By Declan Taylor
Wednesday, November 29
PAPER CUTS
THE new week kicked off with, rejoice, yet one more twist in the Conor Benn saga. This time, after months of Eddie Hearn stating that he needs Benn towards Chris Eubank Jnr to be below the auspices of the British Boxing Board of Control, it was confirmed that the Board have rejected the utility for a license.
Make no mistake, these are barmy instances for British boxing contemplating it is a case that first got here to the public’s consideration greater than 13 months in the past and there may be nonetheless no clear decision. What is changing into abundantly clear, nevertheless, is that Benn and Eubank are virtually actually going to punch one another in the face sooner or later subsequent 12 months. “February 3rd at Tottenham,” promoter Eddie Hearn stated.
Meanwhile, one other battle fell by the wayside on Wednesday as a result of an obvious lack of the required paperwork as ‘Visa delays’ meant that the scheduled battle between Hackey’s Ohara Davies and the 40-year-old Venezuelan man Ismael Barroso, which had been scheduled for Saturday, needed to be postponed. “Slight delay, thanks to the USA embassy for working quickly and efficiently to issue me a Visa to travel to to Box,” Davies stated. “I’ll be collecting the passport this week and the rescheduled fight with Barosso will be announced within the next few days – Big up the US.”
Thursday, November 30
KING RY ME A RIVER
IT’S Ryan Garcia battle week in Houston and he was an issue for his Golden Boy promoters as he used his closing press convention to name out each Bernard Hopkins and Oscar De La Hoya publicly. “Bernard Hopkins doesn’t decide if I continue boxing after this fight.” he stated. “Nobody was telling him when to stop boxing.”
It continued: “They’re backing this guy to beat me,” he stated of Saturday’s opponent Oscar Duarte. “[Bernard] said he calls out bullshit and lies but – man – last time I checked he said he’d never lose to a white boy then Joe Smith Jnr knocked him out of the ring. Last time I checked, Joe Smith Jnr was white. So… they be lying.”
At simply 25, Garcia has some story arc already; Insta-tastic social media whizz to real contender through open and sincere struggles with psychological well being points. Now he’s returned from his first profession defeat as boxing’s enfant horrible. You simply should like it.
Wednesday was additionally an enormous information days for considered one of Garcia’s beginner opponents, Devin Haney, who confirmed he has now vacated all his remaining titles forward of his 140lb conflict with Regis Prograis on December 9. He says his plan is to beat Prograis and then win some {hardware} at 147lbs too however the cash in a Garcia battle may be too good to show down.
Ryan Garcia (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Friday, December 1
MONSTER MANDATORY
ON Friday, The Week caught up with WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman who’s again in Mexico City following a current journey to Uzbekistan for his organisation’s annual conference. There was a lot to debate, however in the wake of David Benavidez’s massive win over Demetrius Andrade, I requested whether or not the Mexican Monster (Benavidez, not Sulaiman) would now be formally referred to as as Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez’s obligatory, with the Cinco de Mayo slot nonetheless unfilled. I’m paraphrasing, however the brief reply was ‘no’. Don’t maintain your breath for that one. Instead Benavidez has steered a dance with Jermall Charlo, who simply beat up his older brother Jose. I’d watch it.
In the night, Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions had been again in Bethnal Green for considered one of their Friday belters at York Hall. This time, new signing Gavin Gwynne managed to stave off a spirited effort from 47-year-old (that’s four-seven) Emiliano Marsili to win the European light-weight title when the Italian needed to retire with an injured shoulder after eight rounds. Earlier, Moses Itauma made it 7-0 (5) for 2023 by blitzing Michal Boloz, who went 10 with Mariusz Wach in October, in simply 61 seconds.
Saturday, December 2
THRILLER
IT is simple to be cynical whenever you work in boxing however Jordan Gill’s underdog victory and continuing interview was proof, if wanted, that when it’s good, this actually is the biggest sport in the world.
Gill revealed in the interview that he had determined to commit suicide after hitting all-time low in the wake of his 2022 defeat to Kiko Martinez and following a separation from his spouse. He stated he went to a discipline, drank a litre of vodka and was in the strategy of doing so when any individual saved him.
Since that evening six months in the past, he has picked himself up and labored his means again into the place from which he was in a position to spring considered one of the largest surprises of the 12 months. In reality, the battle and the end result might sound completely inconsequential given what he has already needed to deal with however victory below such circumstances ought to be a totem to all these struggling. There’s at all times a means again.
“I’ve changed my life,” he stated. “I’ve got my own gym. I’ve turned my life around. If you’re thinking ‘what am I doing with my life?’ You can do it, you can make a change. Just have that belief in yourself. Nobody believed I could do this, but I did and that’s all that mattered.”
Sunday, December 3
NATURAL BORN GORILLA
AFTER action-packed Saturdays at the fights, Sundays will be sluggish information days at The Week Towers however there was a strong announcement this time round because it was confirmed that Jaime Munguia and John Ryder will conflict on January 27 in Phoenix Arizona.
Both males boxed solely as soon as in 2023, with Munguia beating Sergey Derevyanchenko in June whereas John Ryder misplaced on factors to Canelo a month earlier. They had each hoped to have been out no less than as soon as extra earlier than the finish of the 12 months however they’ll now should put a line by way of their Christmas plans, maintain the roast potatoes and keep off the sherry with their January date rubber-stamped.
Meanwhile, throughout an interview with Seconds Out, Eddie Hearn ‘revealed’ what occurred when he and Jarrell Miller got here face-to-face finally month’s press convention to announce the December 23 card in Saudi Arabia, on which Big Baby is dealing with Daniel Dubois. Hearn stated Miller approached him and stated ‘oh you’re scared now’ following a lot social media back-and-forth over the previous few years. Hearn additionally steered that Miller informed him that subsequent time he’s in New York he can have somebody ‘pull up on him’ to which Hearn replied: “go fuck yourself”. On the Sabbath, no much less.
Monday, December 4
SKY’S THE LIMIT
THERE was an attention-grabbing press launch on Monday from Sky Sports who hailed a ‘landmark day’ for the firm after securing the rights for ‘at least 215 live Premier League games’ as a part of a brand new four-year deal. ‘But this is a boxing magazine!’ I hear you cry.
In amongst the deluge of fanfare there have been a couple of pertinent factors from a boxing perspective. Firstly, that is huge information for Sky however it will have come at a colossal expense, who is aware of what departments would possibly get pillaged to fund it.
It was additionally a priority for these of a boxing persuasion to note at the backside of the article, there have been bullet factors for all the different sports activities on the community, emboldened with a short blurb about their protection. Formula 1, cricket, girls’s soccer, golf, tennis, rugby league had been all included right here however boxing was tagged on the very backside miscellaneous bullet. In truth, the solely point out of the sport in this whole celebration of the broadcaster’s would possibly had been three phrases: ‘year-round boxing’.
The different take-home from this announcement was that it means, as soon as once more, there shall be no Premier League soccer on DAZN, which is a priority on the subject of the thought of the informal British sports activities fan ever bothering to even obtain it, a lot much less pay for it.
Tuesday, December 5
WB-SEE YA
THIS wet outdated December Tuesday emerged as a momentous day for girls’s boxing as Amanda Serrano formally vacated her WBC featherweight title due to the organisation’s refusal to sanction girls’s fights over three minutes as a substitute of two.
The iconic Puerto Rican took half in the first ever girls’s boxing contest over 12-threes in Orlando in October when she beat Danila Ramos soundly on factors. She owns all the belts at featherweight however the WBC title was not on the line that evening and she has now formally determined to bin it. “The WBC has refused to evolve the sport for equality,” she stated. “So I am relinquishing their title.”
Elsewhere on Tuesday, it was confirmed that Adam Azim, recent from the stoppage victory over Franck Petitjean that gleaned the European title final month, will make the first defence towards Enock Poulsen on the undercard of Joshua Buatsi towards Adam Azim on February 3.
Part of the deal for Azim and Petitjean to satisfy for the belt centred round the settlement that the winner should field Zambia-born Dane Poulsen subsequent and shortly – and Boxxer have ticked each these packing containers with this announcement.
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