Boxing News

A formal announcement of Golden Boy Promotions striking an agreement with DAZN on a multi-year extension is said to be “forthcoming,” a development that further strengthens the streaming network’s boxing coverage.

Officials including a DAZN spokesman and Golden Boy’s Oscar De La Hoya did not immediately respond to messages left by BoxingScene on Friday following a first report of the looming agreement by Fights Around The World.

Another official told BoxingScene the deal was signed Friday.

Golden Boy’s past agreement with DAZN ended December 31, but the sides paired for two more California shows this year – a January card in Palm Springs and a Saturday show in Anaheim – as they continued to negotiate.

Earlier this week, DAZN – which already has streaming deals in place with UK-based Matchroom and Queensberry – announced a multi-year, non-exclusive agreement with Bob Arum’s Top Rank that is expected to launch later this spring. DAZN also offers Salita Promotions cards.

With Golden Boy, DAZN renews ties to the De La Hoya stable that includes new WBC welterweight titleholder Ryan Garcia, unified cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, recent title challengers Arnold Barboza Jnr and William Zepeda and unbeaten lightweight contender Floyd Schofield Jnr.

As for the hopes that the deal could revive the Vergil Ortiz Jnr-Jaron “Boots” Ennis bout, two individuals connected to the situation say that while that bout still has the potential to happen this year, there is more momentum now for DAZN to stage an Ennis title shot at WBO/WBA 154lbs champion Xander Zayas on June 6 in New York.

The renewed alliance could, however, prove pivotal in the effort to stop the current legal battle between De La Hoya’s company and Ortiz and his manager, Rick Mirigian, who failed to find a way to make the anticipated showdown with fellow unbeaten junior middleweight Ennis, a recently unified welterweight champion.

Ennis, 35-0 (31 KOs), appeared at the November second-round knockout victory by Ortiz, 24-0 (22 KOs), over Erickson Lubin, and the pair engaged in a spirited discussion in the center of the ring, appearing to agree they would fight next.

After De La Hoya quickly touted Ortiz as the clear “A” side, Mirigian and Ortiz grew disenchanted with Golden Boy’s $3 million offer for the fight, ultimately reporting in court records that Ortiz could earn at least $16 million for the bout from other promoters.

The case has been sent to arbitration, with a September due date.

Striking a settlement, however, could solve the crisis, and the assurance of DAZN funds over the time of this new deal may be the action that heals the divide and gets WBC interim belt holder Ortiz back in the ring.

Golden Boy and DAZN have been aligned since late 2018, when Golden Boy’s then-star fighter Saul “Canelo” Alvarez debuted for DAZN at Madison Square Garden versus England’s Rocky Fielding.

The relationship includes both pay-per-view cards and smaller shows such as Saturday’s, which offered Barboza defeating Kenneth Sims Jnr, strawweight titlist Oscar Collazo defending his belt and women’s champion Gabriela Fundora defending hers.

Ramirez’s title defense versus WBC light heavyweight titleholder David Benavidez will be shown on both Prime Video and DAZN pay-per-view.

BoxingScene will have more on this news as events warrant.

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.

LOS ANGELES – An adoring, heavily Guatemalan audience roared its support for the possible new WBC interim titleholder Lester Martinez Wednesday at a news conference staged at a multicultural center.

And that’s just the beginning.

ProBox TV founder Garry Jonas tells BoxingScene that Martinez, 19-0-1 (13 KOs), is targeted after a potential victory Saturday night in San Bernardino to return to Southern California on August 28 for a first defense of the WBC interim super middleweight belt that will be on the line this weekend.

The fact that Saturday’s show is a sellout event with a capacity crowd of 3,500 expected caused Jonas to remark, “I probably should’ve gone and got an arena, but we’re excited about the prospects for next time.”

Jonas said he’ll search for a venue near Lafayette Park in Los Angeles after trying for the 10,000-seat Toyota Arena in Ontario, California, this time.

The August event will be linked to the Guatemalan “El Chapin” weekend festival that typically draws about 100,000 people to Los Angeles, where an estimated 1.5 million Guatemalans reside.

Saturday, Martinez, 19-0-1 (13 KOs), is attempting at age 30 to become the first Guatemalan world boxing titlist.

“We’re already coordinating with [festival organizers] to make his August 28 fight part of the festival,” Jonas said. “We’re going to work on which arena downtown. It’s a great opportunity, and the Guatemalan fan base has really surprised me.”

In a wide-ranging interview with BoxingScene, which Jonas owns, the entrepreneur said part of what has fueled the fervent interest in Martinez’s Saturday fight versus WBC-ranked contender Immanuwel Aleem, 22-3-3 (14 KOs), is the success of Saturday’s early frontrunner for Fight of the Year, with ProBox TV light heavyweight Najee Lopez overcoming a cut at his eye and knocking out Manuel Gallegos in the eighth round of their riveting bout.

“You make fights and hope they come out,” Jonas said. “And sometimes they don’t. And then sometimes you have a little bit of good fortune. More often than not, we’ve been getting it right, and the fans are starting to take notice.

“For Najee to have that kind of performance the week before our biggest event, it just puts this event on steroids, so to speak. They’ve got a high bar to live up to, but I think they’ll get it done.”

With ProBox fights streamed live on YouTube, Prime Video and many other sites, Jonas will see his promotion quickly turn the page from Lopez’s gritty victory to this high-stakes bout for the promotion’s key fighter, Martinez.

“For every fighter, it’s their world, and we have to look at it in the collective,” Jonas said upon being asked if all his eggs are in the proverbial basket here, knowing two victories can move Martinez to a super middleweight title shot against the mid-September victor of new WBC 168lbs belt holder Christian Mbilli versus former undisputed and four-division champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.

“Fighters look at it in the individual. It’s a big fight for Lester, and he’s looking to get it done, to declare himself as the guy in the 168lbs division,” Jonas said.

“As far as we’re concerned, we feel the stable is strong. We’re rolling out a tremendous stable, and the fans are starting to take notice. Professional boxing is what it is. Some guys are going to win, some guys are going to lose. I’ve always told my guys, ‘Bring it, be entertaining, and you’re coming back.’ One loss here or there doesn’t change a thing. We match ‘em evenly, expect action fighters and we don’t worry about a loss.”

That said, victory is essential for Martinez to land the winner of Alvarez and Mbilli in 2027 after Martinez and Mbilli battled to a WBC Fight of the Year draw in September at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.

Martinez trainer Brian “Bomac” McIntyre told BoxingScene on Wednesday he has full confidence Jonas can move an unbeaten Martinez to the Mbilli-Alvarez winner.

“That’s a tough one,” Jonas said, laughing. “Canelo does what Canelo wants. He’s deserved that at this point in his career. It’s going to come down to Canelo. If Canelo wants to do it, it’ll probably happen. If he doesn’t want to, it’s probably not going to happen.”

First arrives Aleem, an older, more experienced foe who speaks confidently along with his father-trainer, Omar Aleem, about upsetting -1800 betting favorite Martinez.

“Aleem, I knew what he brought to the fight. It’s a big-boy weight division, where one punch can change everything at any time,” Jonas said. “Lester’s going to have to be at his best and continue to show his level. He showed a level against Mbilli, but in the first half of the fight, it wasn’t there. It was the tale of two fights. So we have to hope he comes prepared and brings his A-game, and if he does, I hope he’ll prevail.

“But I’m glad I don’t know he’ll prevail. That’s a ProBox fight.”

Meanwhile, with Jonas striking a deal with Japan’s Teiken Promotions for ProBox TV’s unanimously ranked bantamweight contender Katsuma Akitsugi to make a home-country debut April 11 in Tokyo versus Mexico’s Jose Miguel Calderon, he also shared news on two other ProBox lynchpins.

IBF featherweight titleholder Angelo Leo will defend his belt May 9 in Detroit versus mandatory contender and Michigan native Raeese Aleem in a card expected to be promoted by Salita Promotions and staged on DAZN, Jonas said.

Also, former junior lightweight belt holder Lamont Roach Jnr is in talks for a next fight that could be a WBC lightweight title bout against recent title challenger William Zepefa, of Mexico, Jonas said.

“By whatever day, it could be [Gervonta] ‘Tank’ [Davis] or it could be [Mexico’s Isaac] ‘Pitbull’ [Cruz],” for Roach, Jonas said. “Now, we’re talking to Zepeda.

“It’s just a complicated division with a lot of moving parts. We’ll have it sorted out during the next couple of weeks, but it could land anywhere.”

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.

At today’s inquest in Stockport, England, into the death of Ricky Hatton, a coroner ruled that it was unclear whether the former two-weight champion took his own life.

Alison Mutch, senior coroner for South Manchester, did record hanging as the cause of death but suicide was not recorded as the reason.

Hatton, who had significant levels of alcohol in his system at the time of his death (more than twice the UK drink drive limit), was found on a pool table in his home on September 14, 2025. There were no notes, nor any evidence that his death was premeditated.

The post-mortem did identify brain changes consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease caused by repeated head trauma - surely a consequence of his illustrious career in boxing.

Several members from Hatton’s family made statements, all of which documented the former fighter being in a psychologically good place. However, there were admissions of occasional mood swings, confusion and forgetfulness, all common symptoms of CTE. Regardless, his death came as a complete shock to those closest to him.

His son, Campbell Hatton, disclosed details of his father’s troubles in retirement but added that he “was in the best place he’d been in years”.

Jennifer, Hatton’s former partner and mother to his two daughters, reported that Hatton had been in good spirits during a meal they all shared on September 12. He was making plans with his daughters for the future, including going out to see him box for a scheduled comeback in Dubai later in 2025.

Hatton, 45-3 (32 KOs), last fought in 2012 but should be remembered for his wonderful peak years when he became a national treasure in the UK. He defeated Kostya Tszyu in 2005, before he went on to beat Jose Luis Castillo, and then capture the hearts of the world with a stirring effort against Floyd Mayweather in 2007. 

SAN BERNARDINO, California – The saddest story I’ve ever written was penned in this city more than 20 years ago, when mudslides washed away Christmas day campers, leaving 14 dead, mostly Guatemalan family members.

A massive, deadly wildfire set by an arsonist ravaged the San Bernardino mountains in October 2003, and when heavy rains struck on Christmas, destructive debris flew from loosened boulders and sent fallen trees crashing down upon the St. Sophia Camp and KOA campground in Waterman Canyon.

Rushing away from my own children at our family dinner while working as a Los Angeles Times Metro reporter, I’ll forever be haunted by the anguished faces of the desperate nurses at St. Bernardine Medical Center who worked in vain to resuscitate victims and treat the others’ substantial injuries.

Among the dead were several children, including 11-year-old Edgar David Meza, who remained missing until searchers scouring through debris found his body in April 2004.

The force of that mudslide was illustrated by the fact Meza was located 15 miles from the campsite.

As a symbol of never wanting to forget the victims, then-San Bernardino County Coroner Rocky Shaw kept a hopeful photo of the smiling boy on his desk until the day his body was discovered.

I don’t know why that horrific evening came upon me this week, but when Guatemala’s joyful and unbeaten super middleweight Lester Martinez spoke about one day becoming his country’s first world champion, maybe I hoped that someone once so pained by the long-ago San Bernardino tragedy could attend Martinez’s attempt to shower such happiness upon the same city and people.

Saturday night, in the main event of ProBoxTV’s card at San Bernardino’s National Orange Show convention center, a sellout crowd of 3,500 is expected to root heartily for Martinez, 19-0-1 (13 KOs), as he seeks the vacant WBC interim super-middleweight belt versus Virginia’s Immanuwel Aleem, 22-3-3 (14 KOs).

Guatemala cultural experts who attended this week’s Los Angeles news conference for the bout said there are 1.5 million Guatemalans living in the greater L.A. region, with a hearty pocket residing in the Inland Empire portion where San Bernardino exists.

Told of the mudslide tragedy that claimed so many members of the country he adores, Martinez gulped and paused, saying he was “emotional.”

Can the joy of sport help heal from such a dark event?

“That’s a tough question,” Martinez said. “I had never heard that story. It’s a story nobody would like to go through.

“But I hope those families have found some peace over time. I’d like to tell each of those families how sorry I am for what happened. The reason why I’m fighting… the reason why I’ll give it my best on March 21, is because I want to dedicate this fight to all those people who are no longer around, and all those people that were with me from the beginning.”

Martinez can provide a valued lift to his countrymen, said Walter Rosales, who is heading the “El Chapin” festival in Los Angeles that is scheduled to feature a Martinez bout in late August – two weeks before his possible next opponent emerges from the Christian Mbilli-Canelo Alvarez WBC full title fight in Saudi Arabia.

“Very impressed with Lester… he’s come to our festival for the last three to four years, and he is so committed to lifting the name of Guatemala to the top,” Rosales said.

Rosales praised his people for their humble nature, diligent service and loyalty while building a better life for themselves here – as Martinez, 30, has done.

“He’s a really good guy who loves all the people,” Rosales said. “All of Guatemala are hard workers, with family as our root. We have brought Los Angeles business, labor and the spirit of wanting to put the U.S. on top, with Guatemalans standing next to them.”

Martinez spoke both from the human position of knowing anyone could have been like Edgar David Meza and the others found in the unfortunate position of Christmas, 2003, and from the prominent place where he can inspire such a long-deserved sense of accomplishment to the masses who are like him. 

“On March 21, I will show all of those Guatemalan people that I will be the first world champion in the history of my country,” Martinez said. “And to all those people looking from above, I’m dedicating this fight to them, as well.”

 

Carlos Adames will enter the ring this Saturday to defend his belt against Austin “Ammo” Williams with a chance to solidify his standing as the no. 1 middleweight in the world – as the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, ESPN, and The Ring all currently have him ranked.

He will also have a chance to take a significant step toward ranking among the top 10 160-pounders of the 21st century.

Adames isn’t there yet. And he can’t realistically get there against Williams.

But middleweight has not been among boxing’s deepest, most glamorous divisions very often this century, meaning Adames – who since moving up to 160 has beaten Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Julian Williams and Terrell Gausha, not to mention fighting to a draw against Hamzah Sheeraz that most felt should have been a victory – is closer to cracking that top 10 than you may realize.

Who’s he chasing?

Glad you asked. Counting down from 10 to 1, here are one boxing writer’s rankings of the best middleweight champs from January 1, 2001 to present, ranked solely based on their resumes in the 160 lbs division over that span – with emphasis placed on title fights, greater emphasis placed on lineal title fights and the greatest emphasis of all based on the quality of opposition faced and overcome.

10. Felix Sturm

Record in middleweight title fights: 15-4-2 (5 KOs)

Few can match the German’s longevity in the upper reaches of the division – he was in the middleweight title picture straight through from 2003-14, spanning a 28-fight stretch with all but one under the 160-lbs limit and all but two scheduled for 12 rounds.

At the same time, nobody in this top 10, or in the next 10 for that matter, can match his tally of four losses in title fights.

It’s a mixed bag with Sturm. And that applies to his record in close, debatable decisions as well — most notably his 2004 loss to Oscar De La Hoya and 2011 win over Matthew Macklin, results that most felt should have been reversed.

He split two fights with Javier Castillejo, drew with Martin Murray, lost to Daniel Geale, beat Darren Barker, lost to Sam Soliman. Sturm never faced the lineal champs of his time, but he fought most of the best of the rest, with just good enough results to squeak onto this list.

9. Miguel Cotto

Record in middleweight title fights: 2-1 (2 KOs)

Right out of the gate, we get the starkest possible debate between quantity and quality in these rankings. Sturm offered plenty of middleweight quantity without reaching the very top. Cotto wasn’t in the division long, but he made his time count.

The Hall of Famer from Puerto Rico technically fought in the weight class three times, though for two of those fights he came in under the junior middle limit, and for the third he scaled 155.

So he was never really a middleweight. But he was the lineal middleweight champion, stopping Sergio Martinez at Madison Square Garden in 2014 to etch his name in stone. Was “Maravilla” physically compromised that night? Most definitely. Does that erase all the credit for the man who knocked him down three times in the first round and swept every scorecard until the fight was stopped? Most definitely not.

After that, Cotto defended successfully against Geale by fourth-round KO, then lost the title to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in competitive enough fashion against a fellow future Hall of Famer.

Quality over quantity. Lineal over longevity. Even if Cotto never really belonged in this division.

8. Arthur Abraham

Record in middleweight title fights: 11-0 (7 KOs)

Things got spotty for “King Arthur” once he moved up to super middleweight in 2009 and promptly went 1-3 in the “Super Six” tournament after coming into the series as one of the favorites. But at middleweight -- where, admittedly, he didn’t face anyone as capable as Andre Ward, Carl Froch or even Andre Dirrell – he was undefeated and mostly dominant.

I say “mostly” dominant because his greatest, most famous victory was a grueling 2006 struggle in which the German battled through a badly broken jaw to outpoint Edison Miranda.

Abraham cleaned that up with a fourth-round KO win in their rematch two years later, and his next-best wins at middleweight came against the likes of Howard Eastman, Kofi Jantuah and an aging Raul Marquez.

Abraham left a lot unproven in a three-and-a-half year alphabet reign, but all the meals he ate through a straw after the first Miranda fight weren’t for nothing. An 11-0 record in middleweight title fights is enough to get him onto this list.

7. Daniel Jacobs

Record in middleweight title fights: 6-3 (5 KOs)

It didn’t start smoothly for Jacobs. His first title try ended in an upset fifth-round KO loss to Dmitry Pirog in 2010 at age 23, followed by a near-death experience and a cancer diagnosis.

So Jacobs came back and earned his “Miracle Man” nickname. He sandwiched two wins over Sergio Mora around a spectacular first-round knockout of slight favorite Peter Quillin, and later handed both Sergey Derevyanchenko and Maciej Sulecki their first losses.

Jacobs’ only two defeats at the weight after Pirog were against two of the best of the era, and both came down to just a round or two – losing by seven total points on three cards against Gennady Golovkin and by eight total points on three cards against Alvarez.

Jacobs couldn’t quite get over that hump, but the versatile Brooklynite was the third best middleweight of that mini-era, and he proved he wasn’t all that far behind the top two.

6. Jermain Taylor

Record in middleweight title fights: 5-1-1 (0 KOs)

That “0 KOs” on Taylor’s middleweight title fight record is highly significant, in that he kept leaving it up to the judges – and was often lucky those judges seemed to like him.

Obviously, the 2000 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist deserves enormous credit for ending the decade-long reign of Bernard Hopkins. But neither of their two fights in 2005 was remotely definitive -- I scored the first narrowly for Hopkins and the second a draw.

Taylor followed that with a mildly fortunate split draw against Winky Wright, a clear-cut win over Kassim Ouma and a debatable split decision over Cory Spinks.

Then Taylor finally stopped going the 12-round distance – but not in a good way. Kelly Pavlik got off the deck to stop him in a 2007 thriller, ending the Arkansan’s lineal middleweight reign. As it happens, seven years later, Taylor did claim another 160-lbs alphabet belt by beating Soliman, in what would be Taylor’s final fight.

So, with different judges, who knows, maybe Taylor is like 3-4 in middleweight title fights and doesn’t make this list. But none of his opponents were pushovers (especially not Hall of Famers Hopkins and Wright), and he was, for more than two years, the lineal middleweight king.

5. Kelly Pavlik

Record in middleweight title fights: 4-1 (4 KOs)

Though Pavlik stopped Taylor to grab hold of the title lineage and then outpointed him in their over-the-weight non-title rematch, ranking “The Ghost” above Taylor isn’t as clear-cut as you might think.

The rest of Pavlik’s title fight wins are nothing to get excited about. He stopped Gary Lockett, Marco Antonio Rubio and Miguel Espino without losing a round to any of them. Pavlik’s only defense against someone whose name resonates years later came against Martinez, a slightly undersized underdog who cut up and outboxed Pavlik to take his title.

Other than the scintillating championship win over Taylor, Pavlik’s best victory at 160 lbs was probably his KO of Miranda that earned him the title shot.

Still, stopping Miranda, stopping Taylor and reigning for a couple of years as the lineal champ is enough to slot him above Taylor, even if that’s a close call.

4. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez

Record in middleweight title fights: 4-0-1 (1 KO)

Alvarez had a lengthy run at junior middle, fighting almost exclusively at that weight from 2010-’15, and a lengthy run at super middle, mostly campaigning there from 2018-present. But middleweight was a relative pit stop – albeit one with a few massive fights and arguably the best couple of wins of Canelo’s Hall of Fame-lock career.

He outboxed Cotto for the lineal crown while still growing into the weight class in 2015, then splattered Amir Khan in a safe first defense. After a couple of adventures in other divisions came the big ones: a hotly disputed draw and a room-temperature-disputed win against Golovkin, in 2017 and ’18, respectively. Alvarez fought one more time in the division, narrowly outpointing Jacobs in ’19, and that was that for him at middleweight.

There isn’t quite enough depth of resume at 160 for Canelo to earn a spot on the medal podium, but a lineal reign and an official record of 2-0-1 against Cotto and Golovkin get him close.

3. Sergio Martinez

Record in middleweight title fights: 7-1 (4 KOs)

Some might think of Maravilla as the bridge between the Hopkins-Taylor-Pavlik years and the Golovkin-Alvarez years, but as bridges go, the four-plus years the Argentine spent as lineal middleweight champ stretched across a lot of water.

It started with Martinez’s upset win over Pavlik in 2010 to snag the title, followed immediately by one of the most vicious one-punch knockouts of all-time against Paul Williams.

Then came Serhiy Dzinziruk, Barker and Macklin – all stopped late – followed by the fight that seemingly ruined Martinez’s knee, his dramatic defense against Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr. That knee barely held up enough to get him by Martin Murray, then didn’t hold up one bit against Cotto.

There’s not much to knock in Martinez’s reign, other than the fact that he and his team seemed to make a very conscious decision that the reward for facing Golovkin did not outweigh the risk. And because of that, No. 3 is the highest Martinez could possibly rank on this list.

2. Gennady Golovkin

Record in middleweight title fights: 22-1-1 (20 KOs)

The headliner of this year’s Hall of Fame class would stand atop this list if it was based on numbers alone.

“GGG’s” first alphabet reign began in 2010 and his last one ended in 2022, and along the way he knocked out his first 17 title-fight opponents while arguably deserving to win every middleweight title fight he ever had.

The flip side is that he could never get a truly great opponent into the ring with him until Golovkin was not quite as his most fearsome anymore. There were plenty of good-to-very-good foes: Macklin, Geale, Murray, David Lemieux, an undersized Kell Brook, for example. Jacobs represented a step up and became the first man in nine years to go the distance with GGG. Then Golovkin finally landed his ginger whale in Canelo, and the judges twice told him he didn’t quite do enough.

The numbers are exceptional. The lack of a signature victory keeps Golovkin out of the top spot here.

1. Bernard Hopkins

Record in middleweight title fights: 8-2 (4 KOs)

You can lop off the 15 middleweight title fights Hopkins engaged in during the 20th century. It doesn’t matter. His run from 2001 to 2005 – from age 35 to age 40 – is unparalleled in the weight class in the 2000s.

Golovkin may lack a signature victory, but B-Hop does not. His 12th-round KO of previously undefeated Felix Trinidad to unify the titles in 2001 is about as signature as any win any fighter has ever scored.

And stopping De La Hoya on a bodyshot three years later could count as a signature win if the Trinidad fight had never happened.

Hopkins also turned back Keith Holmes, William Joppy, Robert Allen and Howard Eastman – each a forgettable 12-round slog, but “The Executioner” never much cared how he won – before running into the much younger Taylor in ’05. Twice, the 40-year-old Hopkins fought Taylor on roughly even terms. Twice, the judges found a way to separate them that was unfavorable to Hopkins.

His middleweight run ended a bit like Golovkin’s first alphabet reign, with the sound of scorecards he didn’t agree with.

But there’s no doubt in my mind that Hopkins gets his hand raised when determining which of them reigns as the middleweight king of the first quarter of the 21st century.

 

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 – There was a secret plan in place in September, for Terence Crawford to win the undisputed super-middleweight title over Canelo Alvarez, to retire, and yield the belts to his successor, stablemate Lester Martinez.

Martinez’s 10-round draw against Canada’s Christian Mbilli threw a wrinkle in the plot, as Mbilli has since replaced Crawford as WBC champion and landed a first title defense versus Alvarez in September in Saudi Arabia.

But the secrets are now officially out of the bag.

The ever-punching Guatemalan Martinez, 19-0-1 (13 KOs), looks every bit like a breakout performer, and the plot thickens Saturday night when he seeks to secure his position as next up for the Mbilli-Alvarez winner while fighting Immanuwel Aleem, 22-3-3 (14 KOs), in the main event of ProBoxTV’s card at the sold-out National Orange Show in San Bernardino, California.

“I have a lot to win. I have a lot to lose,” Martinez, 30, told BoxingScene Wednesday at his media workout.

The entertainment value and scope of Martinez’s bout with Mbilli – awarded the WBC fight of the year while being staged at the NFL’s massive Allegiant Stadium under Crawford-Alvarez – brings him to say he “of course,” needs to win convincingly Saturday to tighten the screws on his now fully exposed ambition.

Not only will Martinez become the first Guatemalan to become a world champion in victory, he will greatly enhance his opportunity to fight for the full title.

While Mbilli seemed to dodge talk of a Martinez rematch before Crawford’s December retirement, Alvarez has been torched for keeping his younger, stronger former mandatory opponent David Benavidez on ice.

Knowing that, ProBoxTV owner Garry Jonas campaigned for the WBC to designate Saturday’s bout for the interim belt.

Jonas, who also owns BoxingScene, said Wednesday that he is additionally planning an August 28 fight for Martinez in the Los Angeles area to maintain his fighter’s relevance in the weeks before Alvarez versus Mbilli.

“Lester has a great promoter. Garry don’t sit on his hands, don’t wait for nobody, so I’m sure if we get to a point where it looks like they might try to freeze [Martinez] out, Garry’s going to come up with something, just like now,” Martinez [and Crawford] trainer Brian “Bomac” McIntyre told BoxingScene.

Martinez fully grasps his rising importance.   

“After the last fight, my fans expect a lot from me,” he said.”Regardless of how I win, I want to do well. I know after this fight I will be the official challenger to Canelo-Mbilli, so I promise to do my best.

“We know what’s at stake. I’m well prepared. I’m fighting a guy with a lot of experience. I have a lot of experience myself and I’m ready to win.

“Being fight of the year implies a lot. We did a good job, despite the outcome. All the positives I got from that, I’m ready for Saturday night. Whether Aleem brings it or not, I’m ready to bring my all.”

It’s that “will,” as McIntyre describes it, that separates Martinez from so many others.

“He always had that, even in the amateurs,” McIntyre said. “He has that will that he wants to make it.”

It’s will topped by relentlessness in the ring, as the fading Mbilli discovered in the later rounds, leaving many to profess victory would’ve been Martinez’s if the bout had lasted 12 rounds.

The Aleem fight is scheduled for 12 rounds, testing the theory that no man is up to lasting 36 minutes of fighting with the brawling Martinez.

“I definitely feel that way. He’s relentless. If he added a little pizazz with that, training with these brothers all the time, we’ll see some good shit in there,” McIntyre cracked.

At Wednesday’s workout, for instance, members of the crew were urging Martinez to shorten his camera-op session in order to avoid traffic through five Southern California freeways to the news conference. Martinez didn’t balk. He demanded a draining session that would force him to sweat.

That act is rooted not only in his culture, but in why so many predict his future title position.

Asked how the acclaim and the sellout have changed him, Martinez insists they haven’t.

“I’m very happy to see the [ticket-sales support],” he said. “When I see my countrymen out there, I want to give it my all. My life is still the same after the last fight. My fan base has kept growing. All the fans, the friendship, the good vibes. They’ve brought a lot of benefits to my life.”

And unlike Benavidez, whose team goaded Alvarez and may have sealed their fate and move to reign at light-heavyweight, Martinez has maintained a respectful stance and spewed no sour grapes toward the veteran four-division champion from Mexico, along with Mbilli.

“[Mbilli] is the full champion and has plans to fight Canelo in September and I think he deserves it,” Martinez said. “He wants to be fully prepared for Canelo. It will be a great fight, whoever wins.

“And I’m going to win Saturday.”

If the secret replacement strategy escaped Martinez, McIntyre recalled the lengthy avoidance of Crawford by former three-belt champion Errol Spence Jnr, a brutal Spence loss followed by the convincing triumph over the three-divisions-higher Alvarez.

“The longer they wait, the worse off they’ll make it,” McIntyre said. “Trust me.

“Like I told the boxing world before, the longer you sit on him, the worse it’s going to be for whoever gets in the ring with him. You heard me say that before, about three or four years ago. Now, we’re here again … the longer you wait, the more he learns, the hungrier he gets.

“You better be careful.”

 

NEW YORK – It only makes sense that Top Rank would ring in its new era at Madison Square Garden.

The Las Vegas-based promotion, which has brought top boxers like Muhammad Ali, Roberto Duran and Manny Pacquiao to the world stage, made its deal with DAZN official on Wednesday morning at a press conference at the arena where the company had promoted many of its biggest events throughout the decade. It’s the first broadcast deal for Top Rank since its relationship with ESPN ended last July after seven years.

Top Rank was represented on stage by company president Todd duBoef, plus four of its leading stars, including WBC featherweight titleholder Bruce Carrington, WBO lightweight titlist Abdullah Mason, former belt holder Keyshawn Davis and junior welterweight prospect Emiliano Vargas. Top Rank founder Bob Arum, the 94-year-old Brooklyn native who promoted his first fight 60 years ago with Ali vs. George Chuvalo, was not in attendance as he recovered from a knee injury, though event emcee Chris Mannix said he should be back ringside for fights by next month. DAZN was represented by Pete Oliver, its CEO of overseas markets.

Although Top Rank’s track record and deep roster are well-documented, the public-facing terms of this deal remain somewhat blurry, with duBoef only revealing that it is a “multi-year, multi-event commitment.” In a recorded statement, Arum revealed that not only its fighters and events would be coming to DAZN but also its fight library.

“I really believe this is just step one,” duBoef said. “We are really in a position where we can think of endless opportunities for all these fighters up on stage and endless opportunities for the fans around the world getting a top-quality event every Saturday night.”

Added Oliver: “We really wanted to bring Top Rank’s stable expertise into the mix of DAZN boxing so we can make the best fights. We also really wanted to strengthen our position here in the USA, as we had a great year last year. We had the FIFA Club World Cup, but we also saw our boxing business grow rapidly. We know Top Rank has an amazing history here, so we really wanted them to join the party.”

Carl Moretti, Top Rank’s vice president of Operations, said the company’s inaugural show is currently contingent on what happens with DAZN and the legally fraught Jaron Ennis-Vergil Ortiz fight, a longtime priority of the streaming platform that has been delayed due to litigation between Ortiz and Golden Boy Promotions, whose own deal with DAZN has expired but which put on a one-off show last weekend in California. Moretti added that the broadcasts will utilize DAZN’s current commentary team, which includes Mannix and Sergio Mora.

Asked about reports that Top Rank could seek a second broadcast deal to supplement its DAZN shows, Moretti was skeptical, saying most major networks in the United States are likely to be more focused on trying to bid for National Football League broadcasting rights, with the sports giant reportedly seeking to renegotiate its media rights deal before the next NFL season begins later this year.

Top Rank joins a growing list of promoters whose fights will air in the United States on DAZN, including the UK-based Matchroom Boxing (which has been with the streaming platform since it first arrived stateside); Salita Promotions (run by former Top Rank boxer Dmitriy Salita); UK-based Queensberry Promotions and the Riyadh Season events (which often bring various promoters together for larger events).

 

“For us, it's about making the best fights,” Oliver said. “We know that fans have been frustrated over the years because different promoters have been with different broadcasters. There's often been politics that have stopped the best fights from being made, and by having Top Rank join DAZN, we know we can make the best fights going forward. We want to bring our fans amazing fights, the best matchups and the best of boxing over the next few years.”

Carrington, 17-0 (10 KOs), had his most recent fight on DAZN, knocking out Carlos Castro in nine rounds to win his world title, and left with a good impression of what his future holds on the streamer.

“The amount of recognition that just boosted ever since that fight has been incredible,” said Carrington, a 28-year-old from Brooklyn, who said he should be back in the ring by the summer. “Obviously, I was fighting for a world title, but the fact that it was on DAZN, I think that played a major part, and it’s something that I’m really looking forward to in the next steps of my career. I really do believe that we are going to bring nothing but excitement, and I feel like it’s the perfect puzzle piece in order to continue making boxing great.”

Those sentiments were shared by Mason, a 21-year-old southpaw from Cleveland who figures to be one of the promotion’s biggest stars for years to come.

“The strides we've been making since I turned pro, being the brightest young star in boxing, I feel like we can do the same thing with DAZN,” Mason said. “Teamwork makes the dream work. I'm bringing the smoke to DAZN, and we’re going to have a lot of fun.”

Mason, who won his title in his most recent fight in November, got into a brief disagreement with Davis, 14-0 (10 KOs), who had previously held the belt that Mason now carries before losing it on the scales. The two exchanged displays of verbal machismo – interlaced with comic relief from Carrington – while Mason’s father, Valiant, challenged Davis to come back to 135lbs. Davis, whose previous fight was a final-round stoppage of Jamaine Ortiz in January, said he would be more likely to move to welterweight than to make lightweight again.

Davis said the Top Rank-DAZN announcement came as a welcome surprise.

“DAZN’s been carrying the torch for a while now,” Davis said. “They’ve been putting on major events, and now I feel that the whole world is starting to realize that.”

Vargas, 17-0 (14 KOs), who got a taste of mainstream attention when he was part of pop star Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance, was also optimistic about the new deal.

“This deal is going to give me a platform to shine on,” Vargas said. “I’m grateful to Top Rank and DAZN for this huge opportunity. There are no limits now; we can hop on any cards, so I’m excited.”

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.

Sky Sports and Zuffa Boxing have announced a new multi-year deal, confirming Sky as the UK and Irish broadcaster for all Zuffa Boxing events.

Zuffa 5, which will be topped by the junior lightweight battle between Andreas Cortes and Eridson Garcia in Las Vegas, marks the first show that Sky will broadcast as part of the deal on April 5.

On top of their American output, Zuffa Boxing's Dana White, who bought the UFC in 2001 and then transformed MMA, will stage at least five shows per year in the UK, with the first card being targeted for May.

“It’s not rocket science; we want to put on the best possible fights with the best fighters in the world,” White told Sky Sports. “Everyone is undefeated in boxing. That’s going to change over the next couple of years.

“If you look at how the UFC was built, I took everything that I loved about boxing and everything that I hated about boxing, when building that business. If it worked so well for the UFC, it should work even better for boxing.”

White added that he is hoping to produce a product that appeals to a younger demographic and that, while in the UK, he has held meetings with several fighters about joining a roster that already includes Conor Benn and Jai Opetaia.

“We will continue to sign, not only the best fighters in the world,” White said, “but fighters that we believe have the potential to be world champion some day.

“Over the last 10 years boxing has been very European, and here in the UK. There has been a decline in the United States. Our goal is the build in the no-brainers: The United States; UK; Australia; Mexico. That’s what we’re focusing on.”

Sky Sports’ Chief Officer UK & Ireland, Jonathan Licht, said: “Sky Sports has been a long-standing partner to boxing for more than 30 years. Zuffa Boxing has exciting plans for the sport, and we share that same ambition when it comes to putting on the best fights for our customers. We look forward to a new era where we’ll use our platform to both build stars and showcase elite boxing talent here in the UK and internationally.”

Larry Goossen, the man credited for sparking the rise of a boxing institution, is battling through congestive heart failure while surrounded by the sport’s famed family at a San Fernando Valley (California) hospital.

Goossen, who counts late brother and Hall of Fame promoter, Dan, brother and Hall of Fame trainer, Joe, and TGB Promotions head/brother-in-law Tom Brown as kin, made the abundant contribution of establishing the Southern California mountain community of Big Bear as a destination for a multitude of world champions’ training camps.

“Larry’s the first one to come up and set up a training camp that I worked at, and Oscar [De La Hoya] followed,” veteran trainer Abel Sanchez said. “If he hadn’t come up here, none of us would have.

“It built an invincibility. When you train in the mountains, you know training off the mountain isn’t enough. I carry that confidence into every fight with my guys: The other guy can’t do what we can. They run out of gas.”

Sanchez, serving as an assistant trainer, and De La Hoya witnessed those benefits again first-hand. 

It came this past Saturday night when their fighter, former 140lbs title challenger Arnold Barboza, made his welterweight debut off a Big Bear camp and “looked the best he ever has” in defeating Kenneth Sims Jnr in a DAZN main event in Anaheim, California.

In 1990, trainer and former matchmaker Larry Goossen was contacted by a wealthy, 51-year-old builder, Steve Wickliff, about attempting to reach supreme shape and attempt a professional boxing match.

Setting up shop in a secluded hangar at the tiny Big Bear airport, Goossen soon spread the word of the cardiovascular effects of high-altitude training, the leg-strengthening of torturous mountain running and the solitude of the area, as others followed him.

In a 1992 Los Angeles Times story, the late Earl Gustkey wrote that Goossen, providing inexpensive rent to other trainers, had been joined at the hangar by his middleweight Reggie Johnson, brother Joe’s lightweight champion Rafael Ruelas training for Jorge Paez, junior-lightweight Gabriel Ruelas training for Azumah Nelson and De La Hoya preparing for his pro debut after winning Olympic gold in Barcelona.

Las Vegas trainer Kenny Adams came over with future heavyweight champion Michael Moorer, Jimmy Ellis and U.S. Olympian Kennedy McKinney.

Another fighter of note, Greg Haugen, came up to prepare for his record-audience fight in Mexico City versus Julio Cesar Chavez Snr.

The late Hall of Fame promoter Don Chargin predicted to Gustkey that Big Bear (at 6,752 feet of elevation, accessible by a winding two-lane road subject to perilous weather) would evolve into a powerful location for the sport, as the seclusion, altitude and maximum conditioning potential of the location made it a boxer’s haven.

Larry Goossen trained former three-division world champion Johnny Tapia for several world title fights in the mountains. 

“It’s the solitude of Big Bear … and the fact that the people here leave you to train. The people of Big Bear aren’t star struck. They know what you’re doing and leave you alone,” Sanchez said. “Larry had a great idea.”

That solitude allowed Sanchez’s new Hall of Fame inductee Gennadiy Golovkin to arrive with only a few belongings from his native Kazakhstan. The Olympic silver medalist dedicated himself to training in Sanchez’s gym while honing his English and modeling himself after Chavez Snr while watching videotapes of the Mexican legend’s bouts in a basement at night.

Golovkin embarked on a lengthy reign as middleweight champion and a 23-fight knockout streak.

No nightlife temptation. Just the isolation of training like hell for eight weeks or more, breathing in the clean, high air and sharpening the fight plan for the given foe.

“Oscar would just go to the movies at night – even if it was a bad movie,” said Top Rank’s Hall of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler.

De La Hoya’s ability to act himself was seen when a local reporter asked him about a wildfire that had swept through the San Bernardino National Forest and interrupted training camp.

Pointing to then-trainer Gil Clancy, who walked with a limp and wore a toupee, De La Hoya made up a tale, saying the blaze had caught Clancy’s wooden prosthetic leg (which didn’t exist) afire while also scorching his hairpiece.

“That’s how you kill time up there in Big Bear,” Trampler said. 

De La Hoya’s competitiveness was evident throughout.

While preparing for a Cinco de Mayo 1995 showdown at Caesars Palace for the unified lightweight title versus Rafael Ruelas, the pair crossed paths while running. Knowing the benefit of Big Bear training, De La Hoya confided to Tom Brown recently at the cross-promoted Ryan Garcia-Mario Barrios bout that he “was never more nervous for a fight.”

De La Hoya proceeded to land a knockout punch on Ruelas in the second round.

On another training run, De La Hoya saw 1996 U.S. Olympian and fellow Southern Californian Fernando Vargas slip and fall over the icy roads, smirking at the scene and laughing at Vargas.

Vargas came to Trampler and said he was willing to strike a truce rather than heighten a rivalry by sharing a meal with De La Hoya. Trampler broached the idea to De La Hoya, who said, “Let me shower and think about it.”

“Well?” Trampler asked De La Hoya after the shower.

“Fuck Fernando Vargas,” De La Hoya answered.

The pair would meet in the ring in 2002, a classic bout preceded by a festive and hostile weigh-in, punctuated by De La Hoya’s gripping 11th-round stoppage victory and then Vargas’ positive post-fight test for steroids.

In hyping that fight, De La Hoya promoter Bob Arum, veteran boxing writers Kevin Iole and Royce Feour and four others escaped death when the Cessna executive jet carrying them crash landed and burst into flames very near the hangar where Goossen brought boxing.

As smoke entered the cabin, Arum roared, “Open the fucking door!” and proceeded to entertain the assembled reporters not only with De La Hoya-Vargas talk, but an address on the value of life.

It turns out De La Hoya’s first defeat would be at the hands of a Big Bear-trained opponent, Hall of Famer “Sugar” Shane Mosley, who would later lose his first fight to Big Bear-trained Vernon Forrest and then again to De La Hoya-trained Canelo Alvarez.

Mosley opened his Big Bear gym to the 23-year-old Alvarez for workouts preceding Alvarez’s super-fight against Floyd Mayweather Jnr.

Down the road at Sanchez’s gym, Golovkin sparred both Alvarez and current WBC light-heavyweight champion David Benavidez.

Former 154lbs champion Jaime Munguia bought the gym from Sanchez, who opened another, cornering heavyweight Filip Hrgovic among others.

“It created a new outlook for training, that if you’re fighting at 2,500 feet elevation in Las Vegas, how much do the benefits of training for two months at nearly 7,000 feet in Big Bear carry you?” Trampler said. “The fact that so many have trained up there for so many years speaks to that.” 

Brown said his brother-in-law Larry Goosen, 75, who’s been visited continually in recent days by his wife, Cindy, their two children and the large Goossen family, took deep pride in what he started.

“It wouldn’t be there if not for Larry Goossen,” said Brown. “There should be a statue for him. Can you imagine all the money he’s brought to the economy up there by what he did?”

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.

Jose Armando Resendiz went back to an old target for a new challenge.

BoxingScene has learned that previously failed talks between Resendiz and Tijuana’s Jaime Munguia have not only resurrected but have led to a head-on collision. Terms have been reached for the all-Mexico clash, which will take place on May 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout will serve as the chief support to the Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez-David Benavidez cruiserweight clash.

ESPN Knockout's Salvador "Chava" Rodriguez was the first to report the 11^th hour development, just as it appeared that Resendiz was prepared to next defend his WBA 168lbs title versus Jermall Charlo.

Several outlets were led to believe Resendiz-Charlo was done - including BoxingScene and this reporter specifically, who ran with bad info and apologizes to our readers for the error.

Nevertheless, the pre Cinco de Mayo event gets the significantly better matchup now that Munguia is back in the mix.

The two sides previously discussed the possibility of this clash, shortly after Resendiz, 16-2 (11 KOs) was able to advance in talks with former title challenger Edgar Berlanga, 23-2 (18 KOs). Somewhere along the way, it was decided that Munguia, 43-2 (35 KOs) would head in a different direction, though he was suddenly thin on next options. The former WBO 154lbs titlist and current top super middleweight contender already declined to move forward with a proposed vacant IBF title fight with Osleys Iglesias, 14-0 (13 KOs) at the time.

Furthermore, Munguia hadn’t fought since he defeated France’s Bruno Surace via unanimous decision last May in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The feat avenged an upset knockout defeat he suffered five months prior in his Tijuana hometown.

However, the aftermath was messy given Munguia’s post-fight drug test producing an adverse finding for exogenous testosterone. The subsequent investigation ended without Munguia facing any real disciplinary action, other than being limited to just one fight on the year.

Just like that, Munguia is now back in the title mix. He previously challenged then-undisputed 168lbs champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, 63-3-2 (39 KOs) in May 2024, only to suffer his first career defeat via lopsided unanimous decision.

Resendiz has not fought since his points win over Caleb Plant to claim the WBA interim 168lbs title in a major upset last May 31 in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was among the year’s more stunning results; it also put Resendiz in a favorable position given the shift in the division’s landscape by year’s end.

Alvarez was the undisputed champion at the time but lost to Terence Crawford, 42-0 (31 KOs) via unanimous decision last September. Crawford became a five-division champ with the feat, the final act of his legendary career as he announced his retirement three months later.

Crawford’s exit from the sport opened up the 168lbs title picture, with the WBC, IBF and WBO belts all up for grabs. The only belt to change hands outside the ring was the WBA, as Resendiz was formally upgraded in the sanctioning body’s most recent ratings cycle.

Uzbekistan’s Bektemir Melikuziev, 16-1 (10 KOs) is the current number-one contender to the title. However, the WBA has yet to declare the 2016 Olympic silver medalist as the mandatory challenger, which left Resendiz with wiggle room to secure a voluntary defense.

He wiggled himself all the way back to his most desired target.

Prior to revisiting talks with Munguia, Resendiz was believed to be in advance talks with Houston’s Charlo, 34-0 (23 KOs). The matchup would have put a bow on the abovementioned May 31 PBC on Prime Video event, which was designed for Plant and Charlo to next meet.

Charlo defeated Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna in the co-feature but was left without a grudge match after Plant fell short in the main event.

Resendiz and Charlo are both with PBC, which made sense to move forward with that fight.

Given the weekend’s theme, it apparently made more sense in the end to revert back to Munguia as the challenger.

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.

The already-announced Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez-David Benavidez cruiserweight title fight provides hope for a continued future between DAZN and Golden Boy Promotions.

The May 2 Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Prime Video pay-per-view event will also be distributed by DAZN’s streaming service, the over-the-top platform confirmed Tuesday. It marks the latest joint venture between platforms, once again on a show involving PBC (Benavidez) and Golden Boy (Ramirez).

Both platforms will carry the event live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. DAZN was not initially confirmed among the distribution partners during the February 21 kickoff press conference in Las Vegas.

Aside from working out the distribution kinks – DAZN choosing to carry it as part of its higher-tier Ultimate plan, how that translates on the PPV backend, etc. – it marks a significant step in bridging the gap for Golden Boy and DAZN to finalize terms for a multi-year extension.

For the moment, Golden Boy is operating on a show-by-show basis with the platform, after its latest deal expired last December 31. The two have worked in an exclusive capacity since December 2018 but have endured a tumultuous relationship ever since Golden Boy and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez parted ways in late 2020.

To date, Golden Boy has presented two DAZN shows in 2026 – its January 16 card featuring Raul Curiel, and last weekend’s show in Anaheim, California, featuring two championship fights and Arnold Barboza’s dominant showing versus Kenneth Sims Jnr at welterweight.

It was previously believed that Ramirez-Benavidez would operate solely as a Prime Video event. Worth noting, however, is that even DAZN’s promo poster still advertised the show as a “PBC PPV” and with Benavidez getting top billing despite challenging for Ramirez’s WBA/WBO 200lbs titles.

Still, the fact that DAZN is even involved at all is a testament to the two-way commitment with Golden Boy to remain in business together.

The development comes as Golden Boy is currently headed to arbitration with Vergil Ortiz Jnr, one of its highest profile boxers though the two are clearly on the outs. Ortiz and manager Rick Mirigian attempted to leverage Golden Boy’s expired deal with DAZN as grounds to terminate their existing promotional contract.

To date, a judge has yet to agree with their interpretation of the fine print. Section 10(g) of Ortiz’s contract calls for termination of said agreement if Golden Boy’s distribution relationship with DAZN terminates, providing in relevant part as follows:

·      Promoter’s distribution relationship with DAZN is a material incentive for Boxer to enter into this Agreement. In the event that Promoter’s distribution relationship with DAZN terminates, for any reason, and Promoter does not have an agreement in principle in place for an exclusive distribution relationship with an alternative broadcaster, then Boxer shall have the right to terminate this Agreement.

Ortiz and his team have thus far unsuccessfully argued that Golden Boy’s absence of a platform deal equates the termination of an agreement, given the “relationship” terminology used in the contract.

Furthermore, efforts to have DAZN COO Ed McCarthy speak on the boxer’s behalf appeared to have backfired. McCarthy stated in a sworn declaration that “DAZN remains open to seeking to agree and enter into a long-term distribution agreement with GBP on commercially reasonable terms, whether or not GBP has Mr. Ortiz under contract.”

At least on that front, DAZN and Golden Boy continue to operate in good faith. The belief from both sides – per sources – is that better news is soon to come.

Meanwhile, Ramirez, 48-1 (30 KOs) will attempt his third overall cruiserweight title defense and his second as a unified titlist.

The Mexican southpaw won the WBA belt in a March 2024 unanimous decision victory over unbeaten Arsen Goulamirian. He then wrapped up the year with a competitive but clear win over Chris Billam-Smith to add the WBO title to his collection.

Both belts were at stake in Ramirez’s unanimous decision over former two-time cruiserweight titlist and WBA mandatory challenger Yuniel Dorticos last June 28 in Anaheim, California. It was his only fight on the year, as he was sidelined for the entire second half of 2025 to recover from subsequent shoulder surgery.  

Benavidez, 31-0 (25 KOs), will aim to become a three-division titlist.

The former two-time WBC super middleweight titleholder added the WBC light heavyweight belt to his collection last year. It came by default, as he was upgraded from interim titlist after then-fully unified champ Dmitry Bivol refused to move forward with their ordered title consolidation bout.

One defense followed: a one-sided, seventh-round knockout of Anthony Yarde last November 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Benavidez revealed during the post-fight interview that – rather than wait on whoever they put in front of him – he decided to once again let his nuts hang and chase after a showdown 25lbs north with Ramirez.

With a win, Benavidez is more likely to vacate the belts and return to light heavyweight, where he fancies an undisputed showdown with Bivol, who remains the recognized lineal, RING, WBA, IBF and WBO champ.

A win by Ramirez would go a long way in further bolstering Golden Boy’s stable. He is one of five primary titleholders, along with: WBC men’s welterweight titlist Ryan Garcia; undisputed women’s flyweight queen Gabriela Fundora; lineal, RING, WBA and WBO men’ strawweight champion Oscar Collazo; and unified WBA/WBC men’s flyweight titlist Ricardo Sandoval.

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.

 

An individual connected to the planned May 2 unified cruiserweight title bout pitting champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez versus unbeaten David Benavidez told BoxingScene Tuesday that the WBA will indeed sanction the bout despite some friction over the WBC creating a special belt for the winner.

The WBO for now is maintaining its position that if the winner fights for the WBC’s new “Tollan Tlatequi” commemorative belt, the fight will not be sanctioned by the Puerto Rico-based body that currently has Mexico’s Ramirez as its champion.

“The World Boxing Organization has clearly established the conditions under which sanction approval could be granted, including the championship belts to be contested, displayed and awarded,” WBO President Gustavo Olivieri told BoxingScene Tuesday. “We expect full adherence and compliance by the relevant parties, including the promoters of record, which have been duly notified.”

Former WBC super-middleweight champion Ramirez, 48-1 (34KOs), first claimed the WBO 200lbs belt by defeating Chris Billam-Smith in November 2024, successfully defending both belts in June over Cuba’s Yuniel Dorticos.

WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman invited both his light-heavyweight champion Benavidez, of Phoenix, and Ramirez to Mexico earlier this month for a ceremony announcing the new belt.

The WBC has presented a special belt to the winners of all Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence weekend fight cards since 2017. This one, however, is not for a WBC belt, and the intrusion bothered the rival bodies.

“Mauricio does have Benavidez as his [175lbs] champion … it’s not like it’s a complete highway robbery,” one individual connected to the fight told BoxingScene Tuesday.

The WBO notified the connected promoters of its intention to strip by letter, and one official told BoxingScene Monday they would work to soothe the hard feelings and keep both titles in play for the Las Vegas bout.

Sanctioning bodies have been embroiled in a few controversies in recent weeks, including the WBC’s decision to strip lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson of his belt after he won the WBO 140lbs belt January 31 and declined to pay the WBC a sanctioning fee.

Earlier this month, the IBF reported it would not sanction its cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia’s March 8 victory over ranked challenger Brandon Glanton as Opetaia became the first Zuffa Boxing champion with his unanimous-decision triumph in Las Vegas.

George Liddard is relishing the prospect of a “full-circle moment” when on Saturday he confronts Tyler Denny.

The promising middleweight makes the first defence of the British and Commonwealth titles he won in October with a career-best performance when stopping in 10 rounds Kieron Conway.

In emerging as one of the British fight scene’s finest prospects he also provided a reminder of his value to Matchroom, at a time when their influence in the UK is perhaps under threat.

He will again headline a Matchroom promotion – on Saturday at London’s Copper Box Arena, which represents a bigger venue than that at which he fought Conway, the nearby York Hall – and will do so not only with his gym-mate Jimmy Sains fighting his former opponent Derrick Osaze in the chief support, but with a further gym-mate in the junior lightweight Louie Ward fighting Jahfieus Faure on the occasion of his professional debut.

At the respected Tony Sims’ Essex-based Matchroom Gym, Liddard’s profile is surpassed by only that of Conor Benn – until so recently another Matchroom fighter – but he is fighting for only the 14th time in his career and in Denny against a proven opponent who previously defeated Felix Cash, another of Sims’ former middleweights and another with which Liddard once shared a gym.

“We’ve got Jimmy on the card, defending the English [middleweight title],” the 23-year-old Liddard told BoxingScene. “Louie Ward’s making his debut. I remember being in that situation. It’s a full-circle moment for me – I’m headlining and a lad from my gym’s making his debut. It’s a special night, and Conor’s got a big fight just a few weeks later [against Regis Prograis on April 11], so the gym’s thriving.

“We’ve got a lot of faces in the gym. It is popping. There’s a lot of healthy competition flying around. It’s a great thing to have in a gym.

“Tyler Denny’s a good opponent. He’s experienced. He’s a former European champion. He’s a great opponent for this stage in my career. I’ve not underestimated him one bit. I’m fully ready for a 12-round war if that’s what it needs to be, but I believe I get the job done in style on Saturday.

“It’s a close one between him and Conway [as my best opponent]. They have very different styles. But they’ve boxed at a very similar level; fringe world level; European level. They just bring different styles to the table.

“He’s got a good engine. A bit of an awkward style about him too. I just believe I’m better in every department that I need to be. He’s a good fighter, but I’m gonna show the difference between a good fighter and a great fighter.

“I like Felix. He’s a good lad. But I do not believe he’s the same fighter that beat Denzel Bentley. I see he’s making a comeback and I wish him all the best, but I don’t believe Tyler Denny beat the best Felix Cash. I think he beat a different version of Felix, compared to what we’ve seen in the past. He beat Felix, but I don’t believe that was the best Felix Cash.

“Winning the British, Commonwealth, obviously is going to fill you with confidence. But my confidence comes from the work I put in, week in, week out. I couldn’t work any harder than I do, so when it comes to fight night it’s God’s plan to me, and that’s why I’m confident.”

Liddard sounded not unlike Sims and the retired Darren Barker when he referenced his faith, and when asked about how accurate are descriptions of Saturday’s contest as one of “youth versus experience”, he responded: “He looks in good shape still. I wouldn’t class him as an ‘old’ fighter. He still looks like he’s got a good shape about him. He’s got the experience, but I don’t think I’m inexperienced. I’ve headlined a couple of shows now; I’ve been in with some good fighters.

“They’re always gonna label it as that because it’s a younger guy versus an older guy and he’s had over double the amount of fights I’ve had, but labels are labels. It’s gonna be what it’s gonna be. I’m ready for any style Tyler wants to come with.”

To that end, he was also then asked about inaccurate descriptions of him as “Britain’s youngest ever middleweight champion”, and he said: “That isn’t correct. I got told it before – when you look into it there is other fighters. I believe I’m the youngest simultaneous British and Commonwealth middleweight champion. There’s someone else that held both but not at the same time. As far as I’m aware. But don’t shoot the messenger.

“I own my own piece of history. Winning the British title at 23’s still a hell of an achievement. I look at the positives of that. I’m not too disappointed – I didn’t let [the truth] get to me too much.”

As an asset of increasing value to Matchroom – and indeed because Sims’ potentially uncomfortable position as a long-term associate of Eddie Hearn and Benn’s trainer is yet to be addressed – it made it inevitable he would also be asked about Benn.

Benn’s departure from Matchroom to Zuffa Boxing has infuriated the Hearns, but the profile of Saturday’s promotion suggests that their anger is limited to Benn and Benn alone.

“We don’t really talk about that stuff in the gym,” Liddard said. “Business is business. We go about our own. When we see him we chat about training and how that’s going, but we don’t really talk too much about that stuff.

“We haven’t crossed paths too much in the gym recently. We haven’t had the chance to [have fun with him about it] but we always give him a bit of stick, so I’m sure at some point there will be.

“Tony keeps his business with other fighters private – he doesn’t really talk about it too much. Tony’s a true professional – he won’t concern me with other people’s business, which I think’s the best way to be as a trainer and influential person. He’s not just a trainer – he’s an influential person in my life. I spent a lot of time around Tony Sims. He just focuses on my fight; my sparring; my training. Rather than get caught up in any headlines or anything like that.”

Top Rank is preparing to announce an agreement for a new broadcast deal with DAZN.

The influential promoter had been without a broadcaster since the conclusion of its eight-year partnership with ESPN in July 2025, when Xander Zayas defeated Jorge Garcia Perez.

Two of its leading fighters, Raymond Muratalla against Andy Cruz and Emmanuel Navarrete against Eduardo Nunez, recently won well-received title fights on separate promotions shown on DAZN, and after a period of considerable uncertainty they will join fellow leading promoters Matchroom, Queensberry Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions in working with the broadcaster that has long branded itself the “home of boxing."

Bob Arum’s organization, on Wednesday in New York, is expected to confirm the agreement of a multi-year contract potentially encompassing in the region of 10-12 promotions a year. The promotion expects the full financial support to make the fights it intends, and also to have the option of staging promotions on DAZN’s pay-per-view model.

The agreement that could make Top Rank as busy as it was with ESPN is set to commence in May or June and means that in addition to Muratalla and Navarrete, the promising Zayas, Keyshawn Davis, Abdullah Mason, Bruce Carrington, Teofimo Lopez Jnr, Janibek Alimkhanuly, Richard Torrez Jnr and more will have a platform on which to continue their careers.

“I think you’ll see the likes of Xander, Keyshawn, Shu Shu, and Abdullah Mason in short order,” a source told BoxingScene. The same source stressed that they are not expecting a limit on fight dates because Top Rank has been told that if it considers a fight ready to be made, it will be encouraged to proceed.

Top Rank also expects to continue to have flexibility on other platforms. After it stopped working with ESPN, it promoted, among other contests, Zayas-Baraou on the Top Rank Classics channel, The Roku Channel, Tubi and Vizio.

The word “momentum” was mentioned a lot ahead of last night’s WBA super-featherweight title fight between Anthony Cacace, the challenger, and James "Jazza" Dickens, the champion. Before the first bell, it was a word used to describe the pair’s recent form and the fact that both men were thriving late in their respective careers. Then, during the fight itself, it was something the two fighters passed back and forth like an unwanted gift. One minute Dickens had it, the next it belonged to Cacace. By the fight’s end, they were desperate for it, believing a final jolt of momentum might be enough to sway the judges.

As it happened, Cacace saw more of it than Dickens, hence him winning a unanimous decision by scores of 115-113 and 116-112 (twice). He may have struggled getting hold of it early, when Dickens started the better, but the Irishman eventually got more than his fair share of momentum in the middle rounds, the majority of which he won without much argument. Even Dickens, who finished the bout strong, sensed he was letting his title slip away during its middle stretch. His corner warned him he was behind on the cards going into round 11 and Dickens, despite the look of surprise on his face when hearing the final decision, will have felt his momentum leave him last night in Dublin. 

Until then, he had been having a fair old time, Dickens. In fact, since losing an IBO super-featherweight title against Hector Andres Sosa in 2023, the squat southpaw from Liverpool has won four on the bounce, including wins against Zelfa Barrett and the unbeaten Russian Albert Batyrgaziev, whom Dickens beat in July to claim the WBA belt. Dickens had, at the age of 34, come into his own. His five pro defeats – to Sosa, Kid Galahad (twice), Thomas Patrick Ward, and Guillermo Rigondeaux – were, it turns out, the making of him. From each of those experiences he took something and built on it and now, on the brink of turning 35, he found himself walking to a ring in Dublin as a world champion. Better yet, he was the kind of world champion to whom other contenders, perhaps with a defeat or two to their name, could look for inspiration. He was in that sense relatable; easy to get behind. 

The same can be said for Cacace, too, whose journey to the top is not dissimilar. He, like Dickens, knows the pain of defeat – having lost to Martin J Ward in 2017 – and knows as well the importance of learning from a setback rather than letting it define or diminish you. In his case, that 2017 loss to Ward merely triggered a nine-fight winning streak – now 10 – which includes the scalps of Leigh Wood, Josh Warrington, and three unbeaten fighters: Joe Cordina, Michael Magnesi and Sam Bowen. That, for a man who would have been written off back in 2017, is not bad going at all. Moreover, Cacace won the IBF super-featherweight title from Cordina in 2024 and has since then been viewed the same way Dickens has been viewed: as a champion to admire, celebrate, and use as evidence whenever a fighter requires motivation. 

Together, Dickens and Cacace have plenty of that – motivation. It works in tandem with momentum for the two of them and last night’s title fight in Dublin was proof of that. If anything, it meant more to Dickens and Cacace – the fight, the title on the line – than it would have done to most. After all, they know what it is to lose, and they know what it is to be written off, and they know what it is to toil domestically and fear there is nothing beyond that. World titles, of course, mean the world to anybody good enough to compete for them, but sometimes a world title means more to those boxers who appreciate that their chances to fight for one may be few and far between. 

In this instance, Cacace, at 37, and Dickens, soon 35, will have accepted that their days – their prime days – are numbered. Even if they happen to be producing their best form now, which they are, both are experienced enough to know how this story ends, irrespective of their momentum and motivation.  

That’s why their fight last night was so keenly contested and closer than the DAZN commentators would have you believe. These two weren’t just well matched, they were desperate – desperate to win, desperate to maintain their momentum – and while the fight itself was no classic, nor as action-packed as some had anticipated, it was intriguing nonetheless. 

It started with Dickens doing some solid work hustling forward in his southpaw style and it ended with Dickens doing the same in round 12, only with a bit more urgency. In between, Cacace found his range with his right hand and often used that shot to discipline Dickens as he ducked down or rolled forward. Whenever he did, a roar from the Dublin crowd would ring out and Cacace, much the taller man, would grow in confidence. A left hook in round five, for example, led to Cacace pouring it on as Dickens tried staying close and low. They then stood and stared at one another on the bell to end the round. Dickens smiled through his gumshield. It was a smile of frustration. 

Following the next round, the sixth, it was Cacace who smiled as they returned to their corners. However, just like Dickens in the previous round, that may have been a rueful smile rather than a satisfied one, for Cacace had failed in round six to build on the momentum he had built in the fifth.

Either way, Cacace was back in control in the seventh, a round in which he aimed his right hand more and more at Dickens’ chest and had plenty of success with that shot. His long arms, it seemed, allowed him to measure Dickens and keep him on the end of his punches and in this round in particular he used his physical advantages to good effect. 

The same was then true of the eighth, by which point Cacace appeared confident standing in the middle of the ring and tagging Dickens with stiff counterpunches whenever he made a wrong move. Throwing mostly right hands, Cacace had decided to increase his output in this round having now properly settled and noticed how Dickens’ own output had dropped.

That said, Dickens, 36-6 (15 KOs), is never one to just fade, especially in a fight of such significance. In fact, rather than let Cacace have his momentum and his title, Dickens managed to rally impressively in round nine. This round started with a head clash, which Cacace complained about to no avail, and no sooner had their heads come together than Dickens wrestled back the momentum. The referee, Luis Pabon, seemingly had no interest in warning Dickens for his use of the head, so on he went, throwing both hands at Cacace, who was clearly disturbed by the slight cut above his right eye (the result of the head clash). This resurgence on the part of Dickens then continued into the 10th, which, although a round low on action, was one he probably won on account of a single overhand left he landed halfway through it. 

As for the final two rounds, they were less decisive. Also, messier. Neither man appeared particularly tired by that stage – it hadn’t been that kind of fight – yet still they struggled to land anything of note, much less emphatic. Cacace, on the back foot, fought like someone who believed he was in the lead, while Dickens, chasing after him, fought like someone who had been told two rounds earlier that he was down on the scorecards. Together, they almost cancelled each other out in the end, and never was there any doubt that the three judges at ringside would be required to settle what they could not. 

Both men, based on their body language in the aftermath, believed they had done enough to win. Yet both also knew, based on their history, not to take anything for granted or expect favours. Indeed, the fight was in many ways a microcosm of their respective careers. It was hard-fought, it featured numerous shifts in momentum, and the feeling of victory meant so much more due to not only what it had cost them, physically, but the element of doubt. “That shows that with a poor night at the office I can still win a world title,” said Cacace, now 25-1 (9 KOs), afterwards. “Jazza’s got a dodgy style. He’s a southpaw, he hit me with the head a lot, and I couldn’t commit. But I’m the new world champion. Let’s go.”

He means forward, of course. With his kind of momentum, it is only ever forward.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – For what he has been through in the 10 months since the worst performance of his career, Arnold Barboza Jnr couldn’t wait to celebrate this one.

The former WBO interim 140lbs titlist Barboza immediately sprinted across the ring and mounted a corner post the moment the bell sounded to end his clash with Kenneth Sims Jnr.

Barboza’s effort in the pivotal welterweight affair was well reflected on the scorecards of judges Jerry Cantu (117-111), Ivan Guillermo (118-110) and Dr. Lou Moret (120-108) in their DAZN main event Saturday evening from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Barboza, 33-1 (15 KOs), was coming off a career-worst performance in a disappointing defeat to then-WBO 140lbs champ Teofimo Lopez Jnr last May in New York City. He went into a deep depression, and didn’t even want to watch boxing for several months.

“I’m not gonna lie, I went through some shit,” Barboza said after the fight. “But those who stayed with me, they’re with me until the wheels fall off.” 

His renewed purpose also included the decision to leave behind 140lbs in favor of welterweight. The proof was in the pudding, as Barboza delivered arguably his best performance as a pro.

“I’m telling you, I ate a piece of steak on Tuesday,” quipped Barboza. 

Although the performance was brilliant, the fight took a few rounds to get off the track.

In a fight in which both boxers badly needed a win, neither seemed too committed to blowing the other out of the water. The passionate crowd – many on hand in support of El Monte, California, native Barboza – constantly voiced its displeasure during the early rounds, which bore greater resemblance to a fencing match than a prizefight.

Sims, 22-4-1 (8 KOs) – a switch-hitter by trade – initially fought out of a southpaw stance. It produced minimal success, given his considerably low punch output. His approach was in stark contrast to his vow not to leave anything in the hands of the judges after coming up just short versus Mexico’s Oscar Duarte in his own Chicago hometown last summer.

Barboza wasn’t much more active, but he offered just enough aggression to give the impression he was in control during the early portion of the contest. Sims struggled to close the gap, even when he switched to a conventional stance. 

That changed, if only for a moment, late in the fourth round. Boos began to rain down before Barboza connected, only for him to get caught by a right hand. The brief burst of action changed the jeers to cheers and it even carried over into the early portions of the fifth round. 

However, any momentum gained by Sims was quickly squandered. Barboza resumed control and appeared to be the considerably more comfortable fighter at welterweight, after both regularly campaigned in the 140lbs division.

Sims offered more movement in the sixth, a wise tactic given his disinterest in meeting Barboza on the inside. The adjustment allowed the visiting fighter to pot-shot from the outside, including a right hand that briefly caused a crouched Barboza to lose his balance.

It also stalled the developing swelling under Sims’ right eye, which his corner was able to maintain in between rounds. 

Barboza went to the jab at the start of Round 7. Sims forced the former interim titlist to follow him around the ring, though Barboza made him pay with a flush right hand down the middle. Action slowed, to the dismay of the crowd, which let the in-ring participants have it. Sims responded with a right hand, briefly satisfying the audience’s thirst. 

Combination punching by Barboza caused fits for Sims early in Round 8. The left jab in particular landed with greater frequency, as Sims’ vision was compromised from a nearly shut right eye. Barboza played defense as well, slipping a right hand and coming back with a right hand to the body. 

With the fight further slipping away after more of the same in Round 9, Sims came out with greater purpose in the 10th frame. He made a point to fight at close quarters and was more liberal with his combinations. Barboza took advantage of not having to find Sims and managed to land heavy jabs both upstairs and to the body. 

Ironically, a clash of heads in the 11th round drew the biggest rise out of the crowd, as well as both boxers. The sequence left Barboza with a stream of blood from a cut high atop his forehead, but it didn’t deter him from taking the fight to Sims.

A right hand by Sims midway through the 12th and final round was perhaps his best moment of the fight. Barboza immediately responded and controlled the action down the stretch to seal his first victory since a split decision over former title challenger Jack Catterall last February in Manchester, England.

That win against Catterall followed Barboza’s triumph over former unified 140lbs titlist Jose Ramirez in a November 2024 battle in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Those two fights, coupled with Saturday’s victory over Sims, gives Barboza the three best victories of his career.

As for Sims, the next steps are unclear. Once a streaking 140lbs contender, he is now at a career crossroads, with two straight defeats. The narrow loss to Duarte came in a valiant effort; Saturday’s clash left the 32-year-old Sims as a man without a country – not at all a good fit for 147lbs and facing a challenge to draw attention at his previous weight.

The swing is in stark contrast to Barboza’s self-belief that a new threat has emerged at welterweight. On his current hit list are newly crowned WBC claimant Ryan Garcia, WBO beltholder Devin Haney and WBA titleholder Rolando Romero.

The most realistic next option, however, was the fighter who joined him in the ring afterward and who won on the night’s undercard. Alexis Rocha, of Santa Ana, outpointed fellow Californian Joseph “JoJo” Diaz – a faded former 130lbs titlist from South El Monte and a longtime friend of Barboza’s.

It was nothing but love between Barboza and Rocha when the fight was suggested.

“Yeah man, let’s do this,” Barboza said. “We’ll fucking pack this place out.”

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.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Gabriela Fundora not only preserved her championship reign but also extended her knockout streak and fulfilled her vow to steal the show.

Fundora, the unbeaten and undisputed flyweight champion and high-ranking pound-for-pound entrant, picked apart Viviana Ruiz en route to a sixth-round stoppage. Ruiz – a WBA interim titlist headed into the night – was floored in Round 4 and battered into submission at 1:25 of Round 6 Saturday evening on DAZN from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

“I think [the performance] was good,” Fundora told DAZN’s Chris Mannix. “Right away, I think [Ruiz] felt my punch. I try to show something different each time. Watching back one fight, I heard [DAZN analyst and former 154lbs titlist Sergio] Mora call me flat-footed, so I had to show some movement.”

Fundora fought conservatively in the early rounds, a tactic that Ruiz was able to use to her advantage even if not necessarily winning the frames. Fundora – a 5ft, 9ins southpaw – popped her right jab and often scored with straight left hands behind it.

Ruiz managed to weather the storm every time, and often countered with overhand rights. Fundora consistently picked off the shots but was forced to take a clean overhand right from Ruiz in the second round.

Ruiz did her best to pressure the well-disciplined Fundora in the third, but the defending champ was unbothered. Fundora’s combinations were a little cleaner and crisper as the rounds progressed, and Ruiz gradually showed signs of bruising and swelling under her right eye.

Fundora was then ready to fight. 

Ruiz was repeatedly clipped with straight punches, including a stiff left hand to send her to the canvas in the fifth. The first-time challenger Ruiz beat the count, but it already appeared as though the end was near. 

Fundora closed the show just two rounds later. Ruiz was trapped in a corner as Fundora overwhelmed her with a barrage of straight lefts and rights until referee Ray Corona was forced to intervene.

“Each fight, I want to show something different,” Fundora reiterated. 

Ruiz, 10-3 (5 KOs), boasts an incredible story – taking up the sport only after relocating to Australia from Colombia at age 27. Although she is a relatively young boxing 43, it remains to be seen where her career goes from here. 

The best bet might be if the flyweight belts become vacant, which could be the case in the next few months.

Fundora, 18-0 (10 KOs), informed BoxingScene of her intention to eventually challenge at 108lbs, though she’s not entirely ready to abdicate her flyweight throne just yet.

“I want that [WBO] ring,” Fundora said of an honor bestowed upon WBO titlists after five successful defenses.

Saturday marked the third defense of the Ring, WBA, WBC and WBO titles for Fundora, and sixth overall since she claimed the IBF belt in an October 2023 knockout of Arely Mucino. She weighed 110.8lbs for Friday’s pre-fight weigh-in – and that was after eating a full breakfast – and has come in under the 112lbs fight for 12 straight fights.

For now, Fundora remains the flyweight queen – and, quite frankly, without a close second in the division. So the early endings will have to quench her thirst.

“I just want the fans to go home every time saying, ‘Damn, she got another knockout,’” noted Fundora, who now has six knockouts in seven championship fights.

Joel Iriarte finds power late – and right on time

Joel Iriarte found his groove at the perfect time. 

There reached a point when the unbeaten welterweight prospect Iriarte was destined to go the distance for the second time in his past three starts. Then came a power surge that saw Iriarte floor Rock Myrthil and subsequently forced a stoppage at 2:36 of Round 6 in the DAZN main card opener.

Bakersfield’s Iriarte, 10-0 (9 KOs), was coming off the longest layoff of his young career, having not fought since last September. The last two months were his own doing, as Iriarte blew weight for a planned fight in January, a sequence which prompted his opponent to withdraw “because Gold told” him to do so.

Weight was not an issue this time around, though Iriarte was forced to prove his mettle after he got tagged in the second round. Myrthil, 17-3-1 (13 KOs), was feeling the moment, perhaps for good reason, as he was 0-2-1 over the past six years. 

Any shot at an upset was neutralized by Iriarte, though the explosive power wasn’t quite there through five rounds. 

“I got to get a couple of extra rounds in,” Iriarte said of his performance. “This was mostly the plan. … I wanted to get used to my distance and then get him out of there.” 

He did just that in the sixth round. 

Whatever confidence came over Myrthil was wiped out after Iriarte slammed home a left hook to send the L.A.-based Haitian Myrthil to the canvas. Myrthil beat the count, but Iriarte was determined to close the show. A final power-punching sequence, capped by a right hand, prompted referee Thomas Taylor to stop the contest.

“I was looking to set him up with the right hand and I was able to do that,” noted Iriarte, who picked up his deepest knockout – and first beyond the third round – since turning pro on this very weekend two years ago.

Grant Flores scores three knockdowns in latest win

Grant Flores, 13-0 (9 KOs), was well on his way to an early knockout but ultimately settled for a three-knockdown unanimous decision victory over Rashid Stevens, 6-2-2 (5 KOs).

Scores were 79-70, 78-71 and 77-75 for Flores, of Thermal, California, who had Stevens down twice within the first two rounds and again in the closing seconds of the final preliminary fight preceding the main DAZN stream. He has now gone the distance in two straight fights after having stopped his previous four opponents.

Cayden Griffiths, Daniel Garcia, Leo Sanchez enjoy early knockouts

There will be much tougher nights ahead for Cayden Griffiths, 8-0 (7 KOs), who barely broke a sweat in a first-round knockout of Omar Gutierrez, 8-3-1 (6 KOs). 

Griffiths actually scored two knockdowns. The first came when Gutierrez was frozen from a body shot and pummeled along the ropes early in the fight. A Griffiths power surge later in the round, capped by a right hand, sent Gutierrez to the deck again in a sequence that prompted an immediate stoppage.

Locally based middleweight prospect Fabian Guzman, 10-0 (8 KOs), was pushed at times by Julian Delgado, 9-2 (4 KOs), but managed to outpoint the Corpus Christi, Texas, native over eight rounds. Scores were 79-73, 79-73 and 77-75 for Guzman, who hails from nearby Orange and who was extended the eight-round distance for the second time in three fights.

Denver’s Daniel “Junebug” Garcia, 13-0 (10 KOs), once again proved to be a lightweight to watch after a second-round stoppage of Blas Caro, 12-10 (5 KOs). A left hook at the tail-end of a two-punch combo floored Caro, who managed to beat the count but was deemed by referee David Solivan to be unfit to continue. The time of stoppage was 2:54 into Round 2. 

Leo Sanchez, 10-0 (8 KOs), of Cathedral City, California, scored a second-round knockout of shopworn former title challenger Cesar Juarez, 31-20 (24 KOs). Sanchez connected with a straight left / right hook combo to floor Mexico City’s Juarez and forced the stoppage at 2:46 of Round 2 in the evening’s curtain raiser.

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.

Najee Lopez had to get off the floor to win. He had to overcome a nasty cut from a second round headclash that saw a torrent of blood spew down his face for the majority of the fight and, ultimately, in the eighth round, he delivered the grand finale to stop brave Manuel Gallegos in their ProBox TV thriller.

In the aftermath, the online boxing community paid homage to both Lopez and ProBox TV for the fireworks in what many are dubbing an early Fight of the Year contender.

Here is what is being said about Lopez-Gallegos and the ProBox TV show from the Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee last night. You can catch up with the whole fight here.

@Sean_Zittel 
Got home and saw the timeline buzzing about Najee Lopez-Manuel Gallegos and it did not disappoint. One of the best fights of the year. Great stuff.

@DanCanobbio
Phenomenal main event on @ProBoxTV. Najee Lopez gets it done. Wild scenes in Florida.

@rosieperezblyn
Wow! Wow! Wow! Congratulations Lopez! Thank Goodness the ref finally freaking stopped the fight, even though Gallegos was already on his way down! My God, what a fight! Mad respect for Gallegos!! 

@OlivieriLaw
A tremendous @WorldBoxingOrg Regional Championship main event @ProBox_TV from the opening bell. Najee Lopez showed incredible toughness, battling through an early cut & finishing in dominant fashion via dramatic TKO. Much respect to Manuel Gallegos; a warrior with heart & balls who never stopped coming forward. Great fight!

@sweetpugilism
Probox delivering the goods as usual!

@SUPERJUDAH
Watching MyGuy Najee “Chino Lopez on ProBox

@AlBernstein
The matchmaking for @ProBox_TV is always astonishingly good

@BuryEmBoxing
Phenomenal finish. Incredible fight. The referee deserves a ton of credit for giving Gallegos as much rope as he did. He deserved it. Najee had to earn that KO. FOTY contender.

@CrystinaPoncher
Thank you so much! What a night on ProBox TV! Not sure I’ve ever been a part of a card like that before, top to bottom!

@oh_syrus
I think we might’ve just watched a ProBox classic

@thatboyvince_1
All of boxing twitter is talking about Probox

@BoxBallWrite
Hell of a fight and show between Lopez and Gallego. Salute to probox for a helluva show

@laizar27
ProBox never disappoints

@EZRawBoxing
Great Probox today Consistently putting out a great product

@BoxrecGrey
That's a fighter [Lopez] who answered a lot of questions tonight.

@D1backagain
That’s why ProBox my favorite!!! Shoutout to Naji Lopez what a fight!!! Shakur could never entertain like this!!!

@KOJournals 
2026 FOTY FRONTRUNNER Najee Lopez stops Manuel Gallegos in round 8 just a round after Lopez was floored on ProBox.

@BoxingJournaIs
WHAT A FUCKING FIGHT. WHAT A FINISH. NAJEE LOPEZ.

@OneOf1x [Lamont Roach Jnr]
Najee can get him! He going get the KO

@thecolepenv1z
Najee Lopez is trending and I can't tell if that's a good or bad sign. Either way, I feel like I should start a fan club or something. Memberships include snacks and ambiguous vibes.

@IronFist1982
Najee Lopez just put on a Matthew Saad Muhammad level type of performance against Manuel Gallegos. What a fight it was. #boxing  

@giovanni_Manuel
Najee a dawg , hell of a fight

@DanRafael1
Just caught up on the @ProBox_TV main event. OH MY!!!! Unbeaten 175 Najee Lopez & Manuel Gallegos in a sick, bloody war from the start!!!! Lopez off the deck in rd 7, wins by KO8! Definite fight of the year contender!! Great fight! #boxing #LopezGallegos

@HamedBoxing
Najee “Chino” Lopez dropped and finished Manuel Gallegos after a back and forth battle. Both guys were landing bombs all night until Gallegos finally couldn’t take any more. This fight might be a Fight of the Year Candidate.

@_TayJones
I know if Najee pops was here bra he’d be crying… I promise coach Lopez smiling down man

@thereallinikaj
Shoutout to Gallegos for a valiant effort. That was a dramatic ass slugfest. Both men showed amazing heart and grit.

@NajiChill
If you're a boxing fan and you're not watch Pro box right now you're losing. What a fight!!

 

Virtually everyone knew it would be a big step up for Najee Lopez when he agreed to fight Manuel Gallegos. What almost no one expected was for it to turn into the Fight of the Year.

In a fight that will likely be on every short list for best of 2026, Lopez overcame a significant cut, a knockdown and an unrelenting opponent to score an eighth-round stoppage on Friday night at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida.

The fight, which headlined a ProBox TV card, was halted at the 2:41 mark as Gallegos collapsed into a corner from the unrelenting punishment of Lopez, who put every ounce of his being into improving his record to 16-0 (13 KOs).

Lopez, though a relatively young and inexperienced light heavyweight contender, had the historical context to know which champions of yesteryear to channel once he had his opponent hurt.

“All I thought in there, I was thinking, Diego Corrales, I was thinking Marvin Hagler, I was thinking championship shit,” said Lopez afterwards.

“As soon as I had him on the hook, I wasn’t going to let up.”

Gallegos, of Los Mochis, Mexico, dropped to 22-4-1 (19 KOs) with the loss, but he elevated himself in defeat with his efforts against the light heavyweight contender Lopez.

The fight was Gallegos’ second since his sixth-round stoppage loss to Khalil Coe last year, when Coe avenged his earlier stoppage defeat with a technical masterpiece behind his jab. Instead of trying to emulate Coe’s strategy in the rematch, Lopez, 26, of Ellenwood, Georgia, instead elected to follow Coe’s ill-fated game plan in the first round, being baited in by the ease of landing on Gallegos and teeing off with power punches with both hands. Gallegos was rocked near the end of the first, his knees buckling from an overhand right and an uppercut that landed at the bell.

The fight pivoted moments into the second, as an accidental head-butt caught Lopez over his right eye, drawing a knowing smile from Lopez. The blood seemed to distract him as Gallegos landed a right hand midway through the second that suggested it was too early to write him off. Lopez, though looking less sure of himself with the blood dripping into his eye, was able to rock Gallegos again at the end of the round.

Their mutual willingness to brawl meant that the cut would be painting the ring canvas. Lopez, who had success early on with his jab, had already committed to the brawl, and while he was getting the better of the action for the most part, he was also giving Gallegos the only chance he had to land punches. The ringside doctor examined the cut before the third and fourth rounds, but he gave the OK both times. Lopez ignored his trainer’s instructions to return to his jab heading into the fourth, and instead squared up and looked to push Gallegos back, landing body shots with both hands while Gallegos targeted Lopez’s inviting head.

By the fifth, Lopez was blinking his right eye as the swelling began to become a problem as well. His power also faded momentarily as Gallegos focused more on the body, causing Lopez to retreat to the ropes and back out of exchanges without answering. Lopez recovered in the sixth and decided to match power for power again, with the momentum shifting with each punch thrown. Gallegos demonstrated his formidable chin as he absorbed right hands and left hooks in exchanges, and closed the round by landing his cleanest right hand so far in the sixth.

If the fight is a contender for Fight of the Year, the seventh is a contender for Round of the Year. Lopez began the round by hurting Gallegos with a right hand, pressing Gallegos to the ropes and landing big shots. But in his haste to land, he didn’t see the short right-hand counter from Gallegos that dropped him for the second time in his career. Lopez recovered quickly but went down again shortly after, this time due to a head-butt. While it was Lopez that went down, it was Gallegos who suffered the greater damage, as a cut was opened up on his own right eye, matching their wounds. Despite going down earlier in the round, Lopez regained control of the fight near the end of the round with right hands. 

With a potential 10-8 round looming against him, Lopez rediscovered his jab, which paid immediate dividends, as he was able to find the distance to land the right hand that rocked Gallegos. Gallegos sought to hold on, but he was both exhausted and blinded by the cut, which was all the invitation that Lopez needed to go left-right-left-right in nonstop cadence, knocking Gallegos’ head around at dangerous angles before the fight was stopped by Chris Young.

Despite the decisive victory, both fighters were lifted on their supporters’ shoulders in an appropriate show of appreciation for their efforts.

Although it wasn’t the sort of technical dominance that would have served to demonstrate Lopez’s readiness for a world title opportunity, the performance is sure to make Lopez more of a fan favorite.

Lopez is ranked in the top 15 of all four major sanctioning bodies at 175lbs and is likely to rise in the rankings.

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.

It was this week revealed by BoxingScene that Spencer Brown, of Gold Star Promotions, will be the lead promoter for the forthcoming Tyson Fury-Arslanbek Makhmudov show on April 11 in London.

That news – which was first confirmed to BoxingScene by the British Boxing Board of Control on Wednesday (March 11) – has pricked the ears of Eddie Hearn, the Matchroom promoter who recently saw Conor Benn wave goodbye and sign a surprising deal with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing.

Benn, who had been signed to Matchroom since 2016, is set to make his Zuffa debut on that April 11 undercard in a 10-rounder against Regis Prograis.

During an interview with IFL TV on Thursday (March 12), when it was put to Hearn that Brown will be the lead promoter on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium event, he replied: “Is that confirmed, though? Because [Zuffa’s] Mark Shapiro came out on the investor call, which you can’t lie on, and he said, ‘we are the promoters of Fury-Makhmudov’.

“We’ll be looking to get confirmation of that because it’s quite important to us,” Hearn continued. “Does that mean that Conor Benn is not fighting on a Zuffa card?”

Hearn, who is considering his legal position regarding Benn’s move to Zuffa, has been working as a licensed promoter in Britain since 2012. He will know, therefore, that unless a promoter has British licence he cannot be the lead promoter on a British event.

“I don’t want to interfere with an investor call where Mark Shapiro is telling investors, and the market, that they are the promoters of Fury-Makhmudov,” Hearn said. “I could have told you at the time they weren’t. But it has now – apparently – been confirmed that they’re not the promoters and Spencer Brown is the promoter.

“We’re going to need confirmation of that. We will be pursuing that, 100 per cent.”

Robert Smith, of the BBBofC, today (March 13) told BoxingScene: “As far as we are concerned it is a Spencer Brown show. He is responsible for the show, he is our contact for the show. It is his show and nobody else’s show.”

So, if a representative of Zuffa, like Dana White, was going to work on the event in an official capacity they would need be report to Brown?

“Gold Star will be the lead promoter,” Smith said. “But he can run the show ‘in association with’ an American promoter which is something we’ve seen many times. Top Rank, for example, have worked alongside Matchroom and Queensberry in the past but, on each occasion, the official promoter of the event is always the British promoter.

"The lead promoter on a British show must hold a British licence."

“He was just a dad,” Najee Lopez said with a sigh. “He was a great dad. That’s who trained me. That’s who taught me the game. My whole life. That’s who had me before he passed away.”

Lopez admits that after he lost his father, Tito, he also lost his love of boxing. 

Darkness replaced the light of a shared passion that had also taken Najee’s siblings to the gym in Atlanta.

“I actually didn’t want to box,” he recalled of his start in the sport. “In the neighborhood … I just used to street-fight and stuff like that with the kids. My dad used to lace up gloves. We had a little dirt patch in front of my building. The kids used to just be out there with boxing gloves. And then my dad took me to the gym because my brother was going. I just went to the gym and that’s kind of where it started. I was like eight, nine years old. I really didn’t want to box, but it became fun at first and I just stuck to it.”

Lopez, so proud of his Puerto Rican roots, grew up in Atlanta but now trains with Marc Farrait in Florida.

The light heavyweight contender Lopez is ranked favorably by all four governing bodies, but he admits gelling with Farrait took a while given the bond he shared with his father.

“When my dad passed, the next year I found Marc,” said the 26-year-old Lopez. “Me and Marc locked in. I’ve been training with Mark ever since. At first, we definitely had to find that chemistry. We had to find that rhythm. Then, as soon as we locked in, we just built. But I had to learn him, and he had to learn me. Then it was just magic.”

Lopez has built his career foundation on ProBox TV. He’s 15-0 (12 KOs) and on Friday will face Manuel Gallegos at the Osceloa Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida.

Gallegos, a puncher from Mexico, poses a threat. He’s 22-3-1 with 19 early wins, holds an upset victory over Khalil Coe (before losing a rematch) and was stopped by Diego Pacheco. Gallegos is clearly just fine testing unbeaten prospects.

But Lopez is the favorite, even if he has no desire to look beyond Friday’s main event.

“It feels really good, man,” he said, having seen his spot at the top of the bill. “It’s just something I’ve been working for, something that we’ve been working for the whole time. I’m just ready.”

Is he ready to level up further still?

“Man, one fight at a time. I’m not looking past Gallegos. Just one fight at a time. I’m just focused on Friday night.”

Rather than consider what might come next, Lopez has been combing through all the tape he can find of his opponent. Asked whether he studies film of his rivals, he answers in a way that indicates he’s already sick at the sight of Gallegos. 

“Oh, man, that’s all I do, is homework,” he said, nodding.

Then he shares his thoughts on his opponent.

“Very tough guy, tough fighter. Kind of what you see is what you get, you know what I’m saying?” Lopez said. “But, like I said, one fight at a time. My plan is just to keep getting better and keep looking better and better every time I get out there.”

He won’t commit to an answer about whether Gallegos is the best he has faced so far, but Lopez said he will happily answer the question on Saturday.

And despite having had just 15 pro fights, he is clearly confident in both his ability and the experiences he has already come through.

“I’ve seen it all,” Lopez says twice in quick succession. “I’ve been boxing my whole life. [Gallegos] is not a craftsman. He’s just tough. He’s going to come to fight, for sure. He’s going to come out there and let his hands go. I’ve got to be on point defensively. Mentally, I just got to be ready for war because I know he’s coming with it, for sure. But it ain’t nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Lopez is relishing his name headlining the fight’s artwork. He enjoys the spotlight, the attention, and he’s clearly enjoying the journey to the top of the 175lbs division.

“It’s a good pressure,” he said. “It’s a real good pressure.”

Lopez also draws confidence from being in a busy gym. The likes of Erickson Lubin, Edgar Berlanga and Friday’s co-main, Dominic Valle, all work with Farrait in one of boxing’s underrated stables.

Lopez believes Farrait and the fighters will get their credit “in due time.

“Everybody got to make their own way, but we do got one hell of a stable,” he said, grinning.

“It’s definitely a lot of talent out there.”

Is Lopez the best of the lot?

“Yeah, I’m the best guy around,” he replies without hesitation.

He feels like he has everything he needs to be the best in the world, it’s just a matter of sharpening tools and getting ring-time experience.

Experience, Najee informs, is the best teacher.

“Every time I go out there, I just learn from my mistakes and just keep adding, keep getting better, keep getting more composed, keep getting more disciplined in that ring. I feel like I’m a complete fighter. I ain’t gonna lie. I can do it all.”

But where Valle has the edge on Lopez is with his fame away from the ring, as a model for the likes of ASOS, Nike and Calvin Klein.

Asked whether he could follow Valle’s path, Lopez bashfully covers his face and then smiles.

“Oh, man. Damn. I don’t know, man. I want to model, though. I think I could. I honestly think I could model, but I ain’t going in that lane yet. I ain’t found that lane yet. [And] it ain't find me.”

But Lopez is happy for Valle’s success.

“I just enjoy seeing him [do well],” he said. “I seen him on a billboard in New York one time. I’m like, ‘Dang,’ you know what I’m saying? That’s hard. That’s lit.”

But Lopez is not far from the big time himself – but from using his fists rather than his face.

Being linked to a fight with Artur Beterbiev last year shows he is on the radar of people who matter.

“[The Beterbiev fight] was close enough for me to be like, ‘Damn, we’re gonna fight.’ But it didn’t follow through. But it just let me know I’m on my way. It definitely let me know I’m on my way. I’m almost there. Just keep winning, keep pushing, keep working hard. I’m doing something right.”

When Lopez talks about the top of the division, he already uses the word “us,” grouping himself with the likes of Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol and David Benavidez.

Although he knows his longer-term future likely lies at 200lbs, he hopes it will include fights back home in Atlanta, at the State Farm Arena or Mercedes-Benz Stadium. He would also like to fight in Puerto Rico, but he thinks a sizable Puerto Rican contingent would come to Atlanta to watch him.

Lopez, by this point in the conversation, is content to talk about the future, but he knows that will be shaped by what happens on Friday night in Florida.

He also knows that the business side of the sport is often more precarious than the fighting side.

“Oh, man,” he says, dropping his head into his hands. “It’s kind of like … where I come from, man, it’s kind of like the streets. Tough. The business of boxing, man, it’s a lot of guys that’s cutthroat. I could say this, it ain’t for the faint of heart. Especially like the way boxing is nowadays. [If] you lose. … You know what I’m saying? [If] you get caught up in the wrong contract. It’s a lot of things that go into it that may not work in your favor. That’s why I said it’s tough. But, honestly, I feel like I’ve definitely been on a good path. Shout out to ProBox, Garry Jonas. But the business of boxing, definitely, it’s tricky. Definitely tricky. Boxing is almost looking like it’s breaking up and it’s breaking up into two.”

With that, Lopez finishes lacing on his bandages. He has work to do in the ring on Friday before any other business can be addressed. The dreams of packed arenas in Atlanta and Puerto Rico need to be pushed from his mind. He needs to draw strength from the memory of his father having left that dark and lonely period when there was little there for him apart from boxing. And he needs to do what Najee Lopez says he does best.

“This is what I’ve been working for,” he says, smiling. “It’s my time now.”

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, a BWAA award winner, 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.

There’s way too much product on pay-per-view. That’s something every boxing fan can agree on.

Just look at the calendar for the next three months. There’s Sebastian Fundora vs. Keith Thurman on Prime Video PPV on March 28, Deontay Wilder vs. Derek Chisora on DAZN PPV seven days later, Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez vs. David Benavidez on Prime Video PPV on May 2, Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois on DAZN PPV a week after that and Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven in another DAZN PPV two weeks later, on May 23.

Five pay-per-views over the course of nine Saturdays is ridiculous, and it’s objectively bad for the health of the sport.

But what if we could turn it into something that’s also a little bit good?

Maybe not directly for the health of the sport (though there can be indirect positive consequences), but for something more important: the health of the fighters.

What if the excess of product on pay-per-view could be used to make ex-boxers’ lives better?

Lisa McClellan, the sister and longtime caretaker of former middleweight titlist Gerald McClellan, was on Andre Ward’s podcast, The Art of Ward, last week, reminding listeners about the Ring of Brotherhood Foundation, her charitable organization that helps ex-boxers who are paying the price that so many of them sadly do pay when their careers are over.

Her brother is perhaps the most high-profile example of recent decades, badly debilitated following his 1995 loss to Nigel Benn, but of course there are countless lesser known warriors who left a piece of themselves in the ring and now need assistance in one way or another.

The Ring of Brotherhood isn’t the only organization like this. In the UK, The Ringside Charitable Trust has a similar mission, looking out for ex-boxers with a specific plan to someday open a residential care facility for fighters in need.

Now, back to the “what if.” With a pay-per-view or two every month, typically priced between about $50-$75, some of them selling 50,000 units, some of them selling 500,000, what if one dollar from every purchase went directly to one of these charities to benefit former fighters?

You don’t need an advanced math degree to get a sense for the impact. If the boxing pay-per-view industry produces a total of 1.5 million buys in a calendar year (a conservative estimate that assumes no massive million-buy superfight, just a bunch of solid shows headlined by the likes of Gervonta “Tank” Davis or Benavidez or Ryan Garcia), well, $1.5 million completely shifts the paradigm.

That covers a lot of Lisa McClellans who no longer have to give up their livelihoods to provide full-time care themselves, and it covers a lot of ex-fighters who need to see a doctor but choose not to because the cost is prohibitive to them.

It seems like such a simple proposition, a classic “who says no?” The network and promoter charging $75 for the pay-per-view aren’t going to feel a pinch from only collecting $74. In fact, by advertising the fact that the PPV goes to support ex-boxers, they’ll probably sell a few extras to fans who were on the fence.

And they’ll generate additional positive publicity. The mainstream outlets that ignore boxing most of the time, run by editors who wouldn’t know Jack Johnson from Cherneka Johnson, might just have some interest in a story about the upcoming fight card where a dollar from every PPV purchase goes to Ring of Brotherhood.

The added exposure and goodwill could very well translate to more money for the PPV carriers and the promoters, even after you subtract $1 from every buy.

Who says no?

So far, everyone (even if this exact idea hasn’t been pitched).

My BoxingScene colleague Matt Christie is a trustee of The Ringside Charitable Trust, recruited by the chairman and founder, Dave Harris, about a decade ago.

“In 2018, while I was still at Boxing News, and Boxing News at that point had a fairly big office in the center of London, I set up a meeting at the office,” Christie told me. “There were representatives from Matchroom, Queensbury and most of the other, smaller British promoters. And Dave made his speech and said, this is what’s needed, we all need to work together.

“And he was met with just incredible indifference. And it really, really surprised me at the time. But just about everyone, with maybe one or two exceptions, turned ‘round to him and said, ‘This will never work. This will just never work.’

“I genuinely thought that everyone in that room would be like, ‘yes, Dave Harris, we’re behind you,’ and he would get a standing ovation. And it wasn't that way at all.”

Lou DiBella has mostly exited the boxing business, but he’s worn two of the key hats for this conversation, as a network executive at HBO and a promoter. And none of the resistance Christie and Harris ran into surprises him.

“You can’t expect a lot of altruism coming out of the sport,” DiBella said. “There are some people and promoters in this business who will give to charity and do nice things, but they’re generally not organized about it, nor do I think it would work if you tried to organize it, because I don’t think anyone in boxing particularly gives a fuck about one another.

“I only know of a couple of promoters in the whole world making money right now, and most of the promoters that would have been more inclined to support something like this have been chased out of the industry. 

“I've contributed to almost every GoFundMe or other fundraiser for a fighter over the last 25 years that’s been damaged or hurt in the ring -- and I’m not saying that because I’m looking for a pat on the back. I’m saying that more of an indictment of everyone else. The entire industry doesn't seem to feel any sense of obligation to one another.”

Christie shared with me a theory. He doesn’t think boxing promoters are necessarily opposed to giving to charity – pointing out as just one example that Frank Warren has been known to stage evenings of boxing where all the proceeds go to a good cause.

But he thinks they may be opposed to drawing attention to this type of charity.

“Their business is to promote boxing and make boxing look wonderful to the eyes of the public,” he said. “However, the moment they turn around and say, ‘We are now admitting that boxing can cause brain damage,’ they see that as a real bad look for their business. So I think that is the reason for it.”

It’s not just tricky to square from a promotional perspective. There’s also the fighters’ perspective.

During Ward’s podcast conversation with McClellan, they noted that Roy Jones Jnr, a friend of Gerald’s since their amateur days, sent money to support the fallen fighter, but chose not to visit him while Roy was an active boxer. In order to continue to step into the ring and take the risks he needed to take, Jones put up a wall separating him from the realities of just how devastating the downsides could be. So he didn’t actually come see his friend in person until he, too, was finished fighting.

Then there’s this part of a fighter’s mentality: When they’re at their peak, most of them convince themselves that what happened to McClellan and so many others could never happen to them.

“You are trying to encourage active boxers to put something into essentially what is a pension fund, but they all think they’re invincible,” Christie observed. “They all think they won’t need it. And, frankly, 99 percent of boxers are not getting paid a great deal anyway. But even the ones who are, who could afford to contribute, most of them think, ‘What’s the point? I’ll be fine.’”

Of course, we know all too well that most of them are not fine. Boxing takes a toll -- whether subtle, severe or somewhere in between -- on nearly all of its participants.

And DiBella thinks the fact that there is so much damage and so much need ironically acts as one more reason for the boxing community to resist a cause like this.

“Our knowledge of what generally happens to fighters, it has not resulted in us doing more to take care of people. I think it’s resulted in us as an industry becoming jaded to the usual sad stories,” DiBella said. “Everybody gets damaged. So maybe that's part of the reason. ‘Can't help everybody, right?’ Maybe that’s used in some people’s minds as the rationale for not stepping up to try to do something.”

On the bright side, Christie related that he has recently seen progress in terms of the support for The Ringside Charitable Trust. He said Barry Hearn has begun returning calls and attending meetings. He said Ben Shalom of Boxxer has appeared open to working with the trust. He said he’s seen positive signs from British Boxing Board of Control General Secretary Robert Smith.

And he said that conversations were active and productive with Anthony Joshua about donating, for an upcoming fight, one British pound from every ticket sold to The Ringside Charitable Trust – before Joshua experienced personal tragedy late last year that put his boxing plans on hold.

There are other ways to do this besides the promoter or network agreeing to donate a tiny portion from every sale. Alternatively, when the customer is ordering a pay-per-view, they could see a pop-up to tack on a donation – just like when you’re checking out at the grocery store and the display asks if you want to round up for whatever the local good cause du jour is.

So a fight fan can pay their $74.99 for Fundora-Thurman, and on the Prime Video page or the PPV.com page, they can click the box to donate $2 to the Ring of Brotherhood Foundation.

What person willing to pay $75 for a fight wouldn’t be willing to pay $77? Especially when those $2 make them feel good about themselves or ease whatever guilt they may feel over deriving entertainment from athletes risking their health?

Whether the money comes directly from the fan or is taken from the promoter or network’s cut, it seems a simple way to use the fights of the present to help the fighters of the past.

There exist reasons for resistance: Profit margins may be too thin for some, acknowledging the toll of the sport may be seen as bad business, and paying it forward is not part of the typical fighter’s mindset.

But there’s one reason for some network or promoter to give this a shot, and it outweighs all the reasons not to: because the heroes we once worshipped, the men and women who sacrificed themselves while we cheered, deserve better.

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.

Don Charles has denied reports that he is training Jermaine Franklin for his fight on March 28 with Moses Itauma.

America’s Franklin is already in the UK finalising his preparations for the opponent considered the most promising young heavyweight in the world, but he continues to be guided by Jesse Addison and Lorenzo Reynolds ahead of the date at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England.

Charles, regardless, has agreed to allow Franklin to use his PUG Farm Gym in Borehamwood, on the outskirts of London. It is from there that the trainer is overseeing Daniel Dubois’ training camp for his WBO heavyweight title fight on March 9 – also at the Co-op Live – against Fabio Wardley, and the Frenchman Tony Yoka’s preparations for his contest with Dubois’ fellow Englishman Lawrence Okolie at Paris’ Adidas Arena on April 25.

“He’s using my gym to do camp,” Charles told BoxingScene. “My colleague [and assistant] Tony Pill asked me ‘Can Jermaine Franklin use your gym for his camp, and pay you?’ I said ‘Yeah, of course’. It’s not unusual for such things to happen. So he’s in my gym but I’m not training him. 

“There’s a conflict of interest – I work with Frank Warren. Daniel Dubois and Tony Yoka are both signed for Queensberry, so it wouldn’t be right to get involved, ‘cause he’s fighting Moses Itauma. I wouldn’t do it. He’s got a coach. There is no me training Jermaine Franklin.”

Even without taking on Franklin – at 32, 11 years the Englishman Itauma’s senior – Charles is in what he describes as “the busiest period of my career” and, to that end, not least because of the physical demands involved in training two world-level heavyweights, he has had to recruit more staff.

“With Daniel Dubois there are three other pad men – I’m the fourth pad man,” he explained. “Tony Yoka, there’s two pad men – me and one other. I extended my operation. I’ve got helpers – I’m still hands on.

“This is a good period.

“[Yoka has] been with Queensberry for 18 months and we’ve been begging for such a fight. Not necessarily Okolie – but a fight of that magnitude. He needs to get into the mix and this is the perfect, direct, route. 

“Daniel’s gonna bash up Fabio [laughs].”

 

Spencer Brown will be the lead promoter for the upcoming Tyson Fury-Arslanbek Makhmudov show on April 11 at Tottenham Hostpur Stadium in London, England.

Brown, who has long worked in a managerial role for Fury, will today (Wednesday) be approved for an official British promoter’s licence by the British Boxing Board of Control, BoxingScene can confirm.

The founder of Gold Star Promotions – which originally specialised in celebrity dinner events – has made huge strides in boxing in recent years. A close ally of Ring Magazine owner Turki Alalshikh, Brown was first listed as a promoter on a major boxing event in December 2023 when he was one of several involved in the Saudi Arabia show that was topped by Joseph Parker outpointing Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua beating Otto Wallin.

Since then, Brown has worked in an official capacity on three further Ring/Riyadh Season events while also making inroads into the Australian market. In January, alongside Queensberry Promotions, he was involved in Agit Kabayel’s homecoming victory over Damian Knyba in Germany.

Brown and Gold Star have enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Queensberry, the UK promoters of Fury since 2018. BoxingScene understands that Queensberry, alongside Top Rank in the US, remain the official promoters of the former heavyweight champion. Frank Warren’s Queensberry will not, however, be involved in the on-ground operation of this forthcoming event. Their relationship with Gold Star is believed to remain healthy, however.

Such a scenario is not unusual. One can look at Anthony Joshua’s most recent fight as a case in point; Joshua, very much a Matchroom-promoted fighter, clobbered Jake Paul on an event promoted exclusively by Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. Before that, in 2024, Joshua appeared on a Queensberry-promoted event when he was stopped by Daniel Dubois.

It is not yet known if Warren, who BoxingScene can confirm was asked personally by Fury to attend the press conference announcing the Makhmudov contest, will be present in London for the fight itself.

BoxingScene however understands that Brown will be assisted by other promoters for the April 11 show who will be confirmed closer to the event.

Leading the undercard is Conor Benn, the recent signing of Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing, who takes on Regis Prograis in a catchweight bout over 10 rounds. White is yet to be involved in a British boxing event, but he has already promoted four boxing cards in Las Vegas this year. Should White decide to represent Benn in an official capacity on April 11, he would have to be approved by the Board but, as an established overseas promoter who would work alongside lead promoter Brown, he will not need to apply for a British licence.

Last month, it was reported that Queensberry was considering legal action, to the tune of a $1b lawsuit, regarding the launch of Zuffa Boxing. Warren alleges that Alalshikh and Sela, alongside Zuffa’s parent company TKO, went behind his back to form Zuffa Boxing which, he claims, represented breaches to the contracts he had signed with the two entities. 

Other promoters who are speculated to be involved in the making of the April 11 show include Ben Shalom, whose Boxxer outfit represent several fighters on the undercard including Jeamie Tshikeva, Richard Riakporhe and Frazer Clarke.

While one IBF titlist was spared his fate on Tuesday, the same could not be said for Janibek Alimkhanuly.

BoxingScene has confirmed that the unbeaten Kazakh southpaw was stripped of his IBF middleweight title for a previous doping violation. In a ruling distributed on Tuesday, the sanctioning body cited IBF Rule 18 covering drug testing in its justification relieve Alimkhanuly of his reign.

“Alimkhanuly is due to make a Mandatory defense of his IBF Middleweight title on or before July 4, 2026. The IBF must notify Zhanibek Alimkhanuly of his Mandatory defense on or around May 4, 2026,” IBF Championships Committee chairman George Martinez outlined in a ruling obtained by BoxingScene. “The penalties imposed by Rule 18. prohibit Alimkhanuly from being ranked by the IBF or “participat[ing] in any IBF sanctioned bout” [emphasis added] for one (1) year following his suspension for an anti-doping violation.

“Alimkhanuly’s suspension by the KPBF is effective as of December 2, 2025, and the resulting one-year period of ineligibility therefore expires on December 2, 2026. Accordingly, Alimkhanuly is unable to fulfill his Mandatory defense obligation on July 4, 2026.

“On March 5, 2026, the IBF Board of Directors participated in a teleconference to discuss this matter. A majority of the Directors determined that, in light of the foregoing, the IBF Middleweight title should be vacated immediately.”

As previously reported by BoxingScene, Alimkhanuly, 17-0 (12 KOs) was issued a backdated six-month suspension by the Kazakhstan Professional Boxing Federation (KPBF) that will run through June 2. The date is six months from December 2, when Alimkhanuly was pulled from a planned three-belt unification clash with Erislandy Lara after testing positive for Meldonium.

Alimkhanuly was due to risk his IBF and WBO titles versus Lara, the reigning WBA titleholder.

The ruling by the KBPF triggered a similar disciplinary action from the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC), who converted his indefinite suspension to one with a hard June 1 deadline.

A separate ruling from the WBO left Alimkhanuly unable to participate in its sanctioned bouts for a minimum of one year. However, the WBO suspension applies only to its title fight and eliminators, as sanctioning bodies do not have the authority to suspend a boxer beyond its own jurisdiction.

Regardless, he will be down to one title whenever he returns to the ring. Additionally, he will have to undergo continued random drug testing – at his own expense – and provide clean samples prior to his reinstatement.

Because Alimkhanuly last fought in Kazakhstan – a knockout win over unbeaten Anauel Ngamissengue last April 5 in Astana – the local commission took control of the investigation.

According to the final report – a copy which was obtained by BoxingScene - the KPBF determined that Alimkhanuly ingested the substance in question from an emergency medical visit last May 7. Alimkhanuly reportedly suffered deteriorated health, at which point his “relatives sought immediate medical assistance at the Adam Clinic” in his Almaty hometown.

“The clinic’s official medical report documents the following: acute severe headache, nausea and vomiting, dizziness, transient bilateral visual disturbance, limb numbness [and] chest pressure.”

The final diagnosis was that Alimkhanuly suffered a transit ischemic attach (TIA) from a vertebrobasilar insufficiency. His condition was described as in need of urgent therapeutic intervention, which came with an assortment of prescribed medication.

Among the administered substances was Ripronat, which is legal in Kazakhstan but contains Meldonium. “The medical intervention, including the administration of Ripronat (Meldonium), was medically necessary, urgent, and professionally justified,” read the KPBF report. “The medical documentation submitted to the Commission is legitimate, complete, and verifiable through the national medical registry.

“[Alimkhanuly] stated that the brand name Ripronat did not lead him to associate the product with the prohibited substance Meldonium, which is commonly known internationally through other trademark names (e.g., “Mildronate”).”

An eight-person panel found Alimkhanuly negligent to a minimal degree, which resulted in the backdated six-month suspension.

Upon his return to the sport, Alimkhanuly – should he remain at 160lbs and with the WBO title still in tow – will have to face the winner of the April 4 Denzel Bentley-Endry Saveedra interim title fight in London.

IBF officials have to rule on fulfilling its vacancy. However, it’s believed that a title fight will be ordered between Etinosa Oliha and Shakiel Thompson, though it may require some work.

Sheffield’s Thompson, 15-0 (11 KOs) is the IBF No. 3 contender at middleweight, one spot below Italy’s Oliha, 22-0 (10 KOs). However, the Brit is currently scheduled to next face countryman Brad Pauls, 20-2-1 (11 KOs) on Queensberry Promotions’ March 28 “Magnificent 7” show in Manchester, England. 

There is the scenario where Thompson could have his cake and it, too. According to rule IBF Rule 6.A covering vacant title fights, "If the vacancy arises unexpectedly and if one of the two leading contenders has a fight scheduled within the next 30 days, the president and championships chair may, at their discretion, allow that bout to take place prior to the notification to fill the vacancy and utilize and new ratings after the interim bout." 

Regardless, Oliha is first in line to fight for the now available title.

Alimkhanuly held the IBF title since a sixth-round knockout win over then-unbeaten titleholder Vincenzo Gualtieri in their October 2023 unification bout. He made three defenses of the IBF belt and five overall with the WBO title at stake.

Tuesday’s ruling came hours after the IBF determined that the case involving cruiserweight champ Jai Opetaia, 30-0 (23 KOs) – not at all drug-related – remained in deliberation.

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.

Jai Opetaia’s quest to become undisputed champion remains intact – for now. 

BoxingScene has confirmed that the IBF will continue to look into the unbeaten Australian southpaw’s case, with the possibility that he will not be relieved of his title reign. Opetaia, 30-0 (23 KOs), moved forward with his clash on March 8 versus Brandon Glanton, 21-4 (18 KOs), despite the IBF withdrawing sanctioning from the Zuffa Boxing 04 Paramount+ headliner.

Opetaia handily defeated Glanton via unanimous decision, though at the time the bout was deemed in violation of IBF Rule 5.H, discouraging reigning titlists from participating in unsanctioned bouts. However, his comments during his post-fight interview and the post-fight press conference stressing his commitment to pursue undisputed status swayed IBF officials at least from terminating his title reign for a second time. 

“The status of the IBF cruiserweight title remains in deliberation,” the IBF said in an update obtained by BoxingScene. “Jai Opetaia made comments during the post-fight press conference that have led the organization’s leadership to question whether he was made completely and fully aware by his advisors of the decisions he needed to make when committing to the bout against Brandon Glanton. 

“The organization intends to look further into this matter.” 

Sanctioning for the bout was finally granted on March 5, after assurances from Opetaia’s team that the Zuffa belt was merely a trinket and a trophy, and that it was not an actual unification bout. Communication was conducted between the sanctioning body and Sean Gibbons, who served as a go-between for Opetaia and his team. 

All parties were on the same page, to the point where Gibbons’ Knucklehead Boxing wired to the IBF a payment of $73,000 – covering the sanctioning fees for the reported purses of Opetaia ($45,000) and Glanton ($6,000), along with the promoter’s fee ($22,000). 

Zuffa sources leaked that it had paid in excess of $80,000, though – as previously reported by BoxingScene – intentionally misleading others by including the due fees to referee Allen Huggins ($3,100) and judges Eric Cheek ($2,300), David Sutherland ($2,300) and Patricia Morse-Jarman ($2,300). Officials for bouts conducted in Nevada, as well as their assignment fees, are appointed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and have nothing to do with the sanctioning bodies. 

However – as previously reported by BoxingScene – the IBF decided to withdraw its sanctioning due to the miscommunicated status of the Zuffa belt that was made available for the fight. In turn, the abovementioned sanctioning fees were no longer applicable. 

“Payment for sanction fees, which totaled $73,000.00, was sent to the IBF via wire transfer from Knucklehead Boxing’s bank account and received by the IBF on March 6,” read a statement from the IBF. “The IBF withdrew sanction of the bout at 8:22 PM EST on March 6 via email to Gibbons following the pre-fight press conference that took place shortly beforehand. 

“At 1:22 PM EST on March 7 a wire transfer was processed from the IBF back to Knucklehead Boxing’s bank account returning the $73,000.00 in sanction fees. Immediately afterward, an email was sent to Gibbons including the wire transfer receipt advising that the funds had been returned. Gibbons acknowledged receipt of the email at 2:46 PM EST.”

Zuffa officials declared that Opetaia-Glanton would be for its inaugural championship, going out of their way to advertise the fight as for the “Zuffa Boxing world cruiserweight championship”. Furthermore, the promotion went out of its way to ignore the IBF – in line with Zuffa’s open admission that they refuse to work with the sanctioning bodies.

The IBF’s decision to consider stripping Jai Opetaia of their cruiserweight title on the eve of his contest with Brandon Glanton has jeopardised Zuffa Boxing’s attempts to sign Richardson Hitchins.

Hitchins, 28 years old and the IBF junior-welterweight champion, was considering a lucrative offer to join the promotional organisation led by Dana White but, BoxingScene understands, is increasingly aware that doing so could lead to the loss of the title he is determined to retain.

It was with a victory over Liam Paro in December 2024 that he was crowned champion, and he has since defended it once, against George Kambosos Jnr in June 2025. Both contests were on Matchroom promotions – his promotional contract with Matchroom has since expired, contributing to the offer received from Zuffa before Opetaia-Glanton.

For reasons including but not exclusive to the English welterweight Conor Benn leaving Matchroom for Zuffa, the rivalry between the promotional organisations has perhaps become the most intense of any between two promoters in 2026.

Hitchins, it is also understood, hasn’t yet ruled out following in Benn’s footsteps, but having watched Australia’s Opetaia – who has long been so vocal about his ambition of winning the undisputed cruiserweight title – expect to be able to defend it against Glanton and then learn that he could get stripped following his first fight since joining Zuffa, the American recognises he potentially has greater considerations than promotional rivalries to weigh up.

The two most lucrative fights that could be made for him at 140lbs would be against Shakur Stevenson, the WBO champion, and Keyshawn Davis, and Hitchins is aware of the value of his status as a recognised world champion in the event of negotiations for a date against either. 

Until illness forced his withdrawal, the Keith Connolly-managed Hitchins had been scheduled to defend his title in February against Oscar Duarte on the undercard of Mario Barrios-Ryan Garcia, a promotion overseen by The Ring, whose owners the General Entertainment Authority are working closely with TKO Boxing and Zuffa. Benn, incidentally, is also managed by Connolly.

LAS VEGAS – To Zuffa Boxing head Dana White, the behavior of the IBF in opting not to sanction its cruiserweight titleholder Jai Opetaia’s victory over Brandon Glanton has the appearance of a setup.

“[Opetaia] paid his sanctioning fees. [The IBF] flew a guy [supervisor Levi Martinez] out here [from New Mexico]. To say [IBF President Daryl Peoples] is disrespected … the [IBF] belt was in front of [Opetaia] the entire time [at Friday’s news conference] and [Opetaia] held it. It’s pretty clear what they’re doing and what’s going on,” White said at Sunday night’s post-fight news conference at the Meta Apex.

“I see lawsuits coming, that’s what I see.”

The IBF has been permanently scarred by that “L word,” ever since former president Bob Lee was found guilty in a 2000 racketeering trial connected to the acceptance of bribes. The outcome has been a strict adherence to its rules, particularly those related to the protection of mandatory title challengers.

After White opened his new Zuffa Boxing promotion by expressing disinterest in working with sanctioning bodies and working to lobby for a new Ali Act – which would allow the promotion to rank and award belts to its own fighters – the organizations’ presidents have kept their guard up.

Yet new Zuffa signee Opetaia, a 30-year-old from Australia, posed an alternate case. He was proud of his IBF belt he won in 2022 and defended in two separate reigns since, enduring a broken jaw and being stripped once earlier while remaining unbeaten.

White eased off his mandate to blackball the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO.

He explained it this way to BoxingScene: “My goal is, before I ever got started, these kids had goals and dreams and ambitions and things they wanted to accomplish in boxing. We want to help them with that, not hurt them, and if it means working with sanctioning bodies, Jai wanted to do that. He paid his [sanctioning] fee.”

But on Friday, the olive branch began fracturing. White said IBF supervisor Martinez asked for a $200 per diem, received it and boarded a flight home to New Mexico, with Zuffa Boxing saying the IBF said it was “embarrassed” by the display of its belt at Friday’s gathering with reporters.

“What could we have done differently?” White asked. “[The IBF] 110 per cent planned to do that. The belt could not have been more prominent. I never disrespected them. These are the most bottom-feeder, low-level people I’ve ever been in business with … grabbing your $200 per diem check, and jumping back to fly home. That’s the level of rinky-dink bullshit we’re dealing with. Isn’t that crazy?

“We did everything we were supposed to do. … It’s very odd, very unprofessional. We’ll see how this whole thing plays out.”

Is it the last straw that will keep Zuffa from associating with the entities?

White answered: “We’ll see how it plays out. It will be on a case-by-case basis.”

White delivered an ultimate response to BoxingScene on the matter by expressing that his company’s “going to sign everybody who we think has the potential to be a world champion and potentially the best in the world.”

Would that include Zuffa’s rumored interest in four-division champion Shakur Stevenson and heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk?

“Do you consider him to be one of the best in the world? Yeah. I’m going to fucking sign everybody,” White said. “And we’re going to do more fights. This has been such a joke coming into this business. These people have been so unsophisticated and bad at what they do.”

Backed by a $10 million annual investment by Saudi Arabia boxing financier Turki Alalshikh, a streaming deal with Paramount+ and an untapped additional pool of Saudi money that lured welterweight contender Conor Benn to Zuffa for a one-fight, $15 million deal, Zuffa and its parent company TKO (which also presides over the UFC and WWE) aim for a takeover that White said is fastening by the day.

“In two to three years, we’ll see where we stand,” White said. “The writing is clearly on the wall. Everyone can read it clearly now. What I thought will be two to three years from now is months from now.”

White repeated being unimpressed with the work of rival promoters Top Rank/Bob Arum, Premier Boxing Champions/Al Haymon, Golden Boy Promotions/Oscar De La Hoya and Matchroom Boxing/Eddie Hearn.

“I’m four fights in,” White said. “Imagine when I’m 44 fights in. We’ll have all the best guys here. I’ve done four shows this year. Bob Arum has done one. De La Hoya’s done one. PBC’s done none.

“The moral of this story is these guys are so bad at what they do, I don’t see how they stick around. I’m just blown away. Top Rank doesn’t have a TV deal. De La Hoya … don’t even get me started. Al Haymon, I heard he’s sick. Eddie Hearn, he’s a manager now. My rival? Holy shit.”

White went in on Hearn, who last announced he’s managing UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall in White’s primary combat sports organization.

“Is he a rival promoter? I haven’t seen a rival anything from these guys. He’s a manager now. We deal with lots of managers. I wouldn’t call Eddie Hearn a rival anything. He’s a manager,” White said.

“There’s a million of them. We deal with them all. What can Eddie Hearn bring to the management table that we haven’t seen in the last 25 years?”

Amid speculation Hearn may seek to open the UFC books and inspire a revolt among MMA fighters – who are seeing the Benn and Opetaia money after a wave of anti-trust litigation involving the UFC – White said, “Why is it a bad thing when guys make more money? Since 2001, fighter pay has gone [up] nonstop [in the UFC]. We just got a great new television rights deal. I promise you fighter pay is going to do just fine over the next seven years.”

From White’s perspective, he’s just doubling down on combat sports, maintaining he’s up for all of it.

“The fight business is a daily soap opera,” he said. “Always something. It’s part of the fun.”

Although Jai Opetaia wore three belts on his body last night, the placing of them was rather telling. You had, on his right shoulder, the IBF cruiserweight title, which had not been on the line during his unanimous decision victory over Brandon Glanton in Las Vegas. Then, over his left shoulder, you had The Ring’s cruiserweight belt, the owning of which supposedly indicates that Opetaia is the true number-one cruiserweight in the world and therefore has no need to collect or flaunt other belts to prove it. 

As for the third belt on Opetaia’s person last night, that was wrapped around his waist. This, of course, was the inaugural Zuffa cruiserweight title, which Opetaia won by beating Glanton and was kindly applied to his body from behind by Dana White, the head of Zuffa Boxing. This belt, unlike the other two, was not one gathered by Opetaia of his own volition and attached to body parts of his choosing. It was instead wrapped around his waist – secured around his waist – by a man he didn’t even see coming. 

Thanks to White, the belt now had pride of place on Opetaia’s body. It arrived first – before the IBF belt and The Ring belt – and it remained front and centre, the belt to which all eyes were drawn. With White’s help, it had now marked its territory. It had taken the best spot. 

After all, whenever we imagine the archetypal world champion boxer, we picture a belt around their waist before we picture a belt slung over their shoulder. In that sense, the Zuffa Boxing belt, though fresh on the scene, was more symbolic of Opetaia being a world champion than any other he carried with him in Las Vegas. That includes The Ring magazine belt, merely an afterthought, as well as the IBF belt Opetaia has won twice and defended on five occasions. 

Indeed, as if to hammer the point home, Max Kellerman, an employee of Zuffa Boxing, was after the fight determined to press reset on Opetaia’s four-year cruiserweight reign and start again. He did so by putting the emphasis on the belt around the Australian’s waist, and what that means, while ignoring Opetaia’s desire to collect belts rather than simply defend a belt that, to date, has no real significance. 

“You are the recognised Ring magazine champ and you’re now the first-ever Zuffa cruiserweight champion of the world,” Kellerman said in the ring. “Who would you like to make your first title defence against?” He then paused. “Zuffa title defence,” he stressed.

“Man, I’m chasing the belts,” Opetaia, now 30-0 (23 KOs), said. “I know there’s been a lot of white noise and stuff, and a lot of stuff on social media, but I’m hoping we can get it worked out and I can chase that goal. I have not lost track of it. I never have. I’ve been stripped once before and I’ve been stripped again. I’ll be getting the belt back and will become undisputed.”

At the time of that post-fight interview Opetaia had reason to believe he had been stripped of the IBF title he held on his right shoulder. However, he was less sure of that in the post-fight press conference, when he expressed a glimmer of hope that this might not be the case. 

Either way, more important than whether he has been stripped or not is the fact that Opetaia’s instinct, when asked about defending belts, was to mention his plan to “chase” them rather than defend them. This suggests that he is, despite signing with the organisation, not content with being a Zuffa cruiserweight champion and trying to create an identity as a world champion with just that title. It suggests he still pines for what may or may not have been lost – whether that’s a belt or a dream. 

“I think you are undisputed, you just don’t know that yet,” said Kellerman, both cognisant and fearful of Opetaia’s sentimentality. “In the eyes of most boxing fans you already are undisputed in spite of whatever the belts have to say.” He then asked Opetaia if he had an interest in fighting Gilberto Ramirez, the WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion, to which Opetaia replied: “WBC, WBO, WBA, whatever. I’ve been chasing these unification fights for such a long time. I made it very clear. Now I’m holding the most belts. I’ve got three belts; he’s [Ramirez] got two. Let’s get it on.”

Again, this wasn’t what Kellerman or his paymasters had in mind by way of a response. In fact, rather than Opetaia playing the perfect model for their garish new belt, the answers he offered while in the ring wearing the Zuffa belt had the opposite effect. If anything, they served to render the belt as inconsequential; a mere accessory gifted to him by his new fancy man; a Rolex watch.

“Undisputed first,” Opetaia reiterated when Kellerman mentioned a move to heavyweight, where, of course, Opetaia could one day become the Zuffa heavyweight champion. “Don’t lose track of what I’m trying to say. Undisputed, then we talk about the other ones.”

In spite of the best efforts of Kellerman, the Paramount commentary team, and Dana White coming up from behind, Opetaia’s intentions were clear and obvious after beating Glanton in Las Vegas. He wants the belts, that much we know. He doesn’t just want one belt – whether that’s a brand-new one, or one owned by a Saudi Arabian financier – nor does he want to be told the value of a belt by someone who has no idea what they are talking about. Instead, as the fighter, Opetaia knows what he wants and knows what it means – to him. 

Besides, perhaps it is now too late to recondition the minds of boxers who have for decades been told that superiority is the result of being “unified” or “undisputed” and that those two things require more than just one belt. Perhaps it is not so easy to undo the mess created by sanctioning bodies – of which there are far too many, it’s true – and convince the boxers who pay their sanctioning fees that there is another way to now show you are the best in the world. 

On the face of it, advocates of this approach – Zuffa, The Ring – are right. They are right to sell us a world in which only one belt matters and every fighter in the division has their sights set on obtaining this belt. Yet unfortunately, just as the image of the boxer with the belt around their waist is the one we automatically recall when thinking of a world champion, so is the image of the boxer holding a green belt or a red belt or a black belt the one that comes to mind when thinking the same thing. More importantly, it is the image of the world champion buried in belts that fighters like Jai Opetaia will associate with the goal he is chasing and has been chasing since he turned pro. There are no images available of Muhammad Ali wearing the Zuffa Boxing heavyweight title. Nor are there any images of Oleksandr Usyk or Evander Holyfield wearing the belt Opetaia won last night in Las Vegas. 

Opetaia would have known all this going in, of course. He would have known when aligning himself with Zuffa Boxing that the prospect of becoming their inaugural cruiserweight champion would feel simultaneously satisfying and empty. In being the first, he would have expected to feel proud, important, and bolstered by the publicity. But being first can also be lonely and can leave one feeling a little lost and bewildered. After all, what, at this stage, does any of it really mean? What does it mean to be a Zuffa cruiserweight champion in 2026? 

Presumably it means getting well paid, which, for a cruiserweight, is not an easy thing to achieve, hence so many move to heavyweight. Money is also the main motivating factor for the majority of professional boxers and something they will remind you of whenever you, a non-boxer, become fixated on the idea of legacy. They will remind you, as they are entitled to, that “legacy doesn’t pay the bills” or do much for a boxer in the bleak wilderness that is retirement. They will remind you as well that the career of a professional boxer is a short one and that the window of opportunity, as far as earning life-changing money goes, tends to be even shorter. 

All true, it is only when a boxer is accosted from behind and given a new belt to replace the old one they worked so hard to acquire that the idea of “legacy” becomes something else. Now it is connected to identity, purpose, the realising of a dream. Now it is something tangible, worth holding on to. Now you understand that when discussing one’s career in retirement, it is that – legacy – people want to know about, not how much you made in purse money. 

If, back in Australia, Opetaia is approached this week and asked what he does for a living, it won’t take much effort on his part to explain the job of a professional boxer. Even if he is asked about the level at which he competes, Opetaia can then say, with ample pride, that he is a world champion in his sport and has yet to experience defeat in a 10-and-a-half-year professional career. 

If, however, he should be pressed to reveal which world title he currently holds, suddenly you might see beads of sweat on the world champion’s forehead as he figures out how best to clarify the situation in which he now finds himself. If he says Zuffa, they might think of one of the Marx Brothers, while The Ring, that is the domain in which two boxers fight, not something you receive for being the best in the world. 

Because of this confusion, Opetaia will revert to thinking in terms of acronyms, or three letters: IBF, WBC, WBA, WBO. He could even decide to mention the three letters of the world-famous Ultimate Fighting Championship – the UFC – and explain that Zuffa has something to do with that. “But I thought you said you were a boxer?” he will then hear as he tries to escape.

LAS VEGAS – As bitter as the events surrounding the loss of his IBF cruiserweight belt are, Jai Opetaia didn’t have a cross word to say about the powers that be connected to the decision.

“Just … the politics. I broke my jaw for this belt.  I couldn’t eat for four months,” Australia’s Opetaia said following his Sunday night victory by three 119-106 scores over Atlanta’s Brandon Glanton. “I missed time with my family. Missed [a family member’s] funeral. They don’t see the sacrifices I’ve made for this. To just have, ‘We’re going to strip it,’ it hurts. 

Opetaia 30-0 is expected to formally learn Monday that the IBF, in opting not to sanction Sunday’s bout because it was also staged for the new Zuffa Boxing belt along with The Ring strap, will vacate the cruiserweight title and ultimately assign the next two contenders to fight for it.

Opetaia? He’ll be fine. He spoke after the fight of next meeting new WBC cruiserweight Noel Mikaelian and then fighting the May 2 winner of the WBO/WBA title fight between unified champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and David Benavidez by year’s end.

“I would love to get Mikaelian next – a good fight, a unification fight,” Opetaia, 30, said. “This is what we’re chasing. Right now, he’s got nothing on, and I’m chasing him. It’s perfect. Then, end of the year, undisputed. That’s the perfect picture, but there’s a lot of moving parts to it.”

And Opetaia is just off seeing how those moving parts can disintegrate and implode.

Opetaia knew his move from Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing to Zuffa could imperil his belt, since Zuffa Boxing head Dana White has so repeatedly communicated that he’d rather avoid working with the four major sanctioning bodies.

Still, it appeared the IBF would allow Opetaia to pay his sanctioning fees and retain his strap until Friday, when IBF President Daryl Peoples ordered his supervisor, Levi Martinez, to return home to New Mexico and distributed a statement saying the fight would not be sanctioned.

Zuffa officials said they received an email from Peoples saying he was “embarrassed” by the position of the IBF belt on the Friday news conference stage.

White torched the IBF in his post-fight comments.

Opetaia, meanwhile, brought the belt on the table before him after honoring the IBF’s second-day weigh-in and making weight by three pounds.

“It’s a bit frustrating, but I really hope … as of now, I’m not stripped,” he said late Sunday night. “I honestly don’t know what’s going on. I just try to keep doing my thing, I’ve respected the belt, done everything in my power to keep the belt. I had the double weigh-in, abided by their rules.I’m really hoping they can put the nonsense aside. The beef is not between me. It’s the outside causing conflict and I’m the only one who’s suffering, but at the same time, it is what it is.

“What can I do? Train hard and work for the next one.”

Frankly, no one dethroned Opetaia as IBF champion, and his pursuit of Mikaelian and the Ramirez-Benavidez winner could happen given the past involvement of Saudi Arabia boxing financier Turki Alalshikh in fights involving all four champions.

BoxingScene learned Zuffa Boxing officials will attend Ramirez-Benavidez with an eye on matching the winner against Opetaia for The Ring lineal belt.

Opetaia placed The Ring, Zuffa and IBF belts before him after Sunday night’s victory.

Of the one that looks to escape him, Opetaia said, “It means something to me, a lot of effort went into winning that.”