Jorge Garcia Perez for winning that fight. I think Charles Conwell fought the wrong fight. 

“I’m not trying to diminish Jorge Garcia’s win, it was a hell of an achievement, and you can’t take that away from him. But I think, it was less that Jorge Garcia beat him and more that Charles Conwell lost a fight that was there for him to win.”

That makes this weekend’s goal that much simpler for Zayas – fight his fight and complete the mission to hoist the title over his head by night’s end.

“Overall, I just got to focus on this fight, win and become champ,” noted Zayas. “Everything my team has done for me led me to this moment, no matter when I thought I was ready for it. My time is obviously now.” 

Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.

For Josh Taylor, the pain registers more than the glory.

This week, having been forced to retire from boxing at the age of 34 with damage to his left eye, Taylor has been inundated with online positivity despite knowing he’s cut an, at times, divisive figure.

But Taylor leaves having won it all. 

The 19-3 (13 KOs) Scot has claimed the World Boxing Super Series, the IBF title, the WBA’s, the WBC’s and the WBO’s crowns as well as The Ring strap.

He raced to 19-0, unifying everything with a string of victories that vaulted him into many pound-for-pound lists, reeling off wins over Viktor Postol, Ryan Martin, Ivan Baranchyk, Regis Prograis and Jose Ramirez when the Prestonpans man was on fire.

A decorated amateur, he was living the dream, but frustratingly for Taylor arguably his greatest triumph came during the pandemic.

More on that later.

After losing his third consecutive bout, to Ekow Essuman, in May, Taylor planned to take a couple of weeks out and return to training.

Fate, however, intervened, and recent tests to his eyes revealed multiple tears and his future was based on his health and not his desire to fight again. Because given the choice, he would have walked to the ring at least a couple more times.

While he’s been humbled by the thousands of messages he has received, he knows this is not how he wanted to bow out. 

“It’s been a bit of a bittersweet, you know,” sighed the 34-year-old. “It’s been very very heart-warming and kind of cheered me up a little bit with the response that I’ve had, my phone has just went crazy since I announced it on Monday and I’ve still got literally maybe over a thousand messages to get through, so I will get back to everybody in due time. But it’s just been kind of overwhelming the reaction that I’ve had, so that’s cheered me up a little bit. Knowing that folk and the fans and stuff appreciated my time in the sport and appreciated what I gave to the sport. It’s been very nice and very comforting.”

But, with the news still fresh, and Taylor’s fighting heart hurting, the hardest part is the acceptance that the dream he’s been living for more than 20 years of his life has run its course.

“It’s been two weeks of processing it and coming to terms with it, that it's the end of the road; it's been a couple of hard couple of weeks,” he told BoxingScene.

“I only took two weeks off after the Ekow fight and I was straight back into the gym and training away and keeping fit and I was in good shape and then I went down to Liverpool for basically a check-up on my eyes to see how they were because I was expecting to go under another sort of squint surgery with alignment in the eyes, but when they took the picture of the eyes and stuff, they found a couple of tears in the retinal tissue so I ended up having to get laser eye treatment and the tears were quite significant and I was a bit like, ‘Well, I’ve not got many options.’ Do I get it done and then carry on and then potentially lose my sight? I said, ‘Nah, I'm not willing to do that.’ So I’ve achieved what I have in the sport, I’ve climbed the top of the mountain, I’ve been there and done it and wore the t-shirt, but it’s now time to sit and reflect on what's been a great career. It’s been a tough couple of weeks, to be honest. It’s been quite emotional, to be fair, it’s been kind of all of a sudden. It’s been quite a hard process to try and go through it and keep my head. So it’s quite raw, I’m quite emotional at the minute.”

Taylor admits he’s shared tears a few times, wrestling with the information.
He was told that if he took one wrong blow, he could lose his vision in the bad eye.

Boxing has been his life for more than two decades. While he knew he was near the end of his decorated career, he always thought he’d go out on his terms and, ultimately, it would be his decision.

His final fight was, fittingly, in Glasgow. But he was so disappointed with the loss and frustrated at how he fought, leaving the ring without a message to his fans at the Hydra.

Nothing about his exit was how he would have written it.

“I was only going to have maybe one or two more fights anyway, but to get this news now, especially on the run, my last couple of fights, I wanted to go out on a win,” he explained. “I wanted to go on a win, my last couple of fights was…”

He stops momentarily to consider the losses to Teofimo Lopez, Jack Catterall and Essuman. 

“I performed okay against Ekow, but it wasn’t my best, nowhere near my best and no disrespect to him, because I really like Ekow and I’ve got a lot of time for him, but at my best guys like Ekow don’t get near me, with all due respect. But on the night he was better than me and that’s it. You can’t cry over spilled milk, but I just know at my best I can beat anyone. I just haven’t been my best lately.”

Taylor’s career was stalled by the pandemic, and then by recurring injuries meaning he fought once a year for the final six years of his career.

He’s had foot injuries, eye injuries; he’s stopped and started.

Now he’s been told that one more big hit in the eye and the lights could go out forever.

“It was so fucking horrible to hear, but I had my mind made up then. I said, ‘Well, I ain’t risking losing my sight. I’ve got a lot of life left to live after boxing, kids and family and doing all the things that I want to do and all the activities that I’m interested in and stuff as well… Motorbike racing and things like that, and just spending time with my family, quality time with my family – and it’s going to be tough to do that if I went blind in one eye. I would be angry, bitter and I’d be disappointed. I had to take into account what life’s going to be like after boxing. I just decided to look after my health.”

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Taylor doesn’t envisage leaving the sport behind. Far from it, he wants to remain involved. Processing the news is a priority, but he has plans to help in his gym.

And for all of his dominance at the time at junior welterweight, arguably his biggest night – defeating Jose Ramirez in Las Vegas – was not what he had hoped for.

It came during the pandemic, in essence behind closed doors, and his closest family couldn’t be there, let alone the legions of Scots who would have travelled.

“Only myself and my team could go over, so there were only 10 of us that went over to America,” he recalled. “My mum, my dad, my wife, my little sister, my family, my friends couldn’t come with me to witness history being made, so that was a very bittersweet moment in my career. I had dreamed all my life to obviously go over to America and win titles and stuff and you go and you dream of taking travelling fans and then you land a fight to win not only one world title but all the world titles and nobody can go there.”

For years, Taylor had been told by his supporters. “Have a big one in America, we will be there.”

It, ultimately, was not what he hoped it would be. 

Even having the belts at home now, you sense the occasion is tainted.

“But,” he added, “at the end of the day, I achieved my lifetime goal of becoming an undisputed world champion and I never thought I would ever do something like that, and I’ve done it overseas, abroad with only 10 of us there, basically by ourselves. It was like us against the world, and we’ve done it.”
Then, however, he had to go home and quarantine. There was no greeting at the airport, no homecoming parade and not even a few drinks with his friends.

“I had achieved my lifetime goal but it was shit, I couldn’t get it celebrated afterwards,” he lamented.

The victory over Prograis, in an absolute war in London’s O2 Arena, was “probably” his best night. Friends and family travelled en masse south of the border.

“All the mad Scots took over London and we had a really good shindig after it and stuff,” Taylor smiled. “That was a great one.”

But it was a damaging fight and triggered the problems Taylor started to have with his eyes.

There was an occasion, eating dinner, when he looked down at his plate but saw two plates. He tilted his head to try to correct what he was seeing, but he knew something was wrong.

Even heading into the Ramirez fight, he admitted he had “wonky vision” and he had his first eye surgery after that. Two more have followed.

It had been all the way back during his run to Commonwealth gold in the amateurs when he started to believe he could win a world title as a pro. Then, having reached the top and unified, his father asked him to consider retirement having earned a full set of titles.

“That’s my mission accomplished,” he reflected. “I’ve won it all. I’ve won everything, and my dad was saying to me, ‘Just retire now, son, you retire at the top.’ I was like, ‘Absolutely, but you know, I can be at the top, but I haven't had top money. I need money to live the rest of my life, man.’ So I continued. But I also believed I was going to go on and become a world champion again; become a two-weight world champion. Then injuries started happening left, right and center, and I started getting plagued with injuries, so it was a bit of a shitty end to my career. It was a bit of a nosedive, kind of riddled with injuries the last three or four years.”

The Essuman bout wound up being his last. Josh left the ring annoyed by how he’d fought, and frustrated that he’d been lured out of his gameplan. For the first half, he was looking sharp up at welterweight, feeling strong and nimble.

But he stopped concentrating on what had worked early on and was sucked into trying to match “The Engine” in the departments of his opponent’s strength.

Soon, Taylor could not find his groove again.

It was to be his final act as a professional fighter, but the risk of losing his sight has taken all of his future fighting decisions out of his hands

“I’m not playing lottery with something as precious as my sight, so it’s been a tough couple of weeks, I’ll say that,” he said. “It’s been a tough couple of weeks coming to terms where that’s the end of it all of a sudden, like basically the door’s been slammed. My health is my wealth. I’ve completed the game in a sense. I’ve won every world title. I’ve earned okay money. I’ve earned good money. So what else am I fighting for? I’ve got a whole lot of life left to live after boxing, although I didn’t think that when I heard this news two weeks ago. My whole world caved in, so I’m still adjusting to it and I’m still upset about it.”

Taylor adored Scottish great Ken Buchanan and they became friends. He looked up to fellow Scots Alex Arthur and Scott Harrison, too, and the gifted southpaw who started boxing all those years ago admits what he’s done was beyond that child’s wildest dreams.

“I’d think you were mental [if you told him as a kid he would win it all],” Taylor laughed. “But I’ve done it. It’s a lot of hard work, perseverance and self-belief. I would never be thinking I’d be sitting here and talking to you, achieving what I’ve achieved. I always believed I would become world champion, but what I went on to achieve, I never thought I would be able to do that. And that’s thanks to everyone that I mentioned [in his retirement statement], who have been involved in my career and my development.”

Taylor and wife Danielle have been together for 15 years, and now it is time to start a family. It is also time to enjoy the fruits of his labor and breathe in that rarefied air that only those who have won the lot are able to do.

 

Sometimes the simplest advice is the best advice.

Though Naazim Richardson is remembered by the boxing public for his creative phrasing, his dynamic analogies, his aphorisms that, like a perfect pop song, can sound instantly familiar even though you’re hearing them for the first time, fellow Philadelphia trainer Stephen “Breadman” Edwards singles out something “Brother Naazim” used to say that was as basic as it gets.

“The best piece of advice I would hear him give young fighters – it’s gonna sound really simple and common,” Edwards recalled this week. “But when a young fighter would walk up to him and ask him something, Naazim’s response always would be, ‘Listen to your coach.’ He always said that. ‘Listen to your coach, young man. Always listen to your coach.’

“It was a constant thing. And it got to a point where all the other trainers in the gym would start to say the same thing: ‘Listen to your coach,’” Edwards continued, referring specifically to the James Shuler Memorial Boxing Gym in West Philadelphia where he and Richardson both worked.

“And I always respected him for saying that, because he was such a popular guy, he had such a high status by being on HBO and Showtime and being a part of big fights – it would have been real easy for him to take another trainer’s fighter. But he never did that. This was a guy that could have stolen a lot of guys’ fighters, but he never did. Naazim did the opposite. He would always tell the young fighters, ‘You need to listen to your coach.’”

Five years ago today, Richardson died at the end of a long, unspecified illness. He was, according to the memorial notice posted by his family at the time, just 54 years old. Other sources reported that he was 55 or 56.

Whatever the exact number, he was gone far too soon. This was one coach whom a lot of fighters would have benefited from listening to for many more years.

Richardson’s greatest success as a trainer came with the finest Philly fighter of the era, Bernard Hopkins. The two men – who were, according to that memorial notice, born in the same year, even though you could be forgiven for guessing B-Hop was a decade younger when you saw them together – met back in the 1980s at Graterford Prison.

Richardson was an assistant trainer in Hopkins’ corner under Bouie Fisher and became head trainer after Hopkins and Fisher had a falling out in 2001. Brother Naazim rose to fame in the boxing world guiding “The Executioner” to wins over Oscar De La Hoya, Antonio Tarver, Kelly Pavlik and Jean Pascal – some of them fights that Hopkins was not expected to win.

But if there’s a single fight Richardson is best known for, it’s one featuring one of his few notable clients who wasn’t from Philly. Naazim was the man in Shane Mosley’s corner who spotted Antonio Margarito’s loaded hand wraps prior to their 2009 fight.

And that wasn’t a one-off fluke; eight years earlier, under Richardson’s watchful eye, Felix Trinidad was forced to re-wrap his hands before his loss to Hopkins because Brother Naazim pointed out to the commission that the wraps did not comply with New York’s standards.

Richardson also trained cruiserweight belt holder Steve Cunningham and assisted in Stephen Fulton’s corner, plus he trained his own twin sons, Tiger and Rock Allen, and his nephew Karl “Dynamite” Dargan.

“I would say he’s one of the best trainers in Philly history overall, and he’s certainly one of the best recent trainers in Philly,” Edwards opined. “Naazim was a terrific amateur trainer as well as a pro trainer. His two sons and Karl Dargan, they had outstanding amateur careers. And in the pros, he was on the big stage several times, and win, lose or draw, his fighters always gave a good account of themselves.”

At the very least, they received memorable advice in the corner.

Richardson’s most spectacular riff was surely the one he laid on Mosley after Round 4 of the Margarito fight. It’s almost as beautiful on the printed page as it was airing live on HBO:

“See, this guy ain’t used to getting it back at the body. Fake that jab, keep popping him up, stab him in his heart, rip around them sides. We gonna show him how he got slowed down. When he hit the pedal, ain’t gonna be no gas in the car at the end of this. Alright? Your combinations, Shane, nobody in this division’s hands as fast as y’all’s. Run them combinations, knock the grease off this dude, and then swim without getting wet. Slide, to your stick. Slide, to your angle.”

Then there was this one, delivered during the 48-year-old Hopkins’ win over Tavoris Cloud:

“When you touch the body, he freezes. I need that short Joe Louis, wipe his nose with the hook. Tip your hat, pop the chain, short Joe Louis, wipe his nose with the hook, short Joe Louis. It’s that simple.”

Swim without getting wet. Short Joe Louis. Wipe his nose with the hook.

These were all instant classics. But Richardson was just as capable of delivering gems to the media.

“You don’t throw a Cadillac away ‘cause it got a dent in it,” Richardson once said in an interview.

“When you were young, you could just go to your machine guns. As you get older, you gotta start planting some land mines,” he philosophized another time.

Then there was the time he remarked that he thought in the moment that spotting the hardened inserts in Margarito’s wraps would backfire:

“I thought Margarito was going to the joint,” he said. “I thought I blew the whole fight.”

Breadman Edwards first met Richardson in 2010 – when the latter was a household name in boxing and the former was just starting out as a trainer.

Edwards notes that Richardson didn’t teach him how to train boxers, but he did teach him how to talk to them and was somewhere between a mentor and a big brother to Breadman.

“He was the only trainer in the gym that was cordial with me when I first started training,” Edwards recalled. “You know, trainers are very territorial, and a lot of the trainers, they just were kind of standoffish to me – didn’t say much to me and would gossip, like, ‘Where did this guy come from?’ And Naazim was always cool with me. He always talked to me. He got my number. He would call me periodically. And, you know, I would like to think we became good friends.

“It’s funny, because he would talk to me so much in the gym it could be a problem. It would be times where, I’ll be trying to work, and he loved to talk so much, and I’d have to kind of get away from him until the workout was over. He could really hold the conversation with you. Like, right in the middle of the work, he’d just start holding the conversation with you.”

That comports with the words of John DiSanto of “Philly Boxing History” – the chairman of the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame, which inducted Richardson in 2014 – who wrote shortly after his death, “Conversations with Richardson were always two-way, but when it came to talking, he had more stamina than anyone and always got in the last word.”

He also got in the first word on two memorable occasions in Edwards’ career. Breadman’s most heralded trainer-fighter relationship is with Julian “J-Rock” Williams, who was knocked out by Jermall Charlo in his first title try in 2016 but who upset Jarrett Hurd in a 2019 thriller in his second attempt at a major belt.

“Naazim was the first person in the locker room when Julian lost to Charlo, and he said, ‘Everything’s gonna be OK, man. You guys will get this back,’” Edwards remembered. “And then, two-and-a-half years later, he was the first person in the locker room when Julian beat Jarrett Hurd.

“And it was one of the last times I saw him, because right after the Hurd fight, he got a little sick, and then the next year he passed away.”

Richardson actually suffered a stroke way back in 2007, when he was still in his early 40s, but he recovered and went on to some of his greatest successes as a trainer. By 2019, though, when Edwards saw him after Williams-Hurd, Breadman could tell Richardson’s motor skills were slowing down.

On July 24, 2020, Richardson’s illness got the best of him. But in the minds of boxing fans, on the pages of YouTube and inside the walls of Shuler’s Gym, his words live on.

And those words span a wide range, from the literal to the figurative.

It is impossible for an aspiring boxer to actually swim without getting wet.

But it shouldn’t be hard at all for a young fighter to listen to his coach.

Eric Raskin is a veteran boxing journalist with nearly 30 years of experience covering the sport for such outlets as BoxingScene, ESPN, Grantland, Playboy, and The Ring (where he served as managing editor for seven years). He also co-hosted The HBO Boxing Podcast, Showtime Boxing with Raskin & Mulvaney, The Interim Champion Boxing Podcast with Raskin & Mulvaney, and Ring Theory. He has won three first-place writing awards from the BWAA, for his work with The Ring, Grantland, and HBO. Outside boxing, he is the senior editor of CasinoReports and the author of 2014’s The Moneymaker Effect. He can be reached on X, BlueSky, or LinkedIn, or via email at RaskinBoxing@yahoo.com.

Six months after their first fight ended in controversy, Irish welterweights Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan will get together again on September 13 at Windsor Park, Northern Ireland, this time to contest the vacant IBF welterweight title. 

Back in March, at Belfast’s SSE Arena, Donovan dropped Crocker with a punch thrown after the bell to end round eight and was immediately disqualified from the final eliminator for the same title by the referee Marcus McDonnell. The call ended a fight he was until then winning and left Donovan crestfallen and Crocker, both victim and victor, far from satisfied. 

“This is the fight I’ve wanted since the final bell of the first one,” said Crocker, 21-0 (11). “To run it back for the IBF title, and to do it in such an iconic stadium in Belfast, in front of my own people, is something I’ve dreamed of my whole life.

“This isn’t just a rematch. It’s my chance to silence the doubters and prove I’m the best welterweight in the world. I know exactly what I need to do, and on fight night, I’m leaving with that world title.”

“It’s going to be a great atmosphere in Belfast on fight night,” Donovan, 14-1 (11), said. “I’m looking to repeat another stellar boxing performance, set the record straight and come home with a world title. I can’t wait.”

As is often the case when controversy clouds a result, the rematch between Crocker, 28, and Donovan is expected to be considerably bigger and attract more interest than fight one. In terms of stage, it will take place outdoors at Windsor Park, a football stadium much larger in size than the SSE Arena. Better yet, the rematch between Crocker and the 26-year-old Donovan has a title on the line following Jaron Ennis’ decision to relinquish it and move up to junior middleweight.

“World-title fight!” Crocker previously wrote on social media after learning a world title was at stake. “The biggest fight in Irish boxing history. Time to prove them all wrong.”

Donovan, meanwhile, wrote: “It’s my time to become IBF world champion. Thank you to my team. It’s going to be history on the Emerald Isles 26 years young. Let’s go!”

After years of working together under the Golden Boy Promotions banner, Oscar De La Hoya and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez had a highly publicized and bitter split in 2020. While the business partnership once flourished, things turned personal and explosive.

Tensions came to a head in May 2024 during fight week for Alvarez's bout with Jaime Munguia. At a press conference, De La Hoya and Alvarez had to be physically separated by security in front of the media after nearly coming to blows.

In a recent appearance on All The Smoke Fight, De La Hoya opened up about the falling out, admitting he still doesn’t fully understand what caused the relationship to sour.

“I think it might be jealousy,” De La Hoya said. “I remember every time I would go into a room where he’s at, all the attention turns over to me.”

He also denied that money was a factor in the feud, stating there were “zero whatsoever” financial issues between him and Alvarez.

When told that Alvarez might eventually appear on the show to share his side, De La Hoya responded with: “I hope so, because I need the answer.”

Xander Zayas envisioned this exact scenario – timeline and all - when he signed with Top Rank more than six years ago.

The unbeaten 22-year-old junior middleweight contender heads into the biggest fight of his career, as he’s set to face Jorge Garcia for the vacant WBO 154lbs title. The moment comes in Zayas’ 22nd pro fight, after going the old-fashioned route – newcomer to prospect, onto contender and now the number one challenger for the belt at stake this weekend.

“This is the exact path I always saw for myself when I first signed with Top Rank and turned pro,” Zayas told BoxingScene. “I always said, I wanted to have at least 20 fights under my belt before my first world title fight.
“This is now fight number 22, and at age 22. I just feel like all the stars are aligning.”

Zayas-Garcia takes place this Saturday atop an ESPN telecast from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The event will mark the final Top Rank Boxing on ESPN show, a bittersweet moment for the sport but a fitting graduation for the charismatic Puerto Rican boxer.

Top Rank wasn’t even two years into its original deal when a 16-year-old version of Zayas signed with the promotional powerhouse as well as noted fight manager Peter Kahn in 2019.

The early plan called for Zayas, 21-0 (13 KOs) to develop in the ring and then as a household name, particularly in New York City and his home state of Florida. The Covid pandemic represented a brief hurdle on the marketing front, as his three appearances in Boricua-heavy Kissimmee, Florida were fought under social distancing restrictions.

Zayas’ first taste of an expanded supporting cast came in a December 2021 win over Alessio Mastronunzio. The night marked his first career fight on MSG property in New York City, where he has emerged as a dependable attraction.

Saturday will mark Zayas’ eight career MSG-branded and fourth in a row at The Theater. Among those fights was his most notable victory to date – a ten-round, virtual shutout of former WBO 154lbs titlist Patrick Teixeira last June 8, the night before the annual Puerto Rican Day parade.

It’s as fitting a location as any for his first major title fight, even if not against the originally targeted opponent.

Zayas advanced to the mandatory challenger position for the WBO title previously held by Sebastian Fundora, 23-1-1 (15 KOs).

The matchup was ordered shortly after Fundora knocked out Chordale Booker in the fourth round of their March 22 Prime Video headliner at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Zayas was in attendance and joined Fundora in the ring for a photo-op in the form of a staredown.

Talks never progressed, however, and the fight was sent to a purse bid hearing which was eventually canceled. Fundora vacated his WBO title after Tim Tszyu enforced a rematch clause from their March 2024 meeting, which left him obligated to a second bout.

Not getting an established champion in the ring for his first major title fight is perhaps the only part of his journey that hasn’t gone according to plan.

“I was disappointed in the beginning,” admitted Zayas. “I wanted to face the champion and beat the champion, not just win one but two world titles. It was something I wanted to do if I was given the opportunity. But it didn’t happen that way and I can’t get mad about it. This is business at the end of the day.

“In the end, he was still a unified champion as far as the history books will show and, even though he didn’t fight me, he [fought] another champion. I can’t be mad about it.”

Fundora stopped Tszyu after seven rounds last Saturday at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Zayas now has the chance to show just one week later that he belongs in the conversation. The steps he’s taken to get to this point leave him brimming with confidence that a revisited showdown with Fundora is on the other side of his title fight this weekend.

“Maybe down the line, we can still meet and I get that shot at my second world title,” pondered Zayas. “He said in the past he wanted to fight another champion. Hopefully after [Saturday], that other champion is me. We’ll see. If not, then we’ll just continue to win and keep facing the best.

“Hopefully down the line, that fight can still happen.”

For now, Zayas’ most dangerous opponent is the one that will be standing across the ring on Saturday.

Mexico’s Garcia, 33-4 (26 KOs) already pulled off one major upset to arrive at this point. The 28-year-old from Los Mochis outhustled unbeaten Charles Conwell and claimed a split decision in their April 19 clash in Oceanside, California.

The win was Garcia’s eighth in a row, and Zayas is well aware of what he has in front of him.

It doesn’t leave him any less confident of fulfilling his destiny.

“Little by little I’ve been making my mark,” noted Zayas. “I’ve showed the world why I belong in the number-one spot. I’ve earned this opportunity and I’m excited about this.”

Jake Donovan is an award-winning jour who served as senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.

They say Father Time is undefeated. I call BS on those who say that.

This past Saturday, a 38-year-old man confirmed his status as the heavyweight champion of the world by knocking out an opponent more than a decade his junior.

Hours later, a 46-year-old man showed he still has something left en route to getting an arguably unlucky draw against an opponent more than a decade-and-a-half his junior.

And a man approaching his 50th birthday who struggles with undiagnosed narcolepsy endured more than 10 straight hours of boxing broadcasting without dozing once – while joined by three slightly-to-significantly older friends who showed similarly impressive stamina.

Yep, the clock got turned back all over the place on this epic day/night of boxing. And the clock will be our guide as we return to everyone’s favorite post-fight column device, the pay-per-view running diary, to reflect on the Oleksandr Usyk-Daniel Dubois II pay-per-view from Wembley Stadium in London, the Mario Barrios-Manny Pacquiao pay-per-view from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and the Amazon Prime Video undercard in-between those two.

2:16 p.m. ET: Even though the broadcast from Wembley began at 12:30 my time, I’m not especially interested in any of the deep undercard bouts and recognize that there’s a difference between being in shape to watch 10 straight hours of boxing and being in shape to watch 12 straight hours of boxing. So I get home from some early-afternoon errands in time to turn on the TV during the third round of a heavyweight bout between Brit Solomon Dacres and unbeaten Ukrainian Vladyslav Sirenko. I am engaged in internal debate between caffeinating and attempting to power-nap before my guests arrive. Canine companion Otis Dumbledore Raskin has, predictably, opted for the latter.

2:17: The Wembley crowd boos as Usyk is shown on the big screen arriving at the venue. I recognize they’re just doing this because they’re rooting for their countryman to win the heavyweight title, but still, I cannot respect anyone who boos Oleksandr Usyk.

2:24: One of my guests, hardcore boxing fan David Kushin (who was also part of the previous PPV party running diary), texts to inform me he’s leaving his house and will be arriving around 3:40. The window to nap just feels a little too tight. Caffeination it shall be. Time to make a caramel latte (with Lactaid milk, of course, because my digestive system is as washed as the rest of me).

2:53: I pass the time playing PokerStars on my phone and win a tidy $70 in 10 minutes, effectively defraying the costs associated with hosting a PPV party. While I’m getting rich, Dacres is completing an upset unanimous decision over Sirenko.

2:56: Turki Alalshikh’s arrival at Wembley is broadcast on the Jumbotron, in slo-mo, with the words “His Excellency” in the chyron. Surely this was all the result of an independent editorial decision by the director of the DAZN broadcast and in no way a case of money and power influencing the presentation.

2:58: Another guest, veteran boxing writer/editor and my former podcast partner Bill Dettloff, texts: “On my way with C material.” Perhaps so, but Bill’s C material is equivalent to the average person’s C+ material.

3:06: The final guest, former The Ring Editor-in-Chief Nigel Collins, emails to confirm my street address, and unfortunately he has my old address, so I call to set him straight – and thus deprive the current occupants of my previous home of a chance to have their doorbell rung by an International Boxing Hall of Famer.

3:40: David arrives just as the 10th round begins of what had turned into a tremendous light heavyweight scrap between Daniel Lapin and Lewis Edmondson. Not ideal timing, but all is forgiven because David arrives bearing cinnamon buns and life-altering apple pie from vegan bakery Papa Ganache. We hustle into the living room in time to catch the last 30 seconds of the fight, which Usyk stablemate Lapin wins by majority decision.

4:15: Bill arrives early in the dull Lawrence Okolie-Kevin Lerena co-main, armed with homemade cookies – which we will later learn are delicious enough to make up for any substandard comedic material.

4:23: Nigel arrives, potato chips and additional cookies in hand, three minutes too late for all pot jokes I was prepared to fill this running diary with.

4:34: I have to be honest, the fully tattooed head of one of Okolie’s cornermen is freaking me out. Nigel offers a welcome distraction in the form of talk of his recent trip to “Fighter’s Heaven” – Muhammad Ali’s old Deer Lake training camp site – and a handful of Bob Montgomery stories. This leads to a discussion of who is the oldest living former champ, and the internet informs us the answer is 89-year-old Freddie Little. The internet may be destroying civilization, but at least it prevents us from wondering without resolution about trivial boxing matters.

4:55: Bill posits that Lennox Lewis is beginning to resemble James Earl Jones. I don’t see it. During this break before the Usyk-Dubois fight, we all get up to fill plates with salty snacks. Beverages are distributed as well: a beer for Bill, ciders for me and Nigel, nothing for David, water for Otis. He’s the only one drinking out of a bowl on the floor, but that’s subject to change now that the alcohol is flowing and the party vibe is picking up.

5:08: David observes that Bill’s default state is disliking people until they prove worthy of being liked. “That’s exactly my default; you’ve just summed up my entire personality,” Bill responds.

5:13: It’s heavyweight championship of the world time, and Usyk enters the ring by stepping on the second rope and over the top rope, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone do before. Does he always do that and I just never noticed? Whatever the case, it’s cool and bad-ass – because Usyk did it.

5:16: Michael Buffer invites everyone to get ready to rumble. By the way, on the topic of ring announcers, the previous weekend I tweeted about Kody “Big Mo” Mommaerts looking like Barron Trump, and Big Mo was damned cool about it. (However, Mommaerts doesn’t follow me on X, and the tweet didn’t mention him by name, so I’m not sure how it came to his attention. Is he searching the term “ring announcer” after he works a card?)

5:19: The opening bell of Usyk-Dubois II rings. The first round is fought at a tremendous pace, especially for heavyweights.

5:23: One of the commentators says that Usyk is “looking to become a three-time undisputed champion.” Please, I beg everyone, stop with this nonsense. The one and only true heavyweight champion getting stripped of one of his alphabet belts and then reclaiming that belt to begin another undisputed reign is not a meaningful storyline. Everyone associated with the sport should be embarrassed that such things happen.

5:26: Bill marvels of Usyk, “He anticipates every fucking punch.” The champ then lands a left hand late in the second round and Dubois seems bothered by it.

5:28: In Round 3, Dubois lands his best punch so far, a right hand, but I observe that he has barely gone to the body – which everyone knows is your best chance of hurting Usyk. The Ukrainian has already moved from a -300 favorite before the fight to -1100 in the live betting. But Dubois is having his best round, and I score the third in his favor.

5:35: Round 5 begins with “U-syk! U-syk!” chants, and though the champ seems generally to be in charge, none of us have any idea just how close the end is.

5:36: Dubois moves Usyk into the corner, which seems on paper a positive for the challenger, but he gives Usyk precisely the opening he wants, and a right hook high on the head drops Dubois for a seven count.

5:37: Usyk lands a crushing southpaw left cross to the jaw, sending Dubois down again, and this time he can’t quite beat Michael Griffin’s count. It’s all over at 1:52 of the fifth – four rounds faster than Usyk achieved the same result two years ago.

5:38: Hearing the excitement, Otis enters the room, hops up on the couch and attempts to give Nigel a tongue bath. Otis is the John L. Sullivan of this party, out to prove he can lick any man in the house.

5:40: As we’re all enjoying the replays of the magnificent knockout, blow-by-blow man Adam Smith declares Usyk to be in the top 10 of all time, and I’m not sure if he means pound-for-pound or heavyweight. And my gut reaction is to recoil at such pronouncements. But, you know what? With two wins over Anthony Joshua, two wins over Tyson Fury, and now two wins over Dubois, Usyk’s resume in heavyweight title fights is pretty much on par with Rocky Marciano’s, and most historians put “The Rock” in their top 10, so…

5:43: Asked about his age, Usyk declares, “Thirty-eight, it’s a young guy, remember. Thirty-eight, it’s only start!” At Bill’s urging, I attempt an Usyk impression. It’s not on par with my Richard Schaefer, but it’s respectable for a first try. Interviewer Ade Oladipo, meanwhile, somehow manages to complete his interview without asking Usyk a single question about the Dubois fight.

5:51: After Usyk moments earlier listed Joshua, Derek Chisora, and Joseph Parker among his potential opponents, promoter Frank Warren says, “It’s Joe Parker’s time,” and you’ll get no argument here.

5:54: The post-fight festivities continue, but we decide to switch over to the pre-show on Prime Video, where the bout between Mark Magsayo and Jorge Mata is already in progress.

6:05: The conversation veers from the recent documentary about one-handed baseball pitcher Jim Abbott, to Bill’s tale of losing the tip of a finger in a lawnmowing accident, to Joe Frazier once losing a whole toe while mowing and nevertheless finishing the job before heading to the emergency room. Boxers are built different, man.

6:06: Two pizzas are ordered – one with cheese, one without, which some would say means only one pizza was ordered – and my wife will pick them up on her way home from a hangout with a few of her friends (which, shockingly, did not revolve around watching boxing).

6:13: We mute the TV and I play a couple of clips from me and Bill’s original podcast, Ring Theory, which David has never heard. For you RT superfans out there, the clips are “pig’s head on a stick” and “cat food.” I can’t say any more out of fear that Bill and I will both get retroactively canceled. Yeah, back in the early 2010s, we got awfully comfortable behind our paywall.

6:22: Magsayo-Mata concludes with a fun 10th round. Nigel says it was a good fight – apparently he was paying attention while the rest of us were goofing around.

6:43: It’s Round 3 of David Picasso vs. Kyonosuke Kameda, and these guys (a) can both fight, and (b) are really beating the snot out of each other. Despite the excitement, I fall victim to my first yawn of the day.

6:45: I learn from social media that by flipping the channel some 51 minutes ago, we missed out on a staredown between Usyk and Jake Paul. This is the best I’ve ever felt about one of my life decisions.

7:14: Picasso gets the majority decision win (though the 98-92 scorecard is fairly ridiculous) and stays on track for a mandatory shot at Naoya Inoue, and he’s not bad at all – in fact, he’s quite a good little fighter. He’s still probably an underdog to last three rounds with “The Monster.” Twitter’s “Reggie Dunlop” agrees with me.

7:17: After the first two fights both went the distance, with one 10-rounder still to go, it seems they’re really going to have to hurry the ring entrances along to be sure the Gary Russell Jnr-Hugo Castaneda fight is complete before the pay-per-view portion of the card begins at 8 p.m. ET.

7:20: My wife arrives with the pizza and the cheese-less pizza-like object during the ring announcer’s introductions – perfect timing for us to quickly fill our plates in the kitchen and not miss any of the action.

7:26: Russell, fighting for the first time in three and a half years, scores a sweet left-hand knockdown in the second round and can probably make a quick night of it if he wants to, but analyst Abner Mares immediately observes, “It doesn’t seem like he wants to finish him right now” – and indeed, Russell lets Castaneda off the hook.

7:42: Russell floors Castaneda again in Round 6 with a right uppercut, then lands a sizzling left moments later that causes Mares – who apparently holds a medical degree – to declare, “I think he broke his jaw.” I find myself questioning Abner’s medical credentials when he amends his diagnosis between rounds to say of Castaneda that Russell “broke his chin.”

7:50: Mares speculates that Russell’s plan was to get rounds in, and Russell is doing just that, as we’re now in the eighth round of a fight that could have been over 20 minutes ago. Going the distance with Castaneda would not be ideal for making fans want to watch Russell again (ya know, when he returns to the ring in 2029).

7:58: The 10th round begins and Russell drops Castaneda a third time, and it’s all over – saving Russell’s reputation, and saving the PBC production team, which hurries off the air without time for any replays. I think maybe it was a left hand to the body that ended the fight, but I guess I’ll never know for sure.

7:59: I switch apps from Prime Video to PPV.com, and we all head into the kitchen for a dessert break – plus I crack open my second spiked cider because I like to live dangerously.

8:21: It’s Round 2 of Brandon Figueroa vs. Joet Gonzalez, and, what do you know, the fighters are practically standing on top of each other and swapping leather at a rapid pace. In other words, it’s a Brandon Figueroa fight.

8:29: Bill’s phone rings. I don’t mean it vibrates – it, like, actually rings. And loud enough to wake the neighbors. I didn’t know there were people born after WWII who keep their ringers on, but apparently there are.

8:49: The fight is still action-packed, but not quite action-packed enough to prevent us from losing focus and looking up pictures of Sydney Sweeney. (These are strictly pictures of her made up to look like Christy Martin. This is research. We’re professionals, dammit.)

8:53: Good observation by blow-by-blow man Bernardo Osuna that we haven’t seen the referee in this Figueroa-Gonzalez fight – and we haven’t seen the ropes either.

8:58: We’re in Round 11 and Figueroa is coming on, but Gonzalez seemed to have built a big lead, and we wonder aloud if it’s too late for Figueroa to win on the cards.

9:06: It’s over, and a case could be made that Figueroa rallied effectively enough to pull out a draw. As Jimmy Lennon Jnr starts reading the scores, Bill immediately guesses, correctly, that Figueroa has done more than just pull out the draw. Regardless of the official result, Figueroa just doesn’t seem like the same fighter at 126 pounds as he was when he was killing himself to get down to 122. Sometimes, four pounds makes an enormous difference in the impact your punches have. Or maybe “The Heartbreaker” is just a case of a pressure fighter beginning to burn out young, at 28.

9:23: This card (and the washed fellas watching it) could use a quick knockout, and Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz is threatening to provide one as he comes out in Round 1 going absolutely nuts to late sub Omar Salcido’s body. Apropos of nothing, Bill starts doing his Joe Pesci Goodfellas impression, which never disappoints.

9:38: Broadcaster Brian Campbell shares a remarkable stat that I’d never heard: Pitbull scored 50 KOs in 85 amateur fights. That’s an absurd percentage for three-rounders with headgear.

9:43: We wander into a conversation about the late, great referee Frank Cappuccino’s combover. We all agree that if they ever make a movie about Cappuccino, Pesci has to play him.

10:02: We’re going the distance again. Ref Mark Nelson takes a point from Salcido for holding with 36 seconds left in the final round, inadvertently buying Salcido time and helping him hear the final bell. A knockdown with 15 seconds left buys him even more time, and soon Cruz is hearing scores of 100-88 and 99-89 twice – while someone who appears to be made up as Teen Wolf is holding up a belt behind him. And then, I could swear Teen Wolf is parodying the Astronomer CEO Coldplay concert cuddle with someone during the post-fight interview. There’s no other sport quite like boxing.

10:19: As the 6-foot-5½ Sebastian Fundora begins to make his way to the ring for his co-feature rematch with Tim Tszyu, we learn that Nigel shrunk two inches between his two most recent doctor appointments. We all find this fascinating – all of us except Otis, who is snoring audibly.

10:29: Two minutes into the fight, Fundora floors Tszyu with a straight left hand! That was unexpected, as is Campbell calling Fundora “Fonfara” multiple times.

10:30: The live odds shift dramatically, with Tszyu – a -155 favorite before the fight – now +700. I can’t not bet that. But you’ll be happy to know I did so with only a tiny sliver of my online poker winnings.

10:32: Fundora is using his jab more in Round 2 than I’ve ever seen him use it before, while Tszyu, cut over his right eye, is taking shots along the ropes and firing back. Tremendous action, tremendous drama.

10:36: In the third round, Tszyu gets a warning for landing a shot to the mid-thigh – but I tend to forgive it, as average-height junior middleweights have to punch up to reach Fundora’s mid-thigh. Bill observes how low Fundora’s right hand is after he jabs and instructs Tszyu to throw the left hook over the jab, then encourages him with a “that’s it” every time a hook is uncorked.

10:46: I can get a +135 price toward the end of the fifth round on the fight to go over 10.5 rounds, and I make that bet because, apparently, winning at poker made me very bad at betting boxing.

10:53: It’s Round 7, and with under 10.5 rounds now priced at +195, I consider betting that to lock in a guaranteed win on the over/under. But I don’t bet it, because, again, I’ve temporarily turned into the world’s most inept sports bettor.

10:55: Round 7 has been phenomenal – a possible Round of the Year contender. And Tszyu is doing outstanding work until the final few seconds, when Fundora appears to hurt him in the corner. What a round. Tszyu’s odds have closed from a high of +1400 all the way back down to +205.

10:56: And just like that, it’s over. Tszyu was apparently hurt worse at the end of the round than anyone realized. We’d all love to see a replay of the action at the end of the seventh – or a replay of what happened in the corner with full audio – but we get neither.

10:58: In the post-fight interview, without quite saying, “I gave up because I decided I can’t beat this guy,” Tszyu implies as much by declaring that Fundora is “one tough motherfucker,” and, “He’s very hard to land [on]. He’s tall as fuck.” Definitely can confirm on the latter point. Anyway, what a showing by Fundora. He’s always been a tricky puzzle to solve, but he’s never looked like this much of an absolute beast.

11:18: On to the main event – and defending titleholder Barrios is entering the ring first, which is giving me flashbacks to Jesse Ventura freaking out in the broadcast booth at WrestleMania V because Randy Savage came to the ring before Hulk Hogan.

11:22: The crowd pops as Lennon readies to intro Manny. I’ve been down all along on this comeback attempt of Pacquiao’s at age 46, but the man is a living legend, and clearly there are lots of folks in the MGM Grand Garden Arena thrilled for one more chance to see him throw hands.

11:28: After the on-screen graphic lists Pacquiao’s weight as “LBS,” the information for Barrios is entirely wrong. Looks like the DOGE cuts hit the PBC production truck hard.

11:29: The crowd is shrieking with delight every time Pacquiao throws a punch or even bounces in any direction, and while he clearly isn’t as fast as he once was, he’s still pretty darned quick and lands one of his signature left hands before Barrios has time to flinch.

11:33: In the second round, Pacquiao can be seen doing some old-man off-balance lunging. The jury is out on how far gone he is and how awful an idea this all is.

11:45: After Round 4, the broadcast shows the scorecard through three. It seems the graphics guy got his hands on a few of my ciders.

11:53: The fight is half over, I’ve given each fighter three rounds, and I can’t decide whether I’m more impressed with Pacquiao looking about the same as he did five years ago or disappointed by how unimaginative and stuck in first gear Barrios seems to be. For two or three rounds, I figured “OK, Barrios is taking his time, gauging the situation, and will soon get going.” But six rounds of mediocrity goes well beyond a calculated start.

11:54: Pacquiao lands strong combinations to begin Round 7, a round he wins fairly obviously. It’s time for me to own some bad takes. Last August, I compared the mooted Barrios-Pacquiao fight to William Joppy vs. Roberto Duran. Then this April, I compared it to Hector Camacho vs. Sugar Ray Leonard. With “Pac-Man” leading 4-3 on my scorecard, whatever happens from here, I sold Manny way short.

12:05 a.m.: Trainer Bob Santos is trying to motivate Barrios in the corner before Round 10 – but he’s being way too calm about it. Barrios really needs an Emanuel-Steward-screaming-every-swear-word-he-can-think-of assault right now. Moments later, there’s a timeout to fix the tape on Pacquiao’s glove, prompting one of Nigel’s go-to vents: “Nobody’s ever gotten hurt by loose tape in the history of boxing.”

 

12:10: It’s Round 11. The on-screen graphic says it’s Round 10. Because of course it does. Maybe the guy in the truck needs Steward yelling at him, too.

12:16: It’s all over, and Barrios rallied a bit down the stretch, clearly winning the 11th and seeming to edge the 12th. That leaves me with a 114-114 scorecard. We’re all debating what the official cards will say. Will the judges have Pacquiao winning by wide margins? Bill half-jokingly predicts a 118-110. I remind him that Steve Weisfeld is working the fight, so at least one of the cards will be close and sensible.

12:20: It turns out all three cards are close and sensible and show no sentimental leanings toward the inspiring old man, with a 115-113 for Barrios and two 114-114 cards. It’s a fair result, Barrios’ stock tanks, and Pacquiao has made me look like a fool and proven he can still compete at a high level – if not necessarily the highest level.

12:25: Both fighters tell Jim Gray they’d be up for a rematch. I’m not opposed, but I’m not excited for it either. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I could maybe talk myself into Mayweather-Pacquiao II after seeing this. (Yes, I fought off Father Time by staying awake, but clearly, Father Time has defeated my ability to offer smart takes.)

12:32: Nigel, Bill and David all hit the road, and Otis and I follow them outside so that Otis can pee before bed. Otis is now 63 in dog years, but his prostate seems to be working fine and he still has some pep in his step as he climbs the stairs. “Sixty-three, it’s a young guy, remember,” he tells me with defiance in his voice. “Sixty-three, it’s only start!”

Eric Raskin is a veteran boxing journalist with nearly 30 years of experience covering the sport for such outlets as BoxingScene, ESPN, Grantland, Playboy, and The Ring (where he served as managing editor for seven years). He also co-hosted The HBO Boxing Podcast, Showtime Boxing with Raskin & Mulvaney, The Interim Champion Boxing Podcast with Raskin & Mulvaney, and Ring Theory. He has won three first-place writing awards from the BWAA, for his work with The Ring, Grantland, and HBO. Outside boxing, he is the senior editor of CasinoReports and the author of 2014’s The Moneymaker Effect. He can be reached on X, BlueSky, or LinkedIn, or via email at RaskinBoxing@yahoo.com.

LOS ANGELES – Manny Pacquiao, in his first public comments since leaving Las Vegas with a draw in his welterweight world title fight, said he was convinced he had secured a victory on the scorecards even before the start of the 11th round Saturday night versus titeholder Mario Barrios.

“I thought I’d already won the fight,” Pacquiao told BoxingScene on Monday afternoon in an interview inside his Beverly Hills apartment. “The [final] scorecard, in my mind, was 8-4 or 7-5.

“For the 11th and 12th [rounds], I’m OK with them giving those to Barrios because, in my mind, I was thinking, ‘Even if they give him these two rounds, I did enough in the others [to win].’

“I was surprised by the decision. But I am in sports. The first thing you learn in sports is sportsmanship.”

After embracing Barrios in the ring and at the post-fight news conference, Pacquiao, 46, has spent the intervening hours moving beyond the disappointment of not yet joining Bernard Hopkins and George Foreman as the only men to win a world title after their 45th birthday.

Returning from a four-year absence and fighting one month past his International Boxing Hall of Fame induction, Pacquiao has been heartened by the public’s scorn toward the scoring of judges Max DeLuca (115-113 Barrios), Tim Cheatham and Steve Weisfeld (114-114 each), and the inspiration so many have drawn from his performance.

“I feel like it was robbery, but I also feel great pride, because at the age of 46, I know I can compete like this with just two months’ training,” Pacquiao said.

“I started late [to training] because of the [senate] election in the Philippines. I should’ve trained three, four months for this fight.

“In the two months I trained, there were no distractions and it was, ‘Focus, focus, focus,’ but it’s hard because I was pushing so hard because of the [limited] time. My body sometimes needed a day’s rest and I didn’t have the time to recover.

“That’s why I have peace with the idea that, ‘You know, for two months’ [training], that was good, showing the world I still can compete at 46,’ and it makes me wonder how much more I can compete with three or four months. I can still do it.”

Pacquiao, 62-8-3 (39 KOs), said he believes he could return to fight again by year’s end – he turns 47 in December – joking that he tried to go for a training run Monday, only to be told by his friends, “It’s just two days from the fight. Just relax.”

Pacquiao advisor Sean Gibbons told BoxingScene that he views WBA welterweight titleholder Rolando “Rolly” Romero as the favorite to meet Pacquiao next, because Romero offers a belt, along with better promotional skills than Barrios and intriguing knockout power.

Pacquiao said he wants to meet a champion. 

“To fight again is not a question,” Pacquiao said. “As long as there is enough time to prepare … my main concern is the preparation, because I’m not interested in fighting B-class, low-class fighters just to fight for money. I want to fight with honor, in a competitive fight.

“I’m already in shape. With a few months’ more training, I can come back and be 100 percent for any style. I’m ready to go. Of course, I’ll pray to God for good health.”

It was in scripture where Pacquiao first found encouragement to make a post-retirement return to the sport he loved, 30 years after his pro debut and his eventual record run to titles in eight divisions.

“The Bible tells us that Moses, even at age [120], his strength never changed from the time he was young. So I realized, with discipline and belief in God, God will give you strength,” Pacquiao said. “That’s my base [thinking].

“Most of the public, when they get old – 40, 50 – your mind feels like it’s deteriorating and it feels like you’re losing your strength because you’re thinking about it. I don’t think like that. My mind is always positive. God is good all the time.”

He heard the voices expressing concern and criticism over a pursuit of the 30-year-old Barrios that some painted as Quixotic.

“Even in the Philippines, there’s some commentator who had many people angry with him for saying, ‘He should stop fighting, he’s only going to last four or five rounds, he’ll get tired,’” Pacquiao said. “He got bashed after the fight.”

The marketing appeal of Pacquiao’s comeback has been immediate.

Inside his apartment Monday, a group of individuals were proposing he endorse a new line of energy, recovery and creatine gummies based on his genuine post-40 heroics.

Pacquiao made six-mile runs up and down L.A.’s Griffith Park to the famed Hollywood sign as a steady part of his training routine.

“I knew the whole time I’d be fine,” he said of the title fight. “I sparred 12 rounds. I made sure of my stamina. I did eight rounds, 12 rounds, plus mitts; another 10 rounds, then hitting the heavy bag. I did 33 rounds many days.”

As Saturday’s bout moved past the fifth round and Pacquiao landed cracking punches on the younger Barrios while outmaneuvering the two-division belt holder, he said, “there was a joy and happiness. Through 12 rounds, I was fine, doing my footwork, keeping my stamina.”

Living clean and maintaining a fervent exercise regimen at his six-acre home in the Philippines eased his transition to title-fight preparation, Pacquiao said.

“Sometimes, people speak about discipline when, behind the corner, they’re not living it,” he said. “I’m disciplined.”

His home is equipped with a complete gym, a badminton court, a basketball court, a boxing ring, weights, a rubberized indoor running track and a volleyball court.

“I run, then play basketball and badminton for four hours each,” he said. “Badminton is good for my vision, footwork, hand-eye coordination.

“I also have a pickleball court, but it’s so slow … that’s a game for when you get old – like 60.”

After losing his senate seat in May, Pacquiao said he’s “going to focus on my boxing career,” and expressed determination to recapture a welterweight belt next, meaning he could have at least two more remaining bouts while continuing to support his countrymen in other ways.

“I told them what was inside my heart: I want to help them. I want a legacy I can leave behind. Legacy is the most important thing,” Pacquiao said. “We are not here forever in this world.”

Even if it felt that way Saturday night.

Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.

Following his second win over Daniel Dubois, by emphatic fifth-round stoppage, Oleksandr Usyk said he will take a break before deciding who to face next. Joseph Parker wants a shot. Tyson Fury is training to seemingly fight him again. Jake Paul clambered into the ring to challenge him. What should the 38-year-old Usyk do next?

Tris Dixon: I wouldn’t be mad to see him walk away after that, but if he is to fight again then Joseph Parker is the worthiest opponent. Commercially, Fury at Wembley is bigger than that, and commercially Jake Paul is probably bigger than Fury (sighs). But I’d like to see Parker get his shot.

Elliot Worsell: Parker, then out. I’ve no interest in the other fights mentioned. Even the Parker fight feels a bit anticlimactic following the Joshua and Fury fights. But Parker has earned his opportunity and Usyk is entitled to keep making money against contenders.

Lucas Ketelle: Just walk away. His achievements (two-division undisputed champion and most of his victories coming on the road) put him up there with Ali, Lennox Lewis and Joe Louis. This was the first fight you could see his legs start to show signs of age. Retire as one of the greatest ever. I will forever love Usyk’s career, because he didn’t look for “A-side advantages” and this would be a fitting end to a Hall of Fame career.

Declan Warrington: Retire. The “rivalry” with Dubois was a contrived one built on the controversy that shouldn’t have followed the low blow of their first fight, but Dubois had come to represent a marketable opponent and presented Usyk with the opportunity to reclaim the undisputed heavyweight title. He’s ultimately twice beaten Dubois, twice beaten Tyson Fury, and twice beaten Anthony Joshua, establishing himself as not only the finest heavyweight, but the finest fighter, of his era. Before that, winning an Olympic gold medal gave him the highest honour he could achieve as an amateur, and winning the undisputed title gave him the highest honour he could achieve as a cruiserweight. What else could there possibly be to prove? He’s financially secure, and there isn’t an opponent out there capable of enhancing his legacy, so he should retire at 38 with his health and legacy as intact as they are ever going to be.

Kieran Mulvaney: I agree with the others in that I'd be very happy to see him retire, but if he does want to continue then Joseph Parker absolutely deserves the next shot. I hope he doesn't go the Jake Paul route and I suspect he won't. No need to listen to the world's worst matchmaker and face Moses Itauma, either; Itauma’s probably going to be great but he isn't ready for that smoke.

I would hate for Usyk to continue too long and eventually get old and lose to someone undeserving, but he's a smart man and I don't think he'll stretch it out too far. But he has also earned the right to do whatever the heck he wants. I'm just grateful we have had the chance to watch him in action. I think back to when he was about to defend his cruiserweight belts against Michael Hunter in 2017 and I said to him: “You know, you're big enough that you could be a heavyweight.” So, yep, I'm taking credit for all of it.

Owen Lewis: I’ve advocated for Usyk to retire after each of his fantastic, fierce fights with Tyson Fury. I even, foolishly, went so far as to pick Dubois to beat Usyk this past weekend – I was that confident that 24 rounds with Fury would take some kind of toll. But hell, Usyk looked as sharp as ever on Saturday. This is different from Manny Pacquiao looking better than expected at 46 years old; Manny’s still a million miles past his prime and at increased risk of hurting himself badly in the ring. Usyk may still be at his peak.

While I’d be relieved to see Usyk duck out of the sport now with his health and an immaculate resume, there’s clearly more he can achieve. My only ask is that he fight somebody next who he hasn’t fought already, and who is not named Jake Joseph Paul. Usyk’s resume at heavyweight is incredibly deep but not especially broad; he’s rematched Anthony Joshua, Dubois, and Fury. Joseph Parker inarguably deserves his shot, but I’d also love to see Usyk fight Agit Kabayel, the savage body puncher. Each of those fights would present a new stylistic contrast and add a unique name to Usyk’s brief but brilliant heavyweight run.

Lance Pugmire: Joseph Parker is the most deserving contender even if he lacks the promotional power of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Usyk has proven himself as the premier heavyweight of this generation, and a final battle against a former champion who has impressively rebuilt himself from a loss to Joshua would be a formidable and appropriate exit strategy for the three-time undisputed champion from the Ukraine.

Eric Raskin: If Usyk had shown even the slightest sign of slowing down Saturday, I might be ready to recommend he retire on top, but this wasn’t Lennox Lewis struggling with Vitali Klitschko or even Rocky Marciano getting off the deck to stop Archie Moore. Usyk looked as spectacular as ever in the Dubois rematch. I don’t believe he’s seriously contemplating that being his final fight — nor should he be.

Joseph Parker has earned a shot, and Usyk appears to recognize that, and will therefore likely give it to him. Assuming Usyk gets past Parker, Agit Kabayel should be next in line. Sure, there are larger paychecks available against other opponents, but I don’t think money is Usyk’s primary motivation. Until he starts to show signs of aging, I expect him to continue on this path for a little while longer of taking on whoever is the best available heavyweight.

On Saturday night at London’s Wembley Stadium, Oleksandr Usyk defeated Daniel Dubois for a second time to retain his world heavyweight title. This time it took him only five rounds to get the job done, but in those five rounds we saw exactly what makes Usyk great and we learned a hell of a lot. Here are 10 of the things we learned...

1) Usyk has heavyweight power

The big question when Oleksandr Usyk decided to move from cruiserweight to heavyweight back in 2019 was whether his power would travel up with him. Never the biggest puncher, even at cruiserweight, Usyk was a man who relied more on timing, accuracy and speed than raw, fight-ending power. This led some to believe that he would struggle to hold his own at heavyweight, where the targets are slower but also bigger and more conditioned to soaking up punishment. As it turned out, however, Usyk had no problem in this regard. While most of his heavyweight fights have gone the distance, he has, in each of them, been able to make a dent in his opponent and never once has an opponent been able to walk him down or walk through him with no fear of what he might throw at them. On Saturday, when it would have been much easier to cruise to a win against a larger man, Usyk used his brilliant counterpunching to quickly demoralize Dubois and cut him down to size. The second he had him hurt, Usyk then jumped on him; got him out of there. 

2) The jab remains the key

As eye-catching and devastating as the final left cross proved to be, one of the most impressive things about Usyk’s performance on Saturday was the use of his right jab from the southpaw stance. The first one he threw, he landed, just 15 seconds into the fight, and it was noticeable upon landing how quick and heavy it was as a single shot. Dubois, not expecting it, was rocked back on his heels and reminded that just because he is the bigger man with the longer arms does not mean he is better versed at using this bigger body and these longer arms. In fact, there are few boxers in the world who use timing and an off-kilter rhythm better than Usyk to get in and out and land shots without taking anything in return. He doesn’t need to be bigger than an opponent to land shots and have his way. He just needs to think quicker and be smarter. 

3) A low blow should never be a selling point

Although much of the narrative leading into the rematch concerned Dubois’ recent form, there is still no denying that had Usyk not gone down from a low blow when they met back in 2023, Saturday’s fight would have fallen flat and had no reason to take place. Somehow that low blow managed to give the rematch some mystery and meaning and, for a few, concealed the fact that Usyk was otherwise dominant against Dubois the first time around. Not just dominant, it was, in all honesty, one of Usyk’s easiest fights as a heavyweight. The only fight he has found easier, perhaps, was his first, against Chazz Witherspoon, and also Saturday’s – the rematch – during which Usyk reacted with a knowing smile when caught low by Dubois in round four. This time, of course, he stayed upright; laughed it off. This time he gave nobody the satisfaction of turning it into something else.

4) Dubois has both time and a lot to learn

It was easy to fall into the trap of thinking Dubois would be a completely different fighter from the one who faced Usyk in 2023 and to some extent it was true – he was. He was certainly more confident, and more established as a heavyweight contender (okay, fine: “champion”). But there was truth as well in the view of Usyk’s team that Dubois had only shown “improvements” by virtue of him fighting men levels below Usyk in the two years since they first met. Opponents like Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua, for example, will never be regarded the same way as Oleksandr Usyk and Dubois’ success against them indicated only that he was superior to that trio, not ready for Usyk. Besides, he had rough patches against all three – some brief, some longer – and there were indications, if you looked hard enough, that all the rough edges of Dubois’ game were still there and ready to be exploited – again – by the master. Still, the good thing from Dubois’ point of view is that, at 27, he has plenty of time; time, that is, to wait for Usyk to retire and then collect one of the belts he scatters in his wake. 

5) Thirty-eight is young and just the beginning

The first thing Usyk looked to do following the Dubois win was remind people, via his post-fight interview, that 38 is no age at all – especially for a heavyweight boxer. Though grey hairs are starting to emerge, and though he has had quite the fighting life, Usyk shows no signs of slowing down or deterioration and was quick to assert this fact both during the fight itself and afterwards. All week he had had to listen to people use age as a reason why Dubois might have a chance, yet in Usyk’s case age is still a matter of wisdom rather than weakness. 

6) The UK fans love Usyk

Saturday night was peculiar in terms of how allegiances were split. On the one hand, the 90,000 fans in attendance at Wembley Stadium felt a pull towards Daniel Dubois, the Brit, the Londoner, their home guy. Yet, on the other hand, many will have struggled to root against Oleksandr Usyk, someone so affable, and fun, and someone who earlier in the week expressed his love for the UK, even calling it his “second home”. In addition to his jovial personality, watching Usyk live and in person is viewed by many as a rare treat, not unlike watching Messi in the flesh or Federer and Nadal.  It’s why, when he boxes, you will seldom hear boos, or a bad word said about him. Even the cheers for his opponent will often be muted. Because that’s what genius does in the end. That’s the power of it. It somehow manages to rise above tribalism and serves to both confuse and divide patriots. 

7) Usyk isn’t retiring anytime soon

Increasingly it seems as though the only opponent Usyk has to fear at this stage in his career is that common one: Father Time. But that doesn’t mean he is as worried about Father Time as others are on his behalf. In fact, he remains content to tease, taunt, and tempt it. At 38, he is still very much at the peak of his powers and happy to keep pushing the boundaries, adding to his legacy, and making more and more money. Prior to Saturday, he mentioned doing two more fights including Dubois and that, given everything, would appear a sensible plan. The only concern is whether there are fights out there for Usyk deemed worthy of his time. The only other concern is that Father Time’s sneakiness, plus his ability to always prevail, means that Usyk will end up losing to either (a) someone he has already beaten, or (b) someone beneath him. 

8) Everybody wants to fight Usyk

Whether any of them believe they can conquer him is up for debate, but one thing is certain: there is quite the queue forming behind Oleksandr Usyk. On Saturday alone the following fighters were mentioned in his post-fight interview as potential opponents: Tyson Fury, Derek Chisora, Anthony Joshua, and Joseph Parker. Not only that, Usyk even suffered the indignity of being asked to square off with Jake Paul, a novice cruiserweight, for reasons unknown but presumably pertaining to publicity and content. 

9) Usyk just wants to go home

It has always been a trend in boxing, but never more prevalent is the “who’s next?” question than it is today. Today, rather than let the victor bask in the glory of their win, or even reflect on their win, what you tend to see is an interviewer immediately try to push the story forward and focus on the future. That way they can create another story, of course, a new and better one, and they can keep people’s timelines full of content and speculation. In this instance, Usyk was too kind to tell either the interviewer to calm down, or remind him that most of the opponents lined up for him he had already beaten. Yet it was evident, both on his face and in his words, just how over it Usyk was. He just wanted to go home, he said. So, let him. 

10) Fury still thinks he beat Usyk – twice

While it would be foolish to ever take Tyson Fury at his word, it is clear that him constantly pushing the narrative that he was “robbed” not once but twice against Usyk is a sign that he is irked by the fact the Ukrainian is considered the best heavyweight of his – their – era. After all, before meeting Usyk, many believed Fury would be the one to hold that distinction and that his nearest rivals were not cruiserweights coming up but instead the likes of Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder. Now, having seen the picture change, and having been bested twice by Usyk, there is a sense that Fury is both ready for retirement yet also unfulfilled and disappointed with his lot. On Saturday night, for example, he was by all accounts out running the streets of Morecambe, supposedly motivated to get back and fight Usyk. He was then calling him all the old names and trying to convince us all that what we had seen had never actually happened. 

Former undisputed 140lbs champion Josh Taylor has had to retire from the sport with an eye injury.

The Scot, who lost his final bout the Ekow Essuman in Glasgow earlier in the year, was a decorated amateur, a Commonwealth champion and a 2012 Olympian, and the 34-year-old walks away with a 19-3 (13 KOs) record, having been defeated in his final three bouts.

After a contentious decision victory over Jack Catterall, Taylor – who suffered with multiple injuries in his final years as a pro – lost his lineal 140lbs title in New York to Teofimo Lopez, lost a rematch to Catterall and then returned only to be outworked by Essuman.

But before that he went on a glorious run, winning everything, unifying, and claiming the World Boxing Super Series and The Ring title at junior weltereight. 

Taylor took the undefeated records of Ohara Davies, Ryan Martin, Ivan Baranchyk, Apinun Khongsong, Regis Prograis, Jose Ramirez, and Catterall.

There were also wins over Miguel Vazquez and Viktor Postol, and the wild Prograis fight was, for many, the 2019 Fight of the Year.

In a social media statement, Taylor thanked those involved with his career at Top Rank and, latterly, Queensberry Promotions and his coaches, including Terry McCormack, Shane McGuigan, Ben Davison and Joe McNally. He also thanked his  wife, Danielle.

“Right folks, this isn't an easy post for me to write, but on the advice of my doctors, it’s sadly a necessary one,” Taylor wrote. “As has been publicised before, I've had a recurring issue with my eye that unfortunately means I now have to call time on my career or risk losing my eyesight. Whilst the fighter in me always wants to box on, I know I have to listen to the medical professionals and save me from myself. It is certainly not the way I wanted to bow out, but I have to listen to the doctors and those around me. I am just a kid from the Pans [Prestonpans] who scaled the very top of the sport but I could not have done it without those who have supported me, through thick and thin... First and foremost, I cannot thank you, the fans, enough. You always gave me your all, spending your hard earned money to come and watch me fight. Especially the thousands that travelled to watch me box at Madison Square Garden. Your support has always meant the world to me and I have never taken it for granted…

“I know that British boxing, and Scottish boxing in particular, is in an exciting place with the focus that you have on bringing through the next generation of world champions… It's now time for me to reflect on a 1 in 70 million career and look forward to what's coming next.

“Thank you once again, and God bless.”

In boxing, nothing stirs outrage like a close decision that goes the "wrong" way — at least in the eyes of the public. A fighter who threw more punches but landed fewer loses. A crowd favorite gets outmaneuvered. The judges’ scores don’t match the TV analysts.

It happens almost every Saturday night. A great Pay-Per-View card gets “marred” by the controversy of a bad decision. Somebody seemed to land more, do more damage or simply outwork the other.

Next comes the accusations.

“This was a robbery.”
“That judge was paid off.”
“Boxing is corrupt — again.”

Maybe it is from the TV analysts, maybe the reporters, certainly from social media and the accusations become accepted as truth.

Of course, there are bad decisions. Of course, judges are human and can get things wrong. The jump to conspiracy usually doesn’t make any sense.

Never mind that the decision might have been correct or, at least, justifiable. At this point it isn’t about the scorecard. It is about how the human brain reacts to uncertainty, emotion and disappointment.

We see it in our culture every day. Social media breeds it. So, why would pro boxing be different?

Let’s take a look at the dynamics of conspiracy theories and try to make sense of their impact on our sport.

Some of our culture’s most popular conspiracy theories include the existence of Bigfoot, Alien visit coverups, Q-anon, assassination attempts—the list goes on and on. There’s even a very prominent one brewing right now that I don’t even want to name.

But why do they happen?

The Brain Wants Certainty, Not Complexity

When a bunch of people look up into the sky and see something they can’t explain and are told it is an “Unidentified Flying Object” that breeds more questions than it does answers. When a crazed lone gunman takes out the most powerful man in the world from a book depository with a single bolt rifle shot — that countless marksmen can’t reproduce — people believe it has to be something more.

So, when a boxing decision goes in a different direction than expected our brains start working overtime to make sense of it. But the human mind doesn’t like gray areas — especially in emotional situations. When a round is hard to call, and the result goes against expectation, fans don’t think:

“That was close and could’ve gone either way.”

Instead, they think:

“Something fishy is going on.”

That’s pattern-seeking in action — the brain’s attempt to connect dots that aren’t actually related.

Narrative Bias: The Story Must Make Sense

Most fans come into a fight with a preferred narrative:

A fighter is on a comeback.

A champ is being avoided.

An underdog is due for redemption.

When the decision disrupts that narrative, it doesn’t just challenge a scorecard — it breaks the story. And the brain, desperate to preserve that story, fills the gap with blame. 

That’s narrative bias — when we favor emotionally satisfying explanations (like "he was robbed") over more nuanced, unsatisfying ones ("it was a close round"). Even better, we harken back to boxing’s organized crime-controlled history and we apply it to what is in front of us. It makes more sense to our brains to believe in dark nefarious forces than to say, “Hmm, I guess it could’ve gone that way,” or, “Let me take another look at that round to see if I can see what the judge saw.”

Why Losing Control Feeds Belief in Corruption

Fans can’t control the outcome of a fight — especially when they’ve emotionally invested in a fighter. That lack of control creates psychological discomfort, and conspiracy theories become a coping mechanism.

“If the system is rigged, at least I understand why this happened.”

That’s more comforting than randomness. And it aligns with existential motives — the brain’s need to feel secure in a world that often isn’t.

It is also more dramatic and exciting to believe in conspiracies than it is to look for a more rational explanation.

Every year the NFL puts out the Super Bowl logo before the start of the season. Conspiracy theorists say that it always holds the colors of the teams the NFL has preselected to be in the game that year. Never mind that there are countless years when it doesn’t hold true or the fact that there are plenty of teams that share the same colors.

Social Media Is a Conspiracy Amplifier

A controversial decision used to get debated in gyms and bars. Now it’s litigated in real time on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube — where emotion trumps nuance, and engagement rewards outrage. A post that calmly breaks down a round might get 10 likes. A tweet that screams “WORST ROBBERY EVER!!!” gets 10,000.

Algorithms amplify emotion, not accuracy. And soon, fans aren’t just reacting to the fight — they’re reacting to each other’s outrage. It becomes a feedback loop of fury.

Add in influencers and creators who monetize controversy, and you get a climate where even reasonable decisions get painted as scandal.

“They Paid Off the Judges!” — or Just a Close Fight?

Let’s take a step back.

A fighter threw more punches, but landed fewer.

He was busier, but the other was cleaner.

All three judges had it close — 115-113, 114-114, 113-115.

That’s not corruption. That’s a high-level contest with subjective scoring.But to the fan whose fighter lost, the facts are secondary to the emotion of loss. The conspiracy theory serves as emotional protection — a way to turn vulnerability into certainty.

Bottom Line: Every Close Fight Isn’t a Robbery

Understanding the psychology behind conspiracy theories doesn’t mean fans are irrational. It means they’re human.

But if we want to keep trust in boxing — and respect for officials — we need to do better at recognizing the difference between:

1) A close fight and a fix

2) Disagreement and dishonesty

3) Uncertainty and injustice

Judging isn’t perfect. But more often than not, it’s honest. And if we can see past our own biases, maybe we’ll stop crying “robbery” every time a decision doesn’t fit the story we brought to the ring.

LAS VEGAS – There were times during his majority draw with Mario Barrios on Saturday night when it seemed almost as if Manny Pacquiao were the young champion defending his belt and Barrios were the elderly veteran whose feet were stuck in quicksand as he attempted to respond to the whirling buzzsaw that was whirring around him.

It wasn't quite vintage Pacquiao. There was the hand speed, the angles, the blurs of activity – but there wasn't the forceful punching of old or the indefatigable engine carrying him through to the very end. This was late-stage Elvis belting out his favorites while sweating through his rhinestone suit, looking far from his peak but still more than good enough to carry a beautiful tune.

Pacquiao twisted. Pacquiao turned. Pacquiao banged his fists together. He unleashed flurries. He even proclaimed his love for the people. He no longer had it in him to dispose of a young pretender he would have swatted aside in his pomp, but he came damn close. And that is a lot more than a lot of people, this writer included, thought he would manage Saturday here at the MGM Grand.

And although the official result seemed correct (BoxingScene also scored the fight 114-114), it nonetheless felt as if Pacquiao merited more, that simply for coming back at age 46 after four years away and taking it to a younger opponent, he deserved a more tangible prize than a participation trophy – and, of course, a hefty paycheck. Having come so close to adding yet another world title belt to his collection, it felt a shame that he couldn't quite earn the right to snatch it from Barrios’ grasp.

It didn't hurt that San Antonio's Barrios, 29-2-2 (18 KOs), turned in such an oddly diffident performance. It was as if all the pre-fight hype, all the attention on Pacquiao, all the pressure of facing a legend proved too much and caused him to shrink under the spotlight. Having professed himself disrespected by Pacquiao viewing him as relatively easy pickings for his comeback, it seemed as if Barrios in fact came to believe it.

Pacquiao took the opening round, simply on account of his appearing to try and win it, looking for angles of attack as Barrios watched him warily and fired out a tentative jab.

The first sign the night might not go the Aztec warrior's way came in the second round, when he chased after Pacquiao with a double jab and promptly fell flat on his face. The heavily pro-Pacquiao crowd lost its collective mind, but this was no knockdown, and Barrios returned to the task at hand.

Barrios stepped into his jab more in that second round, but if his plan was to fight within himself, he was executing it a bit too efficiently for his own good. Pacquiao was beginning to bounce around on his toes, not quite with the explosive energy of days past but in a decent enough approximation, as if a Manny Pacquiao lookalike were performing a first-rate impersonation of the Pacman in his pomp.

Not all of Pacquiao's flurries were landing, but enough of them were that by Round 4 it was already beginning to feel that the defending welterweight titlist was starting to let too many rounds slip away. Each time it appeared Barrios was about to impose himself on the older man, Pacquiao rummaged around in his bag of tricks and found something else with which to bedazzle him.

He may have been 46 years old, but Pacquiao was posing a puzzle that Barrios was struggling to solve. Barrios, meanwhile, was just another opponent, no different or more challenging than any of the world-class foes the Filipino had faced since he first walked into this arena in 2001 and smashed Lehlo Ledwaba.

Pacquiao was in a groove now, moving with surprising ease and firing flurries as Barrios did far too little to stop him. Instead of, as might have been expected, fading as the rounds went on, Pacquiao seemed to be strengthening, nurtured by his success and the roars of the crowd.

It didn't appear as if his punches were hurting Barrios unduly. This was not the Pacquiao who flattened Ricky Hatton or broke Antonio Margarito’s face. But he didn't have to be. This version of Manny Pacquiao was proving plenty good enough.

The fight flew by, and suddenly the championship rounds were looming. Barrios needed to find something. He just about did.

He had landed enough jabs that Pacquiao, 62-8-3 (39 KOs), had been sporting a mouse under his right eye for several rounds, but now he started to up his pace and increase the weight he put behind his punches. A stiff jab disrupted Pacquiao's flurries, and then in the 11th a real fight broke out as the two men let their hands go, each finding success as the capacity crowd roared.

The 12th was attrition, Barrios finally fully committing to his offense even as Pacquiao kept probing, kept moving, kept looking for angles of attack. It was close, as many of the rounds had been, and at the end it felt as if the official scores might be all over the place.

In the event, they were all extremely close to each other. Barrios swept the last three rounds across the board, and he needed to.

Six years after his last win, Manny Pacquiao had not only not been embarrassed and not been beaten down, he hadn't even been beaten. And if the result, objectively, was correct, the narrative felt spoiled. Pacquiao hadn't pulled off the upset win. But he had come so very close. It wasn't the win he was seeking, but it was a win nonetheless.

Kieran Mulvaney has written, broadcast and podcast about boxing for HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Reuters, among other outlets. He presently co-hosts the “Fighter Health Podcast” with Dr. Margaret Goodman. He also writes regularly for National Geographic, has written several books on the Arctic and Antarctic, including most recently Arctic Passages: Ice, Exploration, and the Battle for Power at the Top of the World, and is at his happiest hanging out with wild polar bears. His website is www.kieranmulvaney.com.

FRISCO, Texas – The unique scenario of having back-to-back unification bouts in queue was not of any concern to Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.

The unbeaten 25-year-old southpaw is now a two-division, unified champion following his one-sided, 10th-round knockout of Phumelele Cafu. A body shot by Rodriguez sparked the fight-ending sequence that led to a corner-requested stoppage at 2 minutes, 7 seconds of the 10th round atop Saturday’s DAZN show from The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. 

As widely reported, waiting in the wings for San Antonio’s Rodriguez, 22-0 (15 KOs), was a mouthwatering showdown with WBA titleholder Fernando “Pumita” Martinez, 18-0 (9 KOs), later this year. The bout was already announced as part of the November 22 “Ring IV: Night of Champions” supercard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

Rodriguez didn’t even acknowledge that fight until he took care of present-day business, and handled it with class, unifying the WBC and WBO titles.

South Africa’s Cafu, 11-1-3 (8 KOs), entered his second straight road trip full of optimism, complete with the promise that he would “knock Rodriguez’s head off.” Not only did that moment never come close to occurring, but he also failed to keep his back off the ropes during any point in the fight.

Rodriguez didn’t waste any time in cutting off the ring, which began a fight-long sequence of keeping Cafu either pinned on the ropes or trapped in a corner. Cafu was quickly forced to play defense as Rodriguez worked his jab downstairs and up top in search of landing something considerably more potent. Cafu was not without his moments, though mostly in counterpunching mode and never more than one shot at a time.

Rodriguez continued to box in Cafu as he worked his jab in the second. Cafu attempted to time Rodriguez coming in but frequently fell short with his left hook. Cafu landed a right hand upstairs but was met with a left to the body by Rodriguez. The final 30 seconds of the frame were spent with Cafu pressed against a neutral corner while Rodriguez worked his jab and straight left.

A jab and right hand by Cafu provided a moment of optimism at the start of the third. Rodriguez pushed past it and immediately forced Cafu into a corner. Rodriguez moved in and out, first to avoid Cafu's right hand over the top and then to set up his jab and right hook to the body. A jab and straight right by Cafu were both picked off by Rodriguez, who ended every combination with a right hook to the body.

Cafu offered up the best account of himself in the fourth, even if it wasn’t enough to win the round.

Rodriguez continued to come forward, but Cafu was able to better time the pound-for-pound entrant. The surge in confidence was detected by Rodriguez, who dialed up the pressure in the final minute and cracked Cafu with right hooks upstairs. Cafu showed a sturdy chin but no response for the incoming.

The fight-long trend of Rodriguez keeping Cafu trapped wore thin the patience of the South African’s corner. The firm instructions to get off the ropes were briefly adhered to by Cafu, but Rodriguez was just too on tonight.

“This was probably my best performance to date,” Rodriguez told DAZN’s Chris Mannix afterwards.

Cafu’s last great moment came in the eighth, when he landed a jab and right hand on the forward-charging Rodriguez. The moment, like all others for Cafu, was short-lived. Rodriguez proceeded to force Cafu to the next corner of the ring and continued with his body attack. The southpaw offered slick head movement to avoid a Cafu right, and then drew cheers from the crowd as he threw in rapid-fire combination.

Rodriguez was determined to break down the mobile Cafu, and eventually delivered. 

A wicked body shot began the rally as Cafu was nearly doubled over by the right hook downstairs. Referee Hector Afu was so caught up in monitoring Cafu’s ability (or lack thereof) to defend himself that he was nearly on top of the action.

Rodriguez never relented as he unloaded with power shots. The two tumbled to the canvas, mainly due to Cafu’s best effort to hold on before they both fell. By that point, Cafu’s corner had seen enough and climbed onto the ring apron with the surrender towel in hand.

Cafu’s Cinderella story came to a close after just nine months. He claimed the WBO title in an upset split decision victory over four-division titlist Kosei Tanaka last October 14 in Tokyo.

It was the first career road trip for Cafu and ended with the biggest win of his career. His second fight outside of South Africa was considerably less memorable. 

Unless, of course, you were on the other side of the outcome.

Rodriguez has now won five major titles over three reigns spanning two weight divisions. The brilliant run has come in just his past eight fights, and now with the chance to add one more chip in what could mark a Fighter of the Year campaign should he conquer Martinez later this year. 

Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on X and Instagram

LONDON, England – “Thirty-eight is only the start,” shouted Oleksandr Usyk, having detonated one of his finest left hands to drop and stop Daniel Dubois in five rounds at a packed Wembley Stadium.

Once again the 38-year-old undisputed heavyweight champion (for a third time in two weight classes), Usyk was saluted by the London crowd afterwards, with more than 80,000 fans deservedly chanting Usyk’s name.

“Next, I want to rest. I want to spend time with my wife and children, maybe two-three months. Just rest,” he said.

Asked who was next, he considered the question and said: “Maybe it’s Tyson Fury” before adding it could also be Anthony Joshua or Joseph Parker.

Usyk is now a sparkling 24-0 (15 KOs) having vanquished Dubois a second time, dropping him twice before the end came at 1:52 of the fifth round.

It was an excellent win, with Usyk snapping the career momentum Dubois had enjoyed with victories over Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic, and Anthony Joshua.

Usyk started steadily, eased into it, went through the gears and then dropped the hammer.

 

***

Usyk had been cheered on the big screens above the ring when his arrival, at 7.15pm, was shown. Earlier, down Wembley way, fans wearing Ukrainian flags could be seen making their way to the stadium and their national hero was even on electric millboards, modelling for Stone Island.

Vendors sold scarfs and T-shirts and, through the undercard, pockets of seats of supporters wearing the yellow and blue of Ukraine started to make themselves heard.

 

***

 

It was a memorable night. Dubois’ entrance into the cavernous stadium was greeted by fire artists and they gave way to the Candy Girl R & B classic and the Englishman took the long march to the ring as fireworks lit up the Wembley night sky.

Then, to Dennis Brown’s Don’t Want to be a General, Dubois flicked the switch, his eyes narrowed and he picked up his pace.

Jogging on the spot once in the ring, he awaited one of the modern greats. Cancel that. He awaited an all-time great.

Undisputed at cruiserweight. Undisputed at heavyweight. Usyk strode purposefully to collect the IBF belt that politics forced him to hand back last year, having twice proved himself the best big man in the world by defeating Tyson Fury.

Usyk, in a long grey, shiny robe, walked to the ring with a stony face, cutting through the London humidity and clambering over the top rope where Michael Buffer introduced the fighters to the crowd, which crackled in anticipation.

The rain that poured at 6.15pm had long since gone. 

A coliseum-like roar welcomed Dubois and he punched both hands above his head.

Usyk’s reception was more mixed but London ultimately seemed to salute his greatness.

Then, it was down to business.

 

***

Dubois started to fire lead right hands, three in the first minute either landed or were close but Usyk jabbed defiantly, pivoting off his front foot and circling away from the right hand, catching Dubois with a couple of lefts before the end of an enthralling round.

The second was cagey. Dubois was guilty of lunging in at one point and Usyk made him pay and there was little sign that Dubois was going to target Usyk’s body. A Usyk left hand snapped Dubois’ head back just before the bell. The crowd gasped, and they did so again when a replay of that clean shot was replayed on the big screens hanging over the ring.

Dubois came out purposefully in the third. It was tense, and Dubois kept bulling in behind his loaded right hands.

“U-syk” chants bellowed around the stadium and another Usyk left hand landed flush.

Usyk’s head movement and speed of foot made him a hard target and there were signs in the third that Usyk was finding his stride, detecting Dubois’ patterns and working out this version of the 27-year-old.

The Ukrainian’s jab went to work in the fourth and Dubois paid for his more predictable assaults.  

Dubois had promised chaos in the build-up, but his attacks looked formulaic and a master like Usyk was untroubled.

Dubois shovelled a right into the body in the fourth, a reminder of what happened in Poland when they fought a couple of years ago when Usyk required a prolonged period to get over the low shot – but Usyk was hitting his stride.

He countered over the top of a Dubois jab to open the fifth and the action soon opened up.

Usyk raked Dubois with a couple of heavy shots and Dubois fought back hard but he did so while walking back into danger. That was catnip for Usyk. The master doesn’t need an invitation and he certainly doesn’t need to be presented with opportunities he can happily create on his own.

But Dubois recklessness saw him hit the canvas from a right hook high on the head. The IBF champion moved onto all fours and managed to stand but as the action resumed, Dubois only thought of the chaos he needed to inflict and as he hurled a right Hail Mary, Usyk entered the matrix and, in real time, weaved out of harm’s way and swung back with a crisp left hook that distorted Dubois’ features and sent him tumbling onto his back.

Dubois, who dropped to 22-3 (21 KOs), looked as though he might beat referee Mike Griffin’s count, but he left it too late, stood at eight and trudged forlornly back to his corner.

Usyk dropped to his knees, covered his eyes with his gloves to hide his tears and wept.

He’d done it again.

Two wins over Anthony Joshua. Two wins over Tyson Fury. Two wins over Daniel Dubois. A career of brilliance; amateur and pro. Untouchable. A generational great.

It all really began in 1978 when Leon Spinks opted to give Muhammad Ali a rematch rather than fight Ken Norton and was stripped by the WBC of their heavyweight belt. But Mike Tyson coming along and clearing out the division a decade later was not the end of chaos but a new beginning. Here, if your stomachs can take it, is the timeline (revised and updated since it was last published) to the latest ‘undisputed’ fight – Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois – that will claim to leave a solitary heavyweight champion standing. 

August 1, 1987: Mike Tyson beats Tony Tucker on points to add the IBF title to the WBC and WBA belts he already owns.

June 27, 1988: In a bout billed “Once and For All,” Tyson takes all of 91 seconds to destroy Michael Spinks – the lineal champion at a time when the lineage was easy to follow – to reign as the lone king at heavyweight.

February 25, 1989: Tyson overwhelms a brave Frank Bruno in five rounds. Strictly speaking, this would be the last time that all available versions of the world heavyweight title were on the line in one contest until Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury came together in May 2024.

May 6, 1989: The World Boxing Organisation (WBO) throws its hat into the mix when Francesco Damiani knocks out Johnny Du Plooy in three rounds to win the inaugural heavyweight belt. Barely anyone notices.

December 14, 1992: Riddick Bowe, after taking the WBC, WBA and IBF titles, plus lineal recognition, from Evander Holyfield the month before, famously bins the WBC belt, which is duly awarded to Lennox Lewis thanks to his victory in a final eliminator over Razor Ruddock.

March 4, 1995: George Foreman, after taking the WBA, IBF and lineal titles from Michael Moorer the previous November, is stripped of the WBA title for failing to take on Tony Tucker, the organization’s mandatory challenger.

June 29, 1995: Foreman relinquishes his IBF belt after refusing to give Axel Schulz an immediate rematch. He will retain lineal honors while trying and (thankfully) failing to legitimize the WBU (World Boxing Union).

December 9, 1995: Frans Botha outpoints Axel Schulz to win the vacant IBF title. Chaos is well and truly running amok with three others claiming ownership of titles – Foreman (lineal), Bruno (WBC); Bruce Seldon (WBA) – and the WBO strap lying vacant after Riddick Bowe relinquished it, largely due to lack of interest after Holyfield refused to fight him again if that title was on the line.

March 16, 1996: Tyson savages Bruno in three rounds to win the WBC belt and vows to clean up all the titles, just like he had done so in the previous decade.

September 7, 1996: Tyson wins the WBA title with a one-round blowout of a seemingly terrified Seldon. The WBC title is not on the line, however. Two weeks later Tyson relinquishes the WBC strap after failing to agree terms with Lennox Lewis, his mandatory.

November 9, 1996: Holyfield stuns the world when he overpowers Tyson in 11 rounds in a WBA title fight. In victory, Evander is widely regarded as the leading heavyweight in the world.

February 7, 1997: Lewis stops an emotionally unfit Oliver McCall in five rounds to win the vacant WBC title. It makes the Englishman one of five men who call themselves champion: Foreman (lineal), Lewis (WBC), Holyfield (WBA), Moorer (IBF) and Henry Akinwande (WBO).

February 18, 1997: Akinwande becomes the latest heavyweight to give up the WBO title so he can move towards a shot at an established belt. This is important to note when questioning Lewis’ claim to be the last true champion (prior to Usyk). Akinwande relinquishes so that a fight with Lewis, the WBC boss, can be arranged. In July, Lewis thrashes an unwilling Akinwande in five.

November 8, 1997: Holyfield adds the IBF title to his WBA belt when he batters old rival Moorer to defeat in eight rounds.

November 22, 1997: Shannon Briggs is ruled a questionable points victor over the ancient Foreman to lay claim to what is already starting to feel like an entirely mythical lineal title.

March 28, 1998: Lewis stops Briggs in a five-round thriller. He is now the lineal and WBC champ, with Holyfield reigning as the WBA and IBF boss and, ahem, Herbie Hide enjoying his second reign as WBO belt holder.

March 13, 1999: Lewis fights Holyfield. Though not officially for all the belts (the WBO was busy sanctioning Hide vs Willi Fischer), everyone on planet Earth recognizes this as the fight to clear up the mess. Then the judges somehow come up with a draw.

June 26, 1999: Vitali Klitschko brings Ivan Drago to mind as he obliterates Hide in two rounds to pick up the WBO gong.

November 13, 1999: Lewis outpoints Holyfield in their rematch to win everything save for that pesky WBO bauble. Nobody asks him about Klitschko in the aftermath, however.

April 1, 2000: Klitschko, despite winning practically every round, retires on his stool before the 10th round of his WBO defense against Chris Byrd, who later in the year will be outpointed by Vitali’s brother, Wladimir. 

April 13, 2000: Lewis decides he wants to fight the hyped Michael Grant and not WBA mandatory John Ruiz, so he gives up the WBA belt.

August 12, 2000: Nine months after losing to Lewis in a battle for complete heavyweight supremacy, Holyfield squeaks past Ruiz to win the vacant WBA title. The ridiculousness of this timeline should by now be obvious.

September 5, 2002: After losing to Hasim Rahman, then gaining immediate revenge before stamping all over the remnants of Tyson, Lewis gives up the IBF title rather than face leading contender Chris Byrd.

December 14, 2002: Byrd outpoints the fast-fading Holyfield to win the vacant IBF strap. Evander, by the way, had lost the WBA title to Ruiz.

March 1, 2003: Roy Jones Jnr leaps out of the light heavyweight class and lands at the feet of Ruiz, where he duly snatches the WBA title. Alas, he won’t stick around.

March 8, 2003: Corrie Sanders terrorizes Wladimir Klitschko, taking the WBO championship inside two rounds.

June 21, 2003: Lewis retains his WBC and lineal titles when he stops substitute Vitali Klitschko in six bloody and grueling rounds. 

October 18, 2003: Guess what Sanders decides to do with his WBO title? Hand that bad boy back.

February 6, 2004: Lewis decides against a Klitschko sequel, bids farewell to the sport, and announces his retirement at exactly the right time.

April 24, 2004: Vitali Klitschko wins a cracking scrap with Sanders in a bout for the vacant WBC strap and, some claim, the lineal title. 

November 8, 2005: Vitali Klitschko, ravaged by injuries, announces his retirement to leave the lineal title lying dormant for three years. Nobody seems to care or notice. There is little in the way of efforts to bring any of the other titles together during that time. Consequently, interest in the heavyweight division plummets.

February 23, 2008: In the first unification action of the century, and the first time that the WBO’s heavyweight title was deemed worthy of unification action, full stop, IBF boss Wladimir Klitschko outpoints WBO titlist Sultan Ibragimov over 12 rounds. For some historians, this is the point when the lineal title returned, too.

October 11, 2008: Vitali Klitschko is all healed up and bludgeons an outclassed Samuel Peter in eight rounds to regain the WBC title. The hearts of those eager to see a return to one champion collectively sink as they realize there is no way that two brothers are going to fight each other.

June 20, 2009: Other historians like to reference Wladimir’s victory over Ruslan Chagaev as the moment when the lineal title was born again. The problems everyone has keeping tabs on the lineal title – a term invented to restore some order when belts started multiplying like gremlins in water – further highlights the fine mess we’ve got ourselves into.

November 7, 2009: David Haye joins the heavyweight landscape promising to restore order. He takes the WBA title from man mountain Nikolay Valuev.

July 2, 2011: Haye and Wladimir Klitscko come together in a contest that generates serious interest the world over. The fight itself is a proverbial and literal washout, however. Klitschko wins comfortably in rain-soaked Hamburg, Germany, before Haye unwisely removes his shoes in the aftermath to show the world his broken toe. It’s not all bad, though – at least it serves to reduce the number of titlists. Wlad now holds the WBA, IBF and WBO belts, and has lineal recognition, with his big bro wearing the WBC colors.

August 27, 2011: Just because it can, the WBA sanctions a bout between Alexander Povetkin and Ruslan Chagaev for something later known as the “regular” title. Wladimir Klitschko is the “super” champion, and the entire situation is “moronic.”

October 5, 2013: Wladimir Klitschko beats Povetkin on points to trim the amount of WBA titleholders back down to one. He also retains his IBF, WBO and lineal titles.

December 16, 2013: Vitali Klitschko retires again, this time for good.

May 10, 2014: Bermane Stiverne drops and stops Chris Arreola in six rounds to nab the vacant WBC title.

July 6, 2014: The WBA again decides that one titleholder isn’t enough and crowns Chagaev its regular champion after he beats Fres Oquendo on points in Russia.

September 11, 2014: The WBA decides that two champions aren’t enough and crowns Luis Ortiz its “interim” champion after he bulldozes Lateef Kayode in one round. So, the WBA has three world champs at heavyweight: Wladimir Klitschko, Chagaev and Ortiz. Great stuff.

January 7, 2015: Ortiz is stripped of his interim trinket after failing a drug test.

January 17, 2015: Excitement greets Deontay Wilder’s arrival on the world scene as he outhustles Stiverne over 12 rounds to win the WBC title.

October 17, 2015: Ortiz, seemingly clear to fight, regains the interim bauble with victory over someone called Matias Ariel Vidondo, and the WBA has three titlists again. “Thank goodness for that,” nobody says.

November 28, 2015: Tyson Fury stuns most when he brilliantly outboxes Wladimir Klitschko to win the WBA, IBF, WBO titles and gain lineal status. It feels like a new era is upon us.

December 8, 2015: Though one understands that mandatory challengers are there for a reason, the lack of common sense applied in certain situations is jarring. The IBF highlights the impossibility of having one champion when it strips Fury for agreeing to a contractual rematch with Wladimir Klitschko instead of accepting the challenge from the largely unknown Vyacheslav Glazkov.

January 16, 2016: Charles Martin wins the vacant IBF belt when Glazkov limps out of action with a leg injury in Round 3. 

April 19, 2016: Anthony Joshua breathes new life into the division when he feasts on Martin, surely not helped by his tight leather shorts, in two rounds to win the IBF strap. 

June 24, 2016: Fury pulls out of his July 9 rematch with Wladimir Klitschko, citing an injured ankle. On the same day, United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD) reveals that Fury had tested positive for the illegal substance nandrolone 16 months previously.

September 12, 2016: In one of the most surreal press conferences of modern times, Wladimir Klitschko is left high and dry in London as Fury fails to show up. Why? Because the world heavyweight champion’s car broke down on the motorway and his phone had run out of power, so he was unable to call for help.

September 23, 2016: Fury pulls out of a rearranged date with Wladimir Klitschko, citing that he is “medically unfit” to fight. News also appears that he had failed another test, this time for a recreational drug, earlier in the year.

October 12, 2016: Fury relinquishes his WBA and WBO belts but makes no mention of the lineal title.

December 10, 2016: New Zealander Joseph Parker pockets the vacant WBO title when he’s awarded a controversial 12-round verdict over Andy Ruiz Jnr after a dreary bout.

April 29, 2017: In one of the division’s greatest fights, Joshua exchanges knockdowns with returning veteran Wladimir Klitschko in the middle rounds, rides out a storm, then makes the most of his second wind to triumph in the 11th. In the process, he retains his IBF title and, in a rare moment of sanity, the WBA puts its vacant title on the line for this one, too. Some declared this as a battle for the vacant lineal title as well – something subsequently forgotten.

March 31, 2018: Joshua outpoints Parker to add the WBO title to the IBF and WBA belts already in his possession. Only Deontay Wilder and his WBC championship await …

June 10, 2018: And maybe Tyson Fury, too. After serving a backdated ban, emerging from depression, and shifting some serious mass, he returns, in Manchester, England, stopping a wildly overmatched Sefer Seferi in four rounds.

August 11, 2018: After a brief release into society, the WBA is sent back to the lunatic asylum after sanctioning a bout between Trevor Bryan and BJ Flores for the interim title.

December 1, 2018: Wilder and Fury engage in a tremendous scrap for the WBC belt and – so say the marketers – Tyson’s old lineal title. Fury somehow claws himself back into consciousness after a heavy knockdown in the 12th, and it’s declared a draw.

June 1, 2019: Joshua heads to New York for his American debut, and after spending an awful lot of time fielding questions about when he’s going to fight Wilder and Fury – who announce a rematch during fight week – substitute Andy Ruiz Jnr scores a colossal upset to take the WBA, IBF and WBO titles.

July 20, 2019: After convincing authorities that the illegal substance discovered in his system was put there by mistake, Dillian Whyte wins the vacant WBC interim heavyweight trophy when he outpoints Oscar Rivas in London.

December 7, 2019: The anticipation that accompanies the Ruiz-Joshua sequel, staged in Saudi Arabia, all but disappears when the champion removes his t-shirt moments before the opening bell to reveal a stomach that has been filled to bursting point. Joshua boxes smartly, stays out of trouble, and wins a lopsided decision to regain his titles.

February 22, 2020: Out in Las Vegas, weeks before the world is plunged into lockdown, Fury turns in the finest performance of his career when he pulverizes Wilder in seven one-sided sessions.

June 10, 2020: Fury announces on social media that a two-fight deal with Joshua has been finalized. 

August 8, 2020: Alexander Povetkin chins Dillian Whyte to nab the WBC interim cincture.

October 31, 2020: Oleksandr Usyk wins his first meaningful bout in the heavyweight division, decisioning Derek Chisora, but largely fails to impress. 

March 27, 2021: Whyte regains the WBC interim strap when he beats Povetkin in a rematch.

May 17, 2021: With Joshua-Fury seemingly on the brink of being formally announced and a date for the undisputed clash in Saudi Arabia firmly in the diary, Wilder’s contractual right for a third fight with Fury is confirmed in court.

September 25, 2021: With Fury out of the equation, Joshua – to his credit – agrees to a scrap with Oleksandr Usyk, but it all goes awry when the Ukrainian boxes beautifully and bewitches the Englishman. Usyk wins a unanimous verdict and Joshua’s three belts to formally announce his arrival in the championship sweepstakes.

October 9, 2021: Widely expected to pick up from where he left off the previous February and do a job on Wilder, Fury is dragged into a hellacious barnstormer in fight three. After they share four knockdowns, the definitive fall comes in the 11th round, with Wilder out for the count.

April 23, 2022: In front of a sold-out Wembley Stadium in London, a faultless Fury toys with Dillian Whyte before finishing him in the sixth. Then he announces his retirement.

June 6, 2022: After somehow finding himself installed as the WBA’s No. 2 contender following a loss to Joe Joyce, Daniel Dubois wins that wretched regular strap when he exposes Trevor Bryan and flattens him in four.

August 20, 2022: Usyk beats an improved Joshua, again on points, before the Briton has something of a malfunction in the aftermath and dumps the belts out of the ring. Perhaps the wrong time to do it, but hard not to agree with the sentiment.

September 9, 2022: The WBO throws another interim belt into the mix when Joe Joyce and Joseph Parker do battle for a title intended to ascertain that sanctioning body’s leading contender. Joyce knocks out Parker in 11 rounds. 

December 3, 2022: After Usyk bluntly refused to fight on a hastily arranged date and Joshua also turns down the chance, Fury looks elsewhere and thrashes the shell of old rival Chisora in the most unnecessary third fight in history. All is (almost) forgiven when Usyk appears at ringside and, at last, the undisputed drought appears set to end.

March 22, 2023: Fury-Usyk talks collapse over a disagreement on who will earn what should they have a rematch. 

April 15, 2023: Zhilei Zhang lays his hands on both Joe Joyce and, when he stops the Briton in six rounds, an unremarkable sliver (WBO interim for those not keeping up) of the world heavyweight title. 

July 11, 2023: Fury confirms that he will fight MMA star and boxing debutant Francis Ngannou in a non-title 10-round fight on October 28. Show him the money. 

August 26, 2023: Usyk beats Daniel Dubois, both the WBA “regular” titleholder and WBA mandatory, in nine rounds. Usyk was dropped in the fifth with a shot ruled a low blow. Team Dubois’ appeal that it should not have been ruled a foul is unsuccessful in the aftermath.

September 29, 2023: Fury and Usyk agree to fight each other. They sign contracts and everything! All Fury must do is get through his bout with Ngannou, 0-0, unscathed. Hurrah!

October 25, 2023: Out in Saudi Arabia, many journalists have it on good authority that Fury versus Usyk is signed and sealed for December 23.

October 28, 2023: Ngannou drops Fury in Round 3, busts up his face and acquits himself well in a majority decision loss. Afterwards, Frank Warren admits it’s unlikely that Fury will be fit enough to face Usyk on December 23.

November 16, 2023: It is officially confirmed that Fury-Usyk will take place on February 17, 2024, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

February 2, 2024: Fury-Usyk is postponed after a gaping wound is opened above Fury’s right eye in sparring.

February 4, 2024: With Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, determined to get a new date in the diary as soon as possible, the undisputed clash between Usyk and Fury is rescheduled for May 18.

March 8, 2024: Joseph Parker claims interim recognition from the WBO when he outpoints Zhilei Zhang in Saudi Arabia.

May 18, 2024: Usyk beats Fury in a titanic encounter, boxing well early, appearing all but lost in the middle rounds, almost halting the Englishman in the ninth and clinching a deserved split decision – and all four belts. We have an undisputed (and one interim) heavyweight champion(s).

June 1, 2024: Two weeks later, also in Saudi Arabia, Daniel Dubois beats Filip Hrgovic in a battle for the IBF interim title. So, 14 days after Usyk defended the IBF title in a unification showdown against his closest rival, the IBF crown an interim titleholder, a fighter stopped by the Ukrainian 10 months previously.

June 26, 2024: Faced with the choice between two rematches, Usyk opts for the more lucrative and meaningful one. With the IBF recognizing Dubois as its interim titlist, Usyk is obligated to face the Englishman (whom he stopped in August 2023) if he wants to retain recognition as its heavyweight titleholder. It is no surprise when he essentially tells the organization to stick it and “gifts” the belt to Dubois so that he can focus on his contracted return with Fury.

A few hours later: Dubois and Joshua confirm they will fight at Wembley Stadium on September 21 with the full IBF title on the line between two fighters whose combined record against Usyk is 0-3. “World heavyweight title” is a key component in the marketing material.

September 21, 2024: Joshua is beaten in five rounds by a rampaging Dubois, who retains his IBF title in one of the most impressive performances of the year.

October 23, 2024: Usyk and Fury come together to confirm their eagerly awaited rematch. It will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on December 21.

November 15, 2024: When Usyk defeated Fury in May, he became the first heavyweight since Mike Tyson to hold all (non-interim/secondary) sanctioning body titles. On this day, Tyson, 58, is beaten by Jake Paul in a farcical eight-rounder and the viewing figures dwarf those commanded by Usyk-Fury in May. 

November 26, 2024: The fight that everyone is waiting for, Mahmoud Charr versus Kubrat Pulev, is confirmed for December 7. Charr had been reinstated as the WBA “regular” heavyweight titleholder. He initially won the title seven years ago, and Pulev, without a win over a world-class opponent since 2018, will be his first challenger.

December 7, 2024: Pulev defeats Charr over 12 rounds. Four men now hold titles: Usyk, Dubois, Parker and Pulev.

February 25, 2025: Sorry, make that five. The boxing world rejoices when the WBC reintroduce their interim heavyweight girdle and attach it to the waist of Agit Kabayel after he knocks out Zhilei Zhang in six rounds.

March 13, 2025: The WBO order Oleksandr Usyk to defend his WBO world championship against the WBO interim world championship-holder, Joseph Parker.

April 29, 2025: After the WBO are appeased that Parker will get his shot further down the line, Usyk-Dubois II, a battle for the undisputed championship, is formally announced and is set to take place on July 19. Once that fight is done and dusted, all that’s left to do is monitor the statuses of the three other belt-holders (Parker, Agit Kabayel, and Kubrat Pulev).

 

Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois find themselves fighting again this weekend, just under two years after Usyk was in control for 90 per cent of the first encounter before knocking out the Englishman in the ninth.

The first bout was deemed by most to be so one-sided, in fact, it’s a wonder that Saturday’s Wembley Stadium sequel has been so well received by fans and industry insiders alike. And it’s true, Usyk vs. Dubois II is one of the best fights to make, and not just for the heavyweight division, but the entire sport. 

Three factors are at play when it comes to explaining why. 

Number one: undisputed. 

We all want an ‘undisputed’ heavyweight champion, it seems. So much so that we all go gaga, mindlessly lapping up the same unification process again and again, seemingly unaware that it’s the unification process that continues to empower the existence of too many sanctioning bodies. We do all know it’s impossible for an undisputed champion to remain for longer than a few months because the number of titles kicking around is too much for one fighter to manage, right?

Usyk has been here before. In May 2024 he outpointed Tyson Fury to add the WBC strap to the WBA, WBO and IBF trinkets he already owned. But then the IBF ordered him to fight Dubois, barely months after he’d already beaten Dubois. So, with a Fury rematch already agreed, he gave up the title, which was awarded to Dubois, and all of the promoters and broadcasters and media who made such a song and dance about Usyk winning all four belts then performed similar routines while declaring that Dubois versus Anthony Joshua was a ‘world heavyweight title fight’ – even though Usyk, the world heavyweight champion, the man who proved himself to be the one and only world champion by beating Joshua twice, Dubois, and then Fury, was not only still active but also still the champion.

Number two: the low blow.

Much of the 10 per cent of fight one that wasn’t bossed by Usyk occurred in the fifth round when he took a hefty up-and-under, immediately ruled low by the referee, which appeared to land below the belly button. Usyk took his time to get up and regain his breath, as was his right. Opinion was divided on whether the blow was indeed low - it certainly looked low to me - or if Usyk got a favor from the referee. 

Regardless of one’s interpretation, or the camera angle chosen to fuel that opinion, the incident adds to the intrigue, for sure. And low or not, the thump illustrated the power that Dubois possesses and, who knows, should he aim an inch or so higher next time, it’s plausible that it will have a similar effect.

It’s also likely that the effect of the low blow in fight one – Usyk sitting on the canvas safe in the knowledge that the referee had deemed it a foul – is going to be tricky to replicate with a legal punch. Though it’s tempting to label Usyk as a fighter who doesn’t like taking a full-blown blast to the midsection (and, frankly, who does?), it’s only right to point out that Derek Chisora, Joshua, Dubois, and Fury – alongside Mairis Breidis, Tony Bellew, Murat Gassiev, and others, at cruiserweight – all tested the Ukrainian with powerful punches to the body and, though on occasion uncomfortable, he didn’t go down. 

Number three: improvements in Dubois.

This final factor, far more than the previous two, is what makes this rematch so fascinating. The Englishman went into the first contest four fights removed from a 10th round KO loss to Joe Joyce and though in the interim he had defeated Bogdan Dinu, Joe Cusumano, Trevor Bryan, and Kevin Lerena (a fight in which Dubois was fortunate to get out of the first round), winning a bogus WBA strap along the way, there was an obvious uncertainty to his work. Usyk sensed and exposed the doubt in Dubois who appeared to choose to stay on the canvas for the full count in the ninth.

What Dubois has achieved since is remarkable. He rebounded to stop Jarrell Miller in 10, then he powered through Filip Hrgovic in eight, and looked brand new while demolishing Joshua in five. Clearly a fighter who thrives on confidence, the exceptionally heavy-handed man enters fight two in a significantly better psychological state than he would have done last time.

In the meantime, Usyk has edged ever closer to 40 years old and engaged in two gruelling 12-rounders with Fury. Though he was the rightful winner in both, and showed no sign of slippage, it’s logical to suggest that Dubois, still only 27, is both fresher than his 38-year-old opponent and the freshest opponent Usyk has faced for some time. 

Okay, but will it really be any different this time?

Usyk, for all his mischievous confidence, will be acutely aware that he’s dealing with an improving fighter. And this version of Dubois - hungry, confident and seemingly carefree - might even be Usyk’s most dangerous opponent in the entire weight class. 

There were moments in the first contest when Dubois failed to truly believe in himself, when he was too tentative and respectful after putting himself in a position to really test the champion’s resolve. In fact, watch the first encounter again and though Usyk was certainly winning the rounds, he was working hard to do so.

Against Miller, Dubois backed himself for the first time in a tricky contest. That he stopped the American so late in the bout gave him the belief to tear through Hrgovic and, when faced with Joshua, Dubois almost got the job done as early as the first round such was the assertiveness fueling him. It stands to reason, then, that he will embark on this rematch with both urgency and composure which stands to make life difficult for the smaller, older Usyk.

But how much Usyk will have to do to drain the confidence from the young man remains to be seen. Should Usyk again control the early going, for example, and Dubois is forced to endure round after round without any significant success, will the uncertainty return? One can argue that Miller was never a leading heavyweight, that Hrgovic’s standing was inflated by hype, and Joshua, who was alarmingly careless from the get-go, played right into Dubois’ hands. Usyk is a different beast entirely. 

Even so, Dubois’ best chance of scoring the upset – and there is certainly a chance – likely hinges on his ability to utilise his physical advantages and break through early, to hurt and discombobulate Usyk, and end the bout before the veteran has found his groove. Furthermore, there is a vacant quality to Dubois these days that means he doesn’t overthink his approach. It might well work in his favor if he hurts Usyk and, rather than respectfully standing back, unpacks the kitchen sink and hurls it at the champion’s chin.

Who wins and how?

One naturally wonders if the perfect time for Usyk to retire, while at the peak of his all-conquering powers, came last year after his second victory over Fury. If he had, few could have accused him of leaving any unfinished business behind. With wins over Joshua, Dubois and Fury already recorded, he could rightfully say he’d cleared out the best fighters of his era.

But the lone asterisk on his otherwise spotless career remains that seventh round of his fight with Dubois when he hit the deck, screwed up his face, and exhibited the kind of discomfort we hadn’t seen before and we haven’t seen since. Usyk will be keen to remove any lingering doubt.

It stands to reason that this rematch will be a significantly harder fight for the champion. Dubois in full flow has been a revelation and, it must be noted, stood up to burly blows from Miller, Hrgovic and Joshua in recent bouts. Each likely possesses greater one-shot power than Usyk.

But Usyk can hurt Dubois in different places. Just because Dubois walked through those three doesn’t mean he can do the same to Usyk who, pertinently, has long had an incredible array of tools at his disposal, and an acute understanding of how to get the best from them. He was in tough spots against Joshua and Fury, the latter a technical wizard himself, yet the Ukrainian found the time, space, and composure to render any physical disadvantages redundant.

It’s easy to envision Dubois enjoying periods of success, perhaps even rocking and hurting the favorite, but if you’re going to pick the upset you are going out on a limb while doing so; you are guessing that Usyk has regressed. Because for as much as Dubois has improved, he hasn’t done so to the extent that he is a better fighter than Usyk has proven himself to be in recent fights.

Therefore, the pick is for Usyk to win again. It will likely come on the cards - that is the most logical outcome - but the feeling here is that Dubois, after exerting significant mental and physical energy trying to stamp his authority on the bout, finds himself exhausted, out of ideas, wide open, and rescued somewhere between the 10th and 12th rounds. It stands to be quite a scrap before then, though.

Twenty-seven-year-old Daniel Dubois is not looking back.

There have been times in his career where he has been beaten, battered, and bettered, but recent form has had him only looking one way.

Two years ago, he was defeated by Oleksandr Usyk in Poland, and they meet again on Saturday at Wembley Stadium.

“I can’t remember what I did,” Dubois told several British reporters this week, thinking back to the day after his first meeting with Usyk. 

“I don’t want to go back, it’s in the past.”

Dubois has clearly done enough reflecting and soul-searching regarding his losses to Usyk and Joe Joyce, but he is much happier about the Dubois he has subsequently become; the increasingly fearsome predator who stopped Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic, and Anthony Joshua in his last three fights.

Despite his massive frame, this Dubois drives a Porsche and, asked about spending his hard-earned money, he said: “What are you doing it for [if you can't buy a Porsche]? You’re getting punched in the head and putting your health on the line. My dad [Stanley] had one before me so...”

Dubois and his father have a well-documented relationship. Stanley rules the roost and had Daniel training for combat, or at very least discipline, from when he was about five years old.

Daniel still hangs on his every word. That was notable in the fight with Miller, when the big American wasn’t going anywhere and was somehow able to swallow up plenty of Dubois bombs.

It was at that point that promoter Frank Warren told Stanley to go and get in his son’s corner, and join trainer Don Charles.

“I pulled him out of the crowd,” said Warren. “I saw in the third round Daniel was looking round, he went back to the corner and Don was speaking to him. Don’s a good trainer and does everything that’s asked but his dad’s is the voice he listens to. “We’re there to win as a team, he [Daniel]’s the guy taking the punches. We want him to be in the best place to win a fight. That’s why this fight [the Usyk return] was made, we made adjustments after the first fight.”

“If you can’t do it for your dad, who can you do it for?” smiled Dubois.

“My dad found Don [Charles],” Dubois explained of the link up some two years ago.
“I was out in the wilderness, seriously,” interjected Charles. “I’ll say it publicly and privately that I owe his father and him because they took me from the wilderness and it’s all meant to be. I’m not a stranger to Frank [Warren]. Frank gave me trust with a prior guy [Derek Chisora] and that qualified me to give my everything for this young man and it’s working. As I sit here it's almost unreal that we’re revisiting Wembley again and he said he’s going to repeat it. It’s destiny. Stanley said he dreamt it all and everything he told me is happening in front of me.”

The team enjoyed definitive success in Wembley last September, when Dubois hurtled through Anthony Joshua in five rounds, dropping him four times.

Joshua had, by that point, twice lost to Usyk himself, but Team Dubois has no plans to let Usyk do the double over Daniel, the way the Ukrainian maestro scored repeat victories over both Joshua and Tyson Fury.

Dubois has clearly improved, physically and psychologically, and Warren believes Usyk and his team respect that.

“Yeah, they said it before,” said Warren. “Last time they were fighting Daniel the boy, now they’re fighting Daniel the man and that’s the difference.”

What of Usyk, is he the same man that fended off Dubois in Poland?

“I’m hoping he’s losing his powers but whatever it is, it is,” admitted Warren. “I’ve got great admiration for him as a champion, he’s done everything he’s had to do. On the strength of his record, he’s the best heavyweight of his generation but everyone is the best until they get beaten and I think his time is up. Daniel has the tools and the ability to do the business and come away with the prize.”

And both Warren and Dubois contend that a crucial victory will propel Dubois’ career achievements ahead of those of AJ and Fury.

“It’s for four belts, no one’s ever done it [in the UK at heavyweight],” said Warren.
“It’s history making,” added Dubois.

And they both know their boxing history. Warren has implored Dubois this week to attack Usyk like the Englishman is George Foreman or Rocky Marciano, hitting anything and everything that moves, making Usyk pay for being in front of him, whether he’s hammering the target areas or crashing bombs off Usyk’s arms and shoulders.

“Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson and Rocky Marciano and all of those greats who have come and gone,” Dubois said, asked for his favorites. “This fight puts me up there with all of them and to be remembered through all kinds of history.”

And that is important to him. There are pictures of several of the heavyweight greats on the wall of his gym. 

“It speaks for itself on Saturday and then I’ll put myself up there,” Dubois went on. “I’ll bring chaos to the ring and win by any means necessary. I want to turn up the heat and bring the chaos, restore the victory and that’s what I’m on.”

Usyk is a more than formidable opponent.

He is one of the best fighters on the planet and a generational great.

But Dubois believes he is entering his prime, while at 38 – and with an increasingly long career behind him – Usyk has spoken of this being one of his final two fights.

“I’m a veteran now so I don’t get overexcited about this [build-up and fight] now really because I’m a veteran,” Dubois continued. “I’ve been doing this a long time, like Frank, who’s a veteran.”

Warren, a Hall of Famer who has been in the sport some 45 years, continued: “At his age, how many fighters have fought the fighters who he has fought? Joshua hadn’t fought that quality. He’s paid his dues and now it’s about drawing on that experience and showing what he’s capable of doing. He’s a monster. He can fight and that is what it’s all about. Boxing is about going out there, being calm and doing the business.”

Can Dubois stay calm with the wily Usyk in front of him, with 90,000 fans making themselves heard?

“I just enjoy it and bring a vibe, make an atmosphere, create an atmosphere and take that to the fight by being single-minded with tunnel vision,” said Dubois.

While owning all of the belts is a dream the Dubois family has long carried, it is another thing thinking days and dreams like these would actually come true.

“I couldn’t have imagined and wouldn’t have known how it would happen but I would’ve loved to believe that I would get there, you know?” Dubois said. “It’s been a long road with a lot of work, going to the gym with my dad, sparring, training… It’s been a long road and I’ve been training for this day for a long, long time.

“I believed in myself; Frank’s been there matching us right and the whole team has been moving forward and staying focused. You believed in me didn’t you Frank?”

Warren signed Dubois out of the amateurs 10 years ago, when Dubois was 17.

Now Dubois is in what he’s calling “a legacy fight,” coming off the back of three wins that he admits proved plenty to himself.

“He’s up for this fight,” said Warren. “The one thing about this fight for Daniel, which is important, is he’s not getting into the ring with someone he doesn’t know. He’s shared the ring with him so he knows what to expect. The funny thing about this fight is it wasn’t difficult to make, they both wanted it. So it’s not like you’re trying to convince someone to do something they don’t want to do. They both wanted the fight and that shows they’ve both got confidence in their ability to win the fight. 


“Daniel [wins]. He’s in a good place. He’s learned some valuable lessons from the first fight. Things happen for a reason and it was a bump in the road and he’s come out of the fight with a different mentality. We put that to the test in the first fight afterwards against Jarrell Miller because I knew he would do everything he could to intimidate him out of the ring. I wanted to toughen him up mentally and he did that with him. At the final press conference, he stood his ground and did the same in the fight and showed he’s dangerous at any moment by knocking him down in the last round.”

Dubois said his Saturday dose of chaos will include landing leather on the body, the head, the elbows…

Warren reckons his man ushers in a new era for heavyweight boxing.

He believes, like Joe Calzaghe after defeating Chris Eubank, Daniel Dubois has not received his due credit from the British fans for the Joshua win.

“All they talked about was Eubank getting beat,” said Warren of that aftermath. “But it’s actually about the next great guy. He [Calzaghe] turned out to be the best out of all of them [Nigel Benn, Eubank, and Steve Collins]. Everybody will talk about Usyk and quite rightly they should, but him [Dubois] beating the guy who’s undefeated and beaten everybody then makes him The Man.”


Dubois has his mind on the job. 

“When you’re in training camp, you don’t have time for luxury, it’s just a grind so when this is over, we can have a laugh and play about a bit, but right now I’m in fight mode,” said Dubois.

And he has no plans of dodging anyone should he hit the highest heights on Saturday.

“We’ll go back up there and fight whoever, whoever wants it can get it.”