Ryan Garcia‘s win over Devin Haney is in the past, but a pair of drug tests continue to rear their ugly head. There is conjecture about the positive results and there is still a ton to be determined about whether Garcia willingly cheated.
Japanese boxer Naoya Inoue has been one of the most dominant boxers in the world over the last decades but he has only dominated in some of the lightest weight classes. He is a two-division undisputed champion of both the Banthamweight and Super Benthamweight divisions. Last Monday, he defeated Mexican Luis Nery after he got dropped early in the fight. Getting dropped by ‘Pantera’ was a wake up call for Inoue that got him to deliver one of the most dominating performances of his career. Such dominance invites anybody to speculate on Inoues chances against other great boxers from slightly heavier weight classes. We are specifically talking about Gervonta Davis, who is the current king of the Super Featherweight and Lightweight divisions.
Should Inoue fight Gervonta Davis?
There is always a frowned upon aspect of fighters from lower weight classes moving up to heavier tend to have a much harder time to win fights against their opponents. Inoue moving up a weight lass or two means he will finally get to challenge himself after dominating his usual weight classes. A perfect example of this is Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, who decided to risk it by moving up to Light Heavyweight to fight Dmitry Bivol and really struggled to keep himself composed. For Inoue, the challenge would be ultimate considering he is fighting Gervonta Davis, one of the scariest boxers in recent years. Boxing trainer Virgil Hunter is the on who speculated on Inoue’s next steps for his career.
Speaking to Fight Hype, Hunter said: “I don’t think Gervonta [Davis] should go below 135. I’m sure Inoue walks around at ’40, ’45 – 145. [Inoue would] have to come up just like everybody else. Where is the value of [Davis] coming to a catchweight to fight you? You’re big in Japan, and I’m big in the States. So there should not be any weight concession. ‘If you want to fight, come and fight me.’ Let’s not make any excuses. Rigondeaux fought Lomachenko; there was no catchweight involved. He dared to take that opportunity. [Rigondeaux] came up short, but he dared to take it. Charlo dared to fight Canelo at 168, coming from 154. So it’s only a few pounds north. You’re getting a little older. I’m sure you could carry the weight comfortably. So I wouldn’t make any concessions for that fight.”
head of fighting for the right to be crowned undisputed heavyweight champion, WBC title holder Tyson Fury reflects on his journey to the top of boxing; watch Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk live on Sky Sports Box Office on Saturday, May 18
At 20-years-old, Tyson Fury had already declared his intention to be world champion. Now, 16 years on, he has the opportunity to do something no heavyweight has achieved for a quarter of a century.
The WBC heavyweight title holder faces WBA, WBO and IBF unified king Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh on Saturday May 18, live on Sky Sports Box Office, in a bid to become the first undisputed champion in boxing’s blue-ribband division since Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield in 1999.
Watching back a video of himself talking about those ambitions at a time when he had barely a handful of professional fights under his belt, Fury is in no doubt what he would tell his younger self as he stands on the verge of making boxing history.
“What would I say? I think I had it all figured out, didn’t I?” Fury told Sky Sports. “You’re going to be world champion, yes.
“I can be world champion, be No 1 in the world, be the best and prove it – a young kid, a long time ago. I’m 36 this year so that was 16 years ago.
“I always believed, even when other people didn’t, that I would be a star and make millions of dollars from fights.
Fury, whose professional record stands at 34-0-1 (24), with the sole blemish being a draw in the first part of his epic trilogy with Deontay Wilder, has not had a simple road to the top though.
Notably, there were his two and a half years out of the ring after defeating Wladimir Klitschko to become unified champion where he was embroiled in a legal fight with UKAD, which was resolved in December 2017, and battled his own personal demons.
However, he has been in the ascendancy since his return to the ring in May 2018 and believes the good times and the bad have served to shape the fighter he is now.
“You live and learn from your experiences – nothing happens overnight,” Fury said. “Back then, I wanted to fight [Wladimir] Klitschko and I did get to seven years after that.
“Good things come to those who wait, nothing should be rushed, and take your time because you’ve only got one career and you’re only a young lad.
“At that time, at 20-years-old, I wanted everything yesterday.”
As with all those years ago, Fury is not shy about declaring he will be the one to be crowned undisputed heavyweight champion on May 18 either.
“From a little boy, I said that and achieved it, so I’ve got to be one of the rare few people who dreamed something as a child and achieved it as an adult,” Fury said.
“It’s been amazing journey and here we are now, 16 years later, about to be undisputed champion of the world.
“The biggest fight, in the last 25 years, which is an amazing effort.”
In the aftermath of yet another triumphant defense of his undisputed super middleweight crown, Canelo Alvarez finds himself at the center of attention once more.
Canelo vs Crawford is a very real possibility
Following his recent victory over Jaime Munguia, speculation is rife about who the Mexican boxing sensation will face next.
While many eyes are fixed on a showdown with rising star David Benavidez, another name has emerged from the shadows, tantalizing fans with the prospect of a historic clash.
Enter Terence Crawford, the pound-for-pound king, whose aspirations to face Alvarez have ignited fervor in the boxing world.
With Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, throwing his weight behind the idea, the possibility of a Canelo-Crawford bout in December or January looms large.
Talking about a possible fight in the Middle East, Canelo told ESPN before the Munguia fight that anything is possible.
“It would be something different for me. Others have liked it (fighting in Saudi Arabia) because it involves more money but I don’t need it, anywhere I fight I do very good so I am calm.”
Asked if the proposed rival is Crawford and he gets an attractive offer the Mexican boxer said “I don’t have any issue with it”.
For Crawford, this represents the ultimate challenge, a chance to etch his name in the annals of boxing history.
The Nebraska native, fresh from his victory over Errol Spence Jr., is set to face Israil Madrimov in August, a crucial stepping stone on his path to a potential showdown with Alvarez.
Moving up three weight classes to face the formidable Alvarez would be no small feat for Crawford.
Yet, fueled by ambition and a desire for greatness, he seems undeterred by the daunting task ahead.
With the allure of Alvarez’s four belts beckoning, Crawford sees the opportunity to cement his legacy as one of boxing’s all-time greats.
Crawford needs to go up three weight classes
However, the road to a Canelo-Crawford showdown is not without its hurdles.
Crawford must first navigate the challenge posed by Madrimov, a formidable opponent in his own right.
A slip-up could derail the grand plans laid out by Alalshikh and leave Crawford’s dreams in tatters.
Yet, amidst the excitement and anticipation, questions remain unanswered.
Can Crawford make the leap from welterweight to super middleweight and emerge victorious against Alvarez?
Will Alvarez, accustomed to calling the shots, be swayed by the prospect of facing Crawford in what promises to be a blockbuster event?
Eddie Hearn is eager to see his latest signing, Jaron Ennis, fight Terence Crawford in what would be a major battle.
The pound-for-pound superstar will jump to 154lbs in August to face Israil Madrimov and if successful, a contest against Ennis could be next for the Nebraska man.
In the meantime, Ennis has his own business to take care of as he returns to Philadelphia, his home city, this summer, to defend his welterweight world title against Cody Crowley.
Ennis is a bug favourite for that fight and his promoter has provided the latest news on what’s happening between Ennis and Crawford.
“The only person that can deliver that fight is His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh],” said Hearn when speaking to Fight Hub TV.
“Crawford is going to want a huge amount of money for that fight because of the risk. I’ll make sure Boots gets the right price as well.
“When I took Jaron to meet His Excellency in New York, he made it very clear that was a fight that he was very interested in.”
Terence Crawford could be three victories away from doing something that has never been done in the four-belt era: standing as an undisputed champion in three weight classes.
Or the Nebraska fighter driven to defeat the most daunting opponent within his reach can pursue more glory and more riches than he has ever gathered by going after a showdown with undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
“If he has the ability to unify at [junior middleweight], he’s going to retire as the best fighter who’s ever lived,” ProBox TV analyst Chris Algieri said on Tuesday’s episode of “Deep Waters.” “And I don’t think there’s any question about that.”
Of course, the 36-year-old Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) could also be a three-division undisputed and five-division champion by defeating current WBA 154-pound champion Israil Madrimov in their currently scheduled Aug. 3 main event in Los Angeles and then moving up in weight again to meet Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs).
Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and funding source of the L.A. card, said in a recent interview that he is aiming to stage a Crawford-Alvarez fight, perhaps by the end of the year.
But “Deep Waters” analyst Paulie Malignaggi, a former welterweight titleholder, said that pressing for a Crawford bout instead of Alvarez versus unbeaten former super middleweight titleholder David Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) is a casual-fan move by Alalshikh and a “dangerous” option for Crawford.
“The amount of eyeballs that are going to be on [Canelo-Crawford] … the majority will be casuals who maybe watch one fight this year,” Malignaggi said.
“The fight that everybody wants to see within boxing circles … [is] Canelo-Benavidez.”
Veteran trainer Teddy Atlas said on “Deep Waters” that Alvarez will dictate who fights who because he’s “the golden goose that lays the golden eggs.
“I’m not going to knock the fight, because Crawford is that special,” Atlas said. “In the gym, it’s not unusual for a special fighter to be boxing and sparring with middleweights and light heavyweights … so when you really get down to brass tacks, [Alvarez-Crawford] is not that crazy.”
What makes it “crazy,” Atlas said, is the fact that Alvarez has options including Benavidez or a rematch with unbeaten light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. Both could be on the table if the other light heavyweight champion, Artur Beterbiev, cannot return from his ruptured meniscus injury to fight Bivol in an undisputed light heavyweight title fight by year’s end.
Bivol defeated Alvarez by unanimous decision two years ago this month.
Algieri’s point is that, for recently undisputed 147-pound champion Crawford, meeting 168-pound champion Alvarez (should he take Madrimov’s 154-pound belt in August) is not a nothing-to-lose proposition.
“There’s always something to lose when you’re fighting a man three weight classes above you – [a champion] substantially bigger than you. You can always get hurt,” Algieri said.
Crawford staying at 154, should he defeat Madrimov – with Sebastian Fundora and Bakhram Murtazaliev as fellow champions – is the shrewder legacy move even if the caliber of champions improve with Aug. 3 card participants Tim Tszyu and Vergil Ortiz also so near a 154-pound title.
“This guy [Crawford] is on a track to be the best fighter who’s ever lived – literally, pound-for-pound all time, if he stays undefeated,” Algieri said.
“If he goes up and loses to Canelo, that’s not part of the equation anymore.”
Algieri remains skeptical that Alvarez, because of their size difference, fiercely wants to fight Crawford.
“Canelo has alluded to the fact that he has nothing to gain,” Algieri said. “If he beats [Crawford], he’s supposed to – ‘I’m three weight classes above this guy. But if he beats me, I look like a fool.’
“So while Canelo feels he has everything to lose, for Crawford, it’s not everything to gain. It’s still a dangerous fight, and it’s a tough situation for his legacy.”
Joseph Parker has once again shown why he’s the king of the internet with yet another hilarious and creative video that has gone viral on social media.
The New Zealander went viral last month for his attempt to convince Dillian Whyte to step back in the ring with him with a parody of the Take That hit ‘Back For Good’.
He then took inspiration from Ed Sheeran’s 2011 chart-topper ‘Lego House’ and mimed the lyrics in an attempt to convince Anthony Joshua to a rematch.
The clip includes Parker playing the guitar and painting while pretending to sing the song. There’s also footage of his defeat to Joshua spliced into the video as the lyrics: “And it’s so hard to say it, but I’ve been here before,” play in the background.
Parker even took a swipe at ‘AJ’ for holding during the first fight as Sheeran sings: “Don’t hold me down, I think my braces are breaking and it’s more than I can take!”. Elsewhere, shots of his wins over Wilder and Zhang are included to illustrate his return to the top of the pile.
The 32-year-old lost his WBO heavyweight title to Joshua back in 2018. After struggling to get his career back on track for several years following the defeat, he’s found his feet again over the last year. He shocked the world with a win over Deontay Wilder in December and has since gone on to beat Zhilei Zhang earlier this year.
The upcoming June 15 fight between Gervonta Davis and Frank Martin is heavily assumed to be one-sided. However, ‘Tank’, majorly attributed as someone who can rarely be defeated faced trouble when he sparred with his next opponent. Could that be a matter of concern?
With just a little over a month left in his fight against the ‘Ghost’, Davis has kicked off the promotions for the fight. Their first press conference on May 4 went down with enough drama to last them till fight night. With Tank making references to Martin’s girlfriend and even crashing his interview leading to fist fights, the day was quite eventful. The same day, in another media interaction, Tank underscored that the fight won’t be as easy as most think it will be for him. After all, if Martin could faze him in a sparring session, why can’t he do the same on fight night?
Tank noted on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game Podcast, “You caught me one time.” He further remarked, “I sparred already; he was scared to spar. I jumped on him. He’s a southpaw. He threw the brick hand. Boom! That’s what caught me.” However, he did not let that incident govern his winning chances for June 15. He announced, “It wasn’t like, boom and… Hell no. Everybody in here know, if I get touched, I’m coming on that a**.”
While it is unclear when this sparring session took the course, it is certain that Tank remembers every bit of it. While he was caught briefly in the said sparring session, there are chances he recuperated quickly.
Perhaps it’s the same sparring video Martin alluded to earlier in a media interaction. Martin revealed that Tank had urged to show him a video of “some” sparring, but ultimately didn’t show the full clip. Martin said, “Man, it’s sparring. We’re fighting June 15, I don’t even want to keep talking about the sparring. He was going to show me the video, he ain’t show it. He showed a certain part and then they got turned up and all that, but it wasn’t nothing that he showed.”
“We fighting now so the story of sparring, we can go ahead sweep that under the rug and when we fight June 15, it’s on,” Frank Martin added. Despite being the favorite, Gervonta Davis, the WBA Regular lightweight champion, can’t afford to overlook his opponent. Frank Martin boasts an impressive undefeated record of 18-0, with 12 of those victories coming by knockout.
While he remained confident that he would win, Tank was kind enough to give an important piece of advice to Frank Martin.
Don’t walk the path of Ryan Garcia, advises Gervonta Davis
Ahead of his fight against Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia showed the world that he was a regular drinker, with parties lasting days. However, when the fight arrived, he proved to those who assumed that his habits would make him lose big. He won through a knockout. Martin, who was earlier seen partying with Garcia, does not have that capacity, noted Tank.
In the same conversation, the Baltimore-based fighter advised his 29-year-old opponent, “You’ve been with Ryan(Garcia)..been drinking, been out with him partying. Do you have the skills to be out partying and missing(training)?! You don’t have the skills to be doing that. You started(boxing) when you was 15. If I started at 15..I’d be grinding(training all day). You trash!”
Do you think Gervonta Davis will continue his winning streak against Frank Martin?
What comes next for Naoya Inoue?
Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs), one of the very best in the world, had to rise from the canvas against Luis Nery (35-2, 27 KOs) to secure an emphatic sixth-round victory over his mandatory challenger.
Referee Michael Griffin halted the contest while Nery was on the canvas following a heavy right hand from Inoue.
However, speculation has begun on who the four-weight world champion will face moving forward.
Post-fight, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum discussed the possibility of Inoue facing his IBF mandatory challenger, Sam Goodman, with a date targeted for September or October.
More wild speculation has come from none other than trainer Virgil Hunter, who discussed the prospect of a possible fight between Inoue and Gervonta Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) on FightHype.
Despite the discrepancies in weight between junior featherweight champion Inoue and lightweight champion Davis, Hunter believes a catchweight contest would not be needed for a hypothetical fight between two of boxing’s most prominent names.
“I don’t think Gervonta [Davis] should go below 135,” Hunter told Fighthype. “I’m sure Inoue walks around at ’40, ’45 – 145. [Inoue would] have to come up just like everybody else. Where is the value of [Davis] coming to a catchweight to fight you? You’re big in Japan, and I’m big in the States. So there should not be any weight concession. ‘If you want to fight, come and fight me.’”
Hunter used the examples of Guillermo Rigondeaux and Jermell Charlo, fighters who stepped up in weight to challenge Vasiliy Lomachenko and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, respectively, in recent years. Ultimately, Hunter thinks the weight difference between Inoue and Davis should not be used as an excuse for the fight not to happen.
“Let’s not make any excuses,” Hunter said. “Rigondeaux fought Lomachenko; there was no catchweight involved. He dared to take that opportunity.”
“[Rigondeaux] came up short, but he dared to take it. Charlo dared to fight Canelo at 168, coming from 154. So it’s only a few pounds north. You’re getting a little older. I’m sure you could carry the weight comfortably. So I wouldn’t make any concessions for that fight.”
“When they stepped in the ring with me, they already knew the deal: It was going to be a tough fight. They had to use their skills, their brain, their physical and mental attitude against me because I was very unorthodox. I could fight on the left-hand side and right-hand side. So they had to probably train harder to adapt to my style. But every fighter I fought, I never fought the same way. Each fight I had, I was always in better condition than I was before.” – Marvelous Marvin Hagler
Terence Crawford is made from that same ilk as the great Hagler. He is a multi-dimensional fighter who can box or slug it out, in either stance, with power in both hands. He has great ring IQ and is adaptable. Crawford is able to use all his physical attributes with a fluid fighting style to match his unbreakable mental fortitude.
Crawford spent his whole career dispatching world-class opponents in conclusively exciting fashion, in a manner only an elite fighter would, but doubts remained. He had to take on fellow elite, pound-for-pound rival Errol Spence Jr. to prove his elite status and build the resume his talent deserves. In July 2023, Crawford dealt with Spence in devastating fashion, dropping him three times and becoming the undisputed welterweight champion as he made it look easier than against some of his perceived weaker touches earlier in his career.
The ability level is there to see. All he had to do was back up the eye test with the elite names. He did it spectacularly against Spence. Israil Madrimov, the WBA super-welterweight champion, is the next guy. In connection with Saudi Arabia and Riyadh Season, this fight and event will take place in Los Angeles on August 3, headlining a stacked card that will be aired on DAZN worldwide. The interim WBO super-welterweight title will also be on the line.
It will be a huge, historic card, and as the headliner, Crawford will be no stranger to the limelight. The man has had 18 consecutive world title fights, including huge hometown fights in Omaha, headliners at Madison Square Garden, and undisputed showdowns. This will be Crawford’s first fight since that domination of Spence last year. The question of when Crawford will return to the ring has finally been answered.
In Crawford’s first fight at 154 pounds, he will be facing a tough champion, as difficult a proposition as any in the super-welterweight division right now, as the American looks to become a four-weight division champion.
Madrimov is supremely skilled, powerful, and athletic. The Uzbek is a 29-year-old career-long 154-pounder with heavy hands, great footwork, and angles, developed through a decorated amateur career. He is fresh off a one-sided demolition job of then-unbeaten Magomed Kurbanov to win the vacant WBA title, stopping the Russian in five rounds. Madrimov may be a newcomer compared to Crawford, with fewer professional fights than Crawford has had world title fights, but the Uzbek’s performances at 154 pounds have been utterly impressive. Madrimov has risen to the summit of the 154-pound division in just 11 professional fights following a glittering amateur career.