Boxing legend Mike Tyson has responded energetically to concerns about his age as he prepares for his highly anticipated fight against Jake Paul, set for November 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Tyson, 58, will face Paul, 27, who has found boxing a platform to expand his influence beyond social media. With 31 years between them, Tyson asserts that he’s not the average man of his age, challenging the perception that age is an obstacle.

In an interview with Mike Doocy from FOX 4, Tyson explained that most people his age haven’t trained as long or maintained the physical level he has. “Other people my age haven’t been training as long as me, been as consistent as me,” he assured. He added that, unlike others his age, his preparation and consistency make him unique. “I’m just a different species of human being,” Tyson stated.Earlier this year, the fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul was postponed due to an ulcer outbreak that affected the former heavyweight champion.

However, Tyson maintains that his health is fully restored, and he is in optimal physical condition. He pointed out that he is ready to fight and emphasized that his preparation has been thorough. Although he admits to needing more massages, Tyson affirmed that his training has maintained its usual intensity.

Jake Paul, meanwhile, began his foray into boxing in 2018, though he entered professional boxing in 2020 and currently holds a record of 10-1. Paul’s only loss was to Tommy Fury, brother of renowned British boxer Tyson Fury, in an eight-round fight that ended in a split decision on February 26, 2023.

It’s worth noting that Tyson acknowledges Paul’s abilities but asserts that the young boxer’s level is not comparable to his own. Additionally, he issued a direct challenge, urging Paul to take hits while standing his ground rather than “running like a thief,” as Tyson himself put it.

With absolute confidence, Tyson also

The fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, shaping up to be one of the most anticipated events of the year, will be broadcast live on Netflix, marking another milestone in bringing boxing to digital entertainment.“He’s gonna run like a thief…” – @MikeTyson

Mike Tyson invites Jake to stand toe-to-toe with him in the ring…👀

How do you think this plays out?⬇️

–#PaulTyson Friday, November 15th AT&T Stadium – Arlington, TX Live on @netflix (via Fox 4 News) pic.twitter.com/KMibct1YZo

— Most Valuable Promotions (@MostVpromotions) October 24, 2024Update provided on Mike Tyson knee injury ahead of Jake Paul showdown

Mike Tyson told Fox 4 Dallas that he’s going into his fight against Jake Paul with BAD intentions…😳

Who do you think will feel the pain on Friday, November 15th?⬇️

–#PaulTyson Friday, November 15th AT&T Stadium – Arlington, TX Live on @netflix (via @FOX4) pic.twitter.com/ygclDnHxg7

— Most Valuable Promotions (@MostVpromotions) October 24, 2024

☠️3 WEEKS AWAY☠️

“Jake’s a manufactured killer. I’m a natural born killer.” – Mike Tyson

Who’s killing who Friday, November 15???👇 Stay safe this Halloween weekend everyone!!!

–#PaulTyson Friday, November 15th AT&T Stadium – Arlington, TX Live on @netflixpic.twitter.com/fTPtDE5IKu

— Most Valuable Promotions (@MostVpromotions) October 25, 2024

Cutman Mike Rodriguez has spent a lifetime in boxing corners, where every second counts and mistakes can cost a fighter dearly. But it's not just the vital moments in the ring that define Rodriguez; it's the lasting bonds and lessons learned that have shaped his career. 

Rodriguez has worked with titleholders like Manny Pacquiao, Dmitry Bivol, Errol Spence, Shawn Porter, Jaime Munguia, Jaron Ennis, and Yordenis Ugas. His current roster includes Katie Taylor, Vergil Ortiz Jnr, Denys Berinchyk, Erickson Lubin and Eimantas Stanionis.

For Rodriguez, being a great coach or cutman isn't just about technical skills – it's about mastering the fundamentals, understanding a fighter's mental state, and knowing your role within the team. Perhaps his ability to work as part of a team comes naturally, as does being in the "blood business." Rodriguez has spent 37 years with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, including the last two decades as a homicide detective.

“A great coach is someone who pays attention and makes the fighter master the fundamentals – both physically and mentally,” Rodriguez told BoxingScene. “Just because someone is fast doesn’t mean they react quicker. John Wooden said it best: ‘Be fast, but don’t hurry.’ It’s not enough to be quick if you can’t effectively use the tools you’ve got.” His meticulous approach mirrors the precision needed in every corner. A coach, like a cutman, must understand the fighter inside and out.

Rodriguez learned this over years of working with boxing’s biggest names. From time spent with top trainers like Freddie Roach, Buddy McGirt, and Stephen “Breadman” Edwards, whom he considers family, he has soaked up knowledge he can apply to modern rising stars like Vergil Ortiz Jnr. His journey started when he first stepped into a boxing gym in Concord, California, under coach Terry Lee. He compares a boxing team to a NASCAR pit crew, where every member knows their role.

“The guy changing tires isn’t handling the fuel. That’s the best way I can describe a good team,” Rodriguez said. “As fight night approaches, the people who have access to the fighter should shrink. Everyone needs to know their role so the fighter has the best chance to win.”

Though boxing is a results-driven business, Rodriguez believes success goes beyond outcomes – it's about building trust, proving your value, and becoming indispensable to the team. This mindset has helped him forge lasting bonds, particularly with former unified champion Julian Williams and Edwards, his trainer. Rodriguez joined their team during Williams' fourth pro fight in December 2010 at Chumash Casino, Santa Ynez, California.

“We’ve been together for 14 years. Julian and Breadman are like family to me,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve stayed in each other’s homes, and our relationship has grown beyond boxing.”

Edwards recalls their first meeting.

“I met Mike Rodriguez through BoxRec,” Edwards said. “I saw his name as the manager for a fighter from California. I told him I wanted to match J-Rock with the kid because we were fighting at Chumash Casino. Mike laughed and said J-Rock would light the kid up but mentioned he also worked cuts. So I brought him on as our cutman, and we've been together ever since.”

Edwards, known as a trainer also has a popular weekly boxing column, praised Rodriguez beyond the typical credit given to cutmen.

“He’s probably the best cutman in boxing, and it’s symbolic to me that we started around the same time,” Edwards said. “Mike is like family. I trust him to not only do his job, but he knows me so well that during fight week, he instinctively knows what to do and what not to do. He’s a great man.”

Ortiz Jnr, a top contender at junior welterweight, is viewed by many as one of the sport's future stars. Rodriguez joined Ortiz’s team for his fight against welterweight Michael McKinson, while giving full credit to Robert Garcia, Vergil Ortiz Snr and Hector Beltran, who also are a part of Ortiz’s team.

“I was brought in four fights ago to be Vergil Ortiz’s cutman,” Rodriguez said. “In the second round of our first fight together, Vergil got cut, and I was able to stop it. He ended up knocking the guy out in the 11th round. From that moment on, I earned my spot.”

According to Rodriguez, bonds like this are built on mutual respect and shared experiences.

“When you go to war with someone in the ring, that bond usually flourishes,” Rodriguez said. “It’s about proving yourself professionally, so they know if something happens to their face, you’ll get them through it.”

Even as one of boxing’s top cutmen, Rodriguez remains humble, giving credit to his peers in the industry.

“There’s mutual respect among us,” Rodriguez said. “There’s less politics at our level because we’ve proven ourselves. Too many people now try to be a gimmick. I always tell young cutmen, let your work speak for itself.”

Rodriguez speaks with admiration for Jacob “Stitch” Duran, as well as Rudy Hernandez, Danny Milano, Carlos Vargas and Joe Chavez, who laid the groundwork for his career. His career isn’t just about patching up cuts – it’s about forming unbreakable bonds, knowing your role, and mastering the fundamentals. After all, as Rodriguez says, “the devil is in the details.”

Mike Bazzel recalls the first time he met cutman Mike Rodriguez during a tough fight between his fighter Bruno Escalante and Matthew Villanueva at the Sportsman’s Lodge in Studio City, California. Escalante, despite being hurt, battled through eight rounds, cutting Villanueva over the eye early in the fight. The cut was deep and in a difficult spot, but Rodriguez managed to stop the bleeding, allowing Villanueva to keep fighting and win the fight.

"I remember after the fight, both fighters were battered," Bazzel said. "It was Bruno’s toughest fight, but Mike stopped that cut, and it was an incredible job. I went up to him and told him, 'Man, we tried to get Bruno to go after that cut, but you pulled it together. I’ve got to commend you, that was a wonderful job.'"

That moment sparked a friendship and mutual respect. "Mike is world-class," Bazzel added. "When something bad happens in the ring, he's the guy who will make sure your fighter can keep going. A world-class fighter needs a world-class cut man, and Mike brings that."

His success earned him a high-profile client – Katie Taylor. This means that once again, come November 16 in Texas, Rodriguez will square off with Bazzel. 

“Let me give you an example. I’m now working with Katie Taylor, and I give my good friend Mike Bazzel credit,” Rodriguez said. “He was double-booked, and I worked with Katie. Now, Katie's fighting Amanda Serrano. Mike works with Amanda, so now I’m working with Katie, and Mike’s working with Amanda for the rematch. This is one of the biggest women’s fights ever.”

Rodriguez has passed on the crew to his son Andrew, who is now a veteran and respected cut man in his own right. Andrew has worked with Stanionis, a current titleholder amongst other various professionals. Rodriguez has a career goal though as he has worked with 27 titleholders, but aims to work with many more. 

“I think a realistic goal at this point might be 40,” Rodriguez said. “Because world champions don’t grow on trees.”

Lucas Ketelle is a proud member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and author of “Inside The Ropes of Boxing” (available on Amazon). Contact him on X @LukieBoxing.

It was a cold Thursday morning in Mossley, England, just outside Manchester.

On the second floor of a drafty mill, unbeaten Irish super middleweight Tommy Hyde was making preparations for his 10th professional fight with his new trainer, Lee Beard.

It is certainly a change of scenery for the 25-year-old Hyde, 9-0 (6 KOs), who has been training in Los Angeles but recently decided to leave his California training base and move back, closer to his home of Cork in southwestern Ireland.

Hyde’s father, well-known manager Gary Hyde, sat quietly watching his son move around with his new gym mate, English light heavyweight titleholder Troy James.

Hyde is renowned for his work with Guillermo Rigondeaux and a host of other Cuban fighters. It has been more than a decade since the respected Beard began training a group of them, and his work with Alexei Acosta, Mike Perez and Luis Garcia made a lasting impression on the Hyde family.

When the tall, technically sharp Tommy Hyde needed a new trainer, Beard’s name sprang immediately to mind.

After ticking off his final sparring session before getting on a flight back to America for his fight with Germany’s Aro Schwartz, 23-9-1 (15 KOs) – which takes place in Boston on Friday night – Hyde sat down with BoxingScene to discuss his move.

“Everything's going great, I just wanted to come closer to home. It’s only a 50-minute flight from Cork to Manchester, and I’ve known Lee a good few years,” he said. “I’ve heard the name for ages because he trained a couple of the fellas that my dad used to manage. We reached out to Lee and came over and gelled with him for a session. He's given me great one-to-one time, three hours a day in the gym. I’ve got great sparring here with Troy in the gym, so I’m loving it in Manchester.

“It's brilliant, and I think it suits me, being a tall middleweight. I like to box and I like to fight as well, and he's a bit of both. He’s adding to all aspects of my style and just creating a stronger, more powerful fighter.”

Hyde has already won the BUI super middleweight title by stopping the decent Craig McCarthy in five rounds and, this Friday, he was due to box tough former Northern Area titlist Adam Hepple in a fight that would have given a good indication of where he would slot into the British scene. But the aggressive Hepple withdrew, and Hyde will instead box Schwartz – a 5ft 11in tall southpaw – in what looks like a solid step up.

Hyde isn’t being handled with kid gloves, but if he is to reach the level he believes he can get to, it is the type of test he should pass. 

“I just want to stay busy and start collecting titles after this one,” he said. “There’s a lot of talent in England, and there's a good domestic scene in Ireland as well. Obviously, Canelo's the main man out there, but by the time I'm up there in the next two or three years, he'll be gone, so hopefully I'll be there to take over.

“I know it's a long game, but I'm improving every day in the gym. I'm working hard every day in the gym, and when the time comes for me to be stepping up, I'll be ready to beat all of them.”

Not every young fighter gets the luxury of making their debut in their hometown, cheered on by friends and family. But Hyde made his professional bow thousands of miles from his birthplace.

He took advantage of his father’s American contacts and got his career underway on a small show in the boxing backwater of Sioux Falls, North Dakota, just under two years ago. Since then, Hyde has steadily worked his way east and is quickly becoming a popular attraction in and around Boston.

With a growing fan base on both sides of the Atlantic, a settled training situation and a father who has seen everything there is to see in the sport, Hyde is ideally placed to make an impact. And he has plans to expand his horizons even wider. 

“There's been a couple of people who were at the fight who are still following me online from Sioux City, but it's not a big boxing city,” he said. “But in the likes of Boston – and I'm supposed to fight in Melbourne – we were selling a lot of tickets there, and then I’ve obviously got a huge following in Cork. I try to meet anyone that comes to watch me fight and try and make a personal connection with them so that they come and support me for the next fights, too. It’s growing all the time in Boston, so hopefully I can bring big nights to Boston, big nights to Cork and then over to Australia as well next year.”

John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79

On Saturday, Regis Prograis returns for the first time since losing to Devin Haney when he takes on Jack Catterall at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England, on DAZN.

Prograis, 29-2 (24 KOs), suffered a one-sided unanimous decision defeat to Haney in December, losing every round on the scorecards and getting knocked down as well. 

“Rougarou” reflected on his rocky performance in which he landed just 36 punches and absorbed 129 shots. 

“The moment was so big for me, and maybe I got lost in the moment,” Prograis told BoxingScene. “I wanted to win so bad. I should have gone out there and enjoyed myself, but I didn't do me. I don't know what was going on.   

“I stayed in camp for too long in the Haney fight, and you're not supposed to do that. I feel like that's what kind of messed me up a little bit too. Usually, I do a six-to-eight-week camp and I trained for four months for that fight. I was training three or four times a day. Camp is so hard that you need to give yourself mental breaks, and I didn't do that. I gave myself mental breaks closer to the fight and I should have been doing that way earlier. When you look at it in hindsight, it was definitely too long. When I was doing it though, I wanted to do it. I had a certain formula, and then I got into a big fight against Devin and tried to change everything up. That's not what got me to being a two-time champion. But you live and you learn.”

Haney moved on from the Prograis win to fight Ryan Garcia in April, a bout that has since been shrouded in controversy. Haney was dropped three times and suffered a majority decision loss only to have the bout later be ruled a ‘no contest’ after Garcia tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug ostarine. 

“It was a bad beating, and beatings like that definitely take off of your career,” said Prograis. “But you never know. It's about his mental and how he can come back from that. Some people can come back, and some people can't. It's really a question mark right now. The whole world will now see how he comes back and performs.” 

Prograis said he would like to have a rematch with Haney one day, but he knows he needs to do some serious work to get there. Beating Catterall, 29-1 (13 KOs), in a crossroads clash will get him back on track. 

“This is my last fight under contract with Matchroom but I like everything about them and would most likely go back to them,” said Prograis. “Matchroom is doing some big things but it's all about the money and who brings the best things. We'll see after this fight what happens and whoever else offers me the best deal.

“I think I'll smoke everybody. That's just the confidence I have in myself.” 

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) , Instagram , LinkedIn and YouTube , through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com .

Lawrence Okolie has a new promoter.

The London based boxer won the WBC bridgerweight title back in May, but then vacated the title to move up to the heavyweight division.

Since that point, many have been wondering what is next for Okolie.

One of the questions surrounds his promotion team.

Lawrence Okolie was previously working with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing, but then left to join BOXXER after a bitter ending to their relationship.

It seems that Okolie has now found a more permanent home.

And it’s with another promotion altogether.

Queensbury Promotions have announced that Lawrence Okolie has signed a contract to join their roster.

Sharing the news on Twitter, Frank Warren has

“Lawrence possesses all the attributes to make a big impact at heavyweight,” tweeted Warren.

“There are so many exciting fights and options out there for Lawrence and I am so looking forward to getting him started again!”

It seems that Lawrence Okolie is equally as enthused about the proposition.

Speaking to the Queensbury Promotions website, he de

“There is only one place,” Okolie stated about his new home.Moses Itauma welcomes potential Johnny Fisher fight at Usyk-Fury II press conference

“If you are a heavyweight in Britain or the world, it is the Warrens.

“They’ve got the best up and coming heavyweights, the best current heavyweights and the best who are on their way out.

“So it is the place to be, for me.

“It has gone through different phases in my career and I needed to find a home that would cater for this next period, right to the end of my career, which is the heavyweight dream of being a three-weight world champion.

“I am a natural for the weight, right from being on the GB team.

“I have been struggling with making weight but, when you have success, you keep on pushing it.

“I even had to come down to make bridgerweight, so I knew it was time to go up.”

“I am thrilled to add Lawrence to our burgeoning heavyweight ranks here at Queensberry and I fully expect him to increase our successes in the marquee division,” added Frank Warren.

“Lawrence possesses all the attributes to make a big impact at heavyweight and he will relish being released of the burden of cutting weight, allowing his natural talent and power to shine through.

“There are so many exciting fights and options out there for Lawrence and I am so looking forward to getting him started again.”

The future will be interesting to see what fights Queensbury Promotions line up for Okolie now that he’s moved to the heavyweight division.

At least for now, we know who will be managing his future at that level.The newest addition to the home of the Heavyweights @Lawrence_tko

The two-weight world champion signs with Queensberry, full story: https://t.co/Cjur1hcwV4pic.twitter.com/pa9Xyr8lQv

— Queensberry Promotions (@Queensberry) October 25, 2024

Just when you thought that Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions had the heavyweights all tied up, they’ve added another world title hopeful to the team in the shape of former cruiserweight and bridgerweight belt-holder Lawrence Okolie.

The 31-year-old, previously under the guidance of Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom and then Ben Shalom’s Boxxer, had a brief excursion to heavyweight in 2017 when he weighed 210lbs while stopping Rudolf Helesic. The banner division has been the long-term aim for "The Sauce" since turning over after competing in the 2016 Olympics.

“There is only one place,” Okolie said about his link up with Warren. “If you are a heavyweight in Britain or the world, it is the Warrens. They’ve got the best up-and-coming heavyweights, the best current heavyweights and the best who are on their way out.

“So, it is the place to be, for me.

“It has gone through different phases in my career and I needed to find a home that would cater for this next period, right to the end of my career, which is the heavyweight dream of being a three-weight world champion.

“I am a natural for the weight, right from being on the GB team. I have been struggling with making weight but, when you have success, you keep on pushing it. I even had to come down to make bridgerweight, so I knew it was time to go up.”

Okolie, 20-1 (15 KOs), knocked out Krzystof Glowacki to win the WBO cruiserweight strap in 2021 only to lose the title in his fourth defense to Chris Billam-Smith two years later. A one-round bludgeoning of the overmatched Lukasz Rozanski, for the lightly-regarded WBC bridgerweight gong, followed in May this year. That belt was subsequently relinquished.

Warren currently guides Tyson Fury, IBF titlist Daniel Dubois, Fabio Wardley, Derek Chisora, Joe Joyce, leading heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma, Derek Chisora and has recently represented top contenders Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.

“I am thrilled to add Lawrence to our burgeoning heavyweight ranks here at Queensberry and I fully expect him to increase our successes in the marquee division,” said Warren.

“Lawrence possesses all the attributes to make a big impact at heavyweight and he will relish being released of the burden of cutting weight, allowing his natural talent and power to shine through.

“There are so many exciting fights and options out there for Lawrence and I am so looking forward to getting him started again.”

There was no objection from Frazer Clarke or his team about the gloves worn by Fabio Wardley prior to the latter winning their rematch, nor did the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) investigate said gloves after the brutal first round knockout in Saudi Arabia on October 12. 

The heavyweights had fought to a rousing 12-round draw in March so competitive and evenly fought that the quick and violent finish in the sequel, punctuated by a visible fracture to Clarke’s jaw, came as a surprise to almost everyone.

It emerged last week that the loser’s promoter, Ben Shalom, was calling for an investigation following unsubstantiated claims that the padding in the winner’s gloves fell below the legislated level. Shalom suggested a doctor had voiced their displeasure about Wardley’s gloves but the BBBoC’s Chief Medical Officer, Neil Scott, confirmed to BoxingScene he neither expressed that concern nor heard anyone else doing so.

In a video seen by BoxingScene, which was recorded on the eve of the rematch and after the gloves were approved by all parties, Clarke observed that Wardley’s gloves were “very thin” but he was not “too fussed”.

Initially talking about his own choice of gloves before comparing them to those to be worn by his opponent, Clarke said: “It’s what I’m used to; I wear Everlast, felt good in them, they protect my hands. Then obviously I felt my opponent’s gloves and nothing really. For me, gloves are gloves, people are different. 

“If this hits you in the face in them [Everlast] gloves it’s going to hurt one way or another,” Clarke said while cocking his fist. “So, I’m not too fussed when it comes to those things. It’s a fight, they could put me in anything, and I’ll be alright.”

“I touched my glove and I touched his, he was touching mine, and I said, ‘Mine are pillows compared [to his gloves].’ His gloves are very, very thin, let’s say, and unpadded but he’s got to land them on me.”

That one set of gloves can feel ‘thinner’ than another might appear a cause for concern. Not so according to the BBBoC’s Dennis Gilmartin, who has tightened the rules to ensure that all gloves used on BBBoC-regulated events meet strict standards. Those procedures have since been adopted by the European Boxing Union [EBU]. 

The design of all gloves worn in fights commissioned by BBBoC must be vetted long before they’re used in a fight. “Gloves are checked extensively before they’re approved. It’s a laborious process and it doesn’t happen quickly,” he told BoxingScene before going on to explain that each glove will be weighed (by the gram) to ensure it doesn’t weigh less than the legislated weight before the glove is dissected to ensure that alien materials are not used. They’re then extensively trialled by licensed boxers in licensed gyms. In short, it is perfectly normal for certain gloves to feel different to others; some will have more man-made padding than those with a higher concentration of horse hair, for example. 

“First and foremost, they have to weigh a minimum amount,” Gilmartin said. “So the weights are all the same but if certain gloves are heavily loaded around the back of the hand and the wrist [and therefore have less padding around the knuckles] we won’t approve them. But, yes, there are gloves that are known as ‘puncher’s’ gloves, there are gloves that will have extra padding to protect those who suffer with hand injuries. No two pairs are going to be exactly the same.”

Gilmartin went on to explain that the Everlast gloves worn by Clarke are mass produced compared to the Fly gloves worn by Wardley (in both fights), which are handmade to the specific dimensions of a fighter's hands. Naturally, they will feel different. 

All approved gloves are listed on the BBBoC website. “We have removed certain gloves over the years [from the approved list],” Gilmartin said. He stressed that in such cases the issue with those gloves was identified by the BBBoC and never because a boxer or trainer had objected to them. “Injury is not caused by a glove,” he said, “but by the person wearing the glove… We have seen similar injuries caused, and it’s not just heavyweights, it’s in the lower weights too. There is no pattern in the make of the gloves – the pattern is with the accuracy and weight of the punches.”

The gloves are inspected before the fight to ensure they’re consistent with the approved design. All parties will check gloves to ensure everyone is happy to proceed. On this occasion, the inspector overseeing the process and checking the gloves alongside the boxers and their teams was the head of the BBBoC, Robert Smith.

“Nothing wrong with the gloves, I did the gloves meeting,” Smith told BoxingScene via text message on Wednesday. “There was no objection to the gloves [before the fight].”

Despite only being involved in boxing for a few years, Turki Alalshikh along with Riyadh Season has produced some of the best fight cards the sport has ever seen.

Their most recent card was headlined by Beterbiev-Bivol, which signified the first undisputed light-heavyweight fight to take place since 2002.

The card also included a rematch between Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke, the ever-present Chris Eubank Jr, IBF Cruiserweight World Champion Jai Opetaia, internet sensation Ben Whittaker, and the first-ever female world title fight to take place in Saudi Arabia between Skye Nicholson and Raven Chapman.

It has become the norm to expect His Excellency to present a full card of exciting fights.

On December 21st this is no different, the night headlined by the rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk is packed with quality fights.

In a video on Twitter/ X, last week Turki Alalshikh and Eddie Hearn announced plans for a new show.

Alalshikh: “Eddie, are you ready for the card in February?”

Hearn: February 22nd, I think it’s the best card yet for Riyadh Season.”

Since then, Vergil Ortiz and Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez’s trainer Robert Garcia speaking to BoxingScene has said that there are plans for his fighters to feature on this card.

WBC interim super welterweight champion Ortiz, could potentially fight the current IBF welterweight world champion, Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.

WBC super flyweight world champion ‘Bam’ Rodriguez could fight 37-year-old former four-weight world champion, Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez.Moses Itauma welcomes potential Johnny Fisher fight at Usyk-Fury II press conference

Ortiz captured the interim super welterweight title by defeating Serhii Bohachuk by majority decision.

The fight was seen by fans as a robbery and what made it worse was Ortiz’s refusal to offer his opponent a rematch.

Whilst ‘Boots’ is the world champion, he would most likely be seen as the B-side in a fight with Ortiz, if it were to take place.

There is potential that ‘Bam’ Rodriguez could face critisicm from some boxing fans if he were to fight ‘Chocolatito’.

This is because the man from Nicaragua at 37-years-old is nearing the end of his career and he is not what he once was, so it could be seen that 24-year-old ‘Bam’ would be using him as a stepping stone.

Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season are making fights happen which ordinarily would potentially have been unlikley to have been made.

Boxing fans will be excited about the possibility of these fights taking place and for the announcement of the full card.

‘Boots’ returns to the ring after defeating David Avanesyan to defend his IBF welterweight title on November 9th, in a rematch against Karen Chukhadzhian at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

‘Bam’ Rodriguez returns after his knockout win against Juan Francisco Estrada to defend his WBC super flyweight title against Pedro Guevara on the same card.pic.twitter.com/atoEFMrN4P

— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) October 19, 2024

Conor Benn could make his long-awaited ring return in the UK in the coming months, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.

Britain’s Benn, 28, has been fighting in the US since two failed PED tests came to light in October 2022. According to Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, the British fighter would soon have a date to fight in front of his home crowd.

“We'll be finding out soon when Conor Benn will be ready to fight in the UK,” Hearn said in an interview with Pro Boxing Fans. “Could be December, could be January, could be February, could be March, but it'll be within that region, I believe.”

Benn twice tested positive for banned substance Clomifene in 2022, leading to the cancelation of his scheduled October 8 fight with Chris Eubank Jnr. Benn, citing unfair treatment, relinquished his boxing licence with the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) when he was called to a hearing. He was later provisionally suspended by United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD).

Nine months after the cancellation of Eubank Jnr’s fight, a ruling made by the National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP) saw Benn’s provisional suspension lifted. Benn, 23-0 (14 KOs), made his US debut in a 10-round decision over Rodolfo Orozco in Orlando, Florida in September last year.

In February this year, Benn decisioned Peter Dobson in 12 rounds. In May, UKAD and the BBBoC won an appeal against the NADP’s ruling and he was returned to a state of provisional suspension. Even so, Benn and Eubank Jnr have been busy in recent weeks ramping up the interest in a belated showdown.

Earlier this month, the duo traded words in the ring after Eubank Jnr had defeated Kamil Szeremeta in seven rounds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“You are a kid, watch what happens when we go at it,” said Eubank Jnr.

Benn hit back: “Yeah, a kid that’s going to fuck you up. Dead boy walking, that’s what you are. “I’ll give you an arse beating in front of 60,000 people. You’ll see what happens. Arrogant prick.”

It was tempting, when witnessing the crushed and concussed Tim Tszyu speak at the press conference that followed his stoppage defeat by Bakhram Murtazaliev, to wonder if the bubble that had grown around the golden boy of Australian boxing had burst.

Tszyu, unusually in the circumstances of defeat, had perhaps emerged from losing for the first time, to Sebastian Fundora in Las Vegas in March, with his reputation and profile enhanced. 

It was partly for that reason that his co-promoters Premier Boxing Champions rewarded him with an immediate fight for a world title, against the IBF junior-middleweight champion at Orlando’s Caribe Royale. They were also partly rewarding his willingness to fight Fundora at late notice – on the occasion of the launch of their broadcast agreement with Amazon Prime – when in Keith Thurman he had prepared for a significantly different nature of opponent, and would have recognised the value his undoubted marketability represents.

The handsome, photogenic son of a long-celebrated champion, complemented by the high-profile platform presented by Australia’s Fox Sports and Main Event, has long been a household name in his home country and had become increasingly popular overseas. For all of Murtazaliev’s abilities – and there remained an element of mystery surrounding the heavy-handed Russian – his limited grasp of the English language contributed to Tszyu being considered considerably more capable of becoming one of the poster boys of a new era for PBC.

That he had such an admirable willingness to not only fight Murtazaliev – and had previously been so ready to fight Virgil Ortiz Jnr – without a lower-key, lower-risk date to recover from what had unfolded against Fundora had contributed to that, as did the fearlessness and conviction with which he carried himself, in the belief that on a night when he fought for 10 rounds with blood pouring from his scalp and into his eyes the judges had been wrong to award Fundora a split-decision victory.

If Kostya Tszyu chose to be present in Florida – he had last attended one of his oldest son’s fights when he made his professional debut in 2016 – because he was aware of the threat posed by the 31-year-old Murtazaliev, he would also have detected the increased threat he posed off the back of his son recording his first defeat. 

In the aftermath of Tim Tszyu’s corner throwing in the towel in the third round to rescue him from the inevitability of further punishment, not only had losing to Murtazaliev become the most damaging night of his career, the fight against Fundora looked considerably worse. In the modern era still influenced by the long-retired Floyd Mayweather, successive defeats prompt numerous questions – many of them unjust – and whether or not Tszyu and his “brand” (another word capable of defining so much of a sport that in 2024 unfolds as much on social media as it does in the ring) can recover is prominent among them.

It was when Tszyu, 29, had become the most appealing challenger to the then-undisputed junior-middleweight champion Jermell Charlo that he was on course to realise his potential. Three fights later (his past victory was over Brian Mendoza), despite his plans to relocate to Vegas, he is faced with rebuilding his career in Australia – but where he will realise he can still succeed.

The long-term investment of broadcasters Fox Sports and Main Event in not only the career of Tszyu but that of his younger brother Nikita and their agreement with Tszyu’s Australia-based co-promoter No Limit means that there exists the publicity of the Fox Sports and News organisations that includes newspapers and online publications. The marketing machine earned largely by his surname but gradually justified by his character and career will remain influential if Tszyu – who has long been the hungriest of fighters – retains the physical gifts and confidence that until relatively recently had inspired his ongoing rise.

“Back to back losses at this level is obviously a long way from ideal,” Ben Damon, of Fox Sports and Main Event, told BoxingScene. “It would have been seen by some as sensible to take an easier fight – not a somewhat mysterious world champion like Murtazaliev, particularly coming off that bloody loss to Fundora – and everyone would agree with that now, with the benefit of hindsight. 

“The fact is, because of how big a star Tim’s become, lower-level fights could have sold really well and done significant business for Main Event and No Limit, without the same level of risk, but that’s just not who Tim Tszyu is – he always wants the hardest fights and he’s drawn towards the risk. They took that risk because they wanted to shoot for the stars and of course a loss was a real blow but it’s not the end of the road – Australian boxing won’t be throwing in the towel.

“Tim will remain a star in Australia and his next fight will be a significant fight regardless. There’s a match-up that probably needs to happen at some point between one of the Tszyu brothers, Tim or Nikita, and Michael Zerafa. That’s a huge domestic fight and Zerafa has made himself the bad guy of Australian boxing. So that’s the obvious fight for Tim now, but who knows if he will want to do the obvious thing? Ultimately it’s Tim’s call but he’s not going to stop being a huge name in Australia and a star in the Aussie sporting market because of these losses. There will be huge interest in what moves he makes next.”

Michael Zerafa, unlike Tszyu little-known beyond Australia, has already claimed that they are negotiating a fight – potentially because of the knowledge that had Tszyu defeated Murtazaliev without enduring a significant injury he planned to make the first defence of his title in Sydney between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.

In the end, a fight for which he was considered the favourite became what the retired Shawn Porter, commentating from ringside, described as a “one-sided beatdown”. Those invested in Tszyu may have admired his reckless bravery – the determination to force a knockdown so soon after suffering the first that he so quickly returned to his feet instead of taking his time to recover – as much as they’d have felt frustrated by his tactics and naivety.

Tszyu appeared to believe that he could walk Murtazaliev down – and it was reported, post-fight, that his corner had instructed him to avoid taking risks during the opening four rounds. He once may have been accused of attempting to impress his father – little over 48 hours earlier again described of Australia’s “greatest of all time” – instead, what was witnessed above all else was the conviction of a young fighter who had so transparently become his own man.

“Tim has been fighting as a headliner on pay-per-view since he won the Australian title [against Joel Camilleri] in 2019 and he’s steadily built into being a huge pay-per-view seller in Australia, so naturally there’s a lot of interest and investment from No Limit, from Tim Tszyu and his team, and from Main Event and Fox Sports, in getting as many eyeballs as possible in front of everything that happens in the build-up to a fight and particularly in fight week, to get the best possible result,” Damon continued. “That’s the nature of promotion of a fighter and an event.

“It’s fair to assume that Tim would probably not have had the springboard at an early stage of his career, without that surname, but he did still have to win the fights, and he got himself to a level where he’s been able to emerge, in Australia at least, out of Kostya’s shadow. Internationally Kostya still has a great impact on how Tim is received, and he has probably received enhanced opportunities in America because of the path that Kostya blazed, but it can’t be doubted that he’s doing his own thing and has been doing it very, very well. Tim really is his own man, and has become his own star.

“Kostya was adopted and made an absolute darling by the Australian public, because of the way that he fought and how exciting his style was, and the great success he had in becoming champion, but also because of the way that he carried himself outside the ring. He had an accent and a unique demeanour that really endeared him to the Australian sporting public, and he became a real mainstream star through those times, so of course that surname holds a lot of weight.

“For one of the really significant, early, pay-per-view fights Tim had against Jack Brubaker, we brought Kostya out to be a big part of that promotion, and that really had a positive effect. On the other side, Brubaker’s trainer was Jeff Fenech, so it pitted the two legends against each other, and Jeff is an icon in Australia, so anytime he’s involved in any promotion it’s really significant. 

“It feels like Tim has been pretty happy that Kostya hasn’t been around his professional boxing journey, because he can do his own thing. He’s the star, and he doesn’t have to worry so much about how his dad’s going to react, but he at least seems to have got to a point now – he’s very comfortable for his dad to be around. Previously, when Kostya was going to come to a fight and couldn’t at the last minute, Tim said he was relieved. Now it has felt like he believes he’s ready to have him around.

“The Tszyu family and Kostya’s relationship with his former wife and with his children, and his new family in Russia, did play out at times like something of a soap opera but it’s probably not something that has the same level of focus on it now. Kostya, being such a huge personality and such a huge star, was always going to have that sort of microscope on him – particularly when you consider that he came to Australia with Natasha, who is such a strong and glamorous person, and they were a pair that was immediately picked up and loved by the Australian public. They’ve had a lot of focus on them for a long, long time and they’ve all handled it very well – they’re all very civil now and supportive of each other.”

Nikita Tszyu, Tim’s 26-year-old younger brother, is a 10-0 professional who also fights at 154lbs and who was present in the corner on fight night in Orlando. Nikita and Kostya were seeing each other for the first time in 11 years, but more relevant in the context of his brother’s career is that the interest that exists in Nikita can also maintain that in Tim, particularly if Tim – as would unquestionably be wise – rests following so challenging a 2024, and Nikita remains active and potentially even gives Tim a chance to still be seen. 

“It’s probably incredible to an international audience that Nikita Tszyu, at such early stage in his career, is already a pay-per-view fighter in Australia,” Damon explained. “The Tszyu surname – not only being his dad’s, but his brother’s – meant he was launched on to TV and headlined a Fox Sports show on debut [against Aaron Stahl]. Tim was in relative obscurity for a long time before the decisions and the investments were made in him and he performed accordingly.

“Nikita’s such an entertaining person and fighter – his fights are really compelling; he’s such a big puncher. He’s happy to get hit, which I know his dad’s not particularly pleased about. But it makes for such exciting television that he’s attracted a huge audience and a huge following already, at such a young stage. He does the business inside the ring, and his quirky personality outside the ring has really brought that mainstream audience as well. He’s someone – when he talks, people listen, and you never know what you’re going to hear, because he’s on a different planet a lot of the time, which has really helped him grow and become an emerging star, and [become] someone who’s already doing significant business for all those who are invested in him.”

Australian boxing has never before had such an array of talent. Jai Opetaia is the world’s finest cruiserweight and, like the junior welterweight Liam Paro, the featherweight Skye Nicolson, the bantamweight Cherneka Johnson, and the light heavyweight Che Kenneally, a reigning world champion. Nicolson is similarly marketable to Tszyu, but competing in one of the most machismo of professions, and more relevantly vying for the attention of one of the most machismo cultures of all. 

Even with Sam Goodman finally confirmed as the challenger to the revered, undisputed super-bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue on December 24, Tszyu – the single-minded throwback with the admirable willingness to risk, unlike almost all of his contemporaries, being dismissive of the influential Turki Alalshikh – remains, without question, Australian boxing’s face. 

“It is the golden era in Australian boxing’s history,” says Damon, “and we are riding a remarkable wave of success.”

Gervonta Davis for many years now has proclaimed himself as ‘The face of boxing’.

Whether this is true or not, the man known as ‘Tank’ is certainly one of the biggest draws when it comes to pay-per-view figures.

Recently in Las Vegas, the reigning WBA lightweight champion knocked out Frank Martin in eight rounds, solidifying his dominance in the 135lb division and reinforcing the belief that he is the best in his weight class.

Post the fight, there were links of unification contests between the man from Baltimore and Vasyl Lomachenko (IBF) and Shakur Stevenson (WBC).

However, these fights have not materialised due to his rivals not being available.

Despite this, after rumours of the knockout artist returning on December 14th, it was confirmed that he would be fighting the current WBA super featherweight champion Lamont Roach (25-1-1), on this date at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX.

Since, losing for the first time in his career to Jamel Herring in 2019, Roach has gone on a six-fight win streak.

‘The Reaper’ notably defeated former ‘Tank’ opponent Hector Luis Garcia last November to claim his WBA title.

He then went on to defend his title in June by defeating Feargal McCrory by TKO in the eighth round.Ring Magazine rankings include surprise top two

However, per Dan Rafael on his Twitter/ X account, the fight is in doubt.

Been told by 3 sources involved in the event there’s good chance Tank-Roach won’t happen Dec. 14 as announced on PBC social platforms & by the fighters. Venue issue may be reason I’m told. Might happen as planned but unclear. 1 deemed it “50-50.” Could get pushed to early ‘25.

He then went on to say that there is no issue between the fighter’s deals, but the fight is not fully finalised, due to venue complications.

Therefore, it would seem as if the fight may not happen until 2025.

Furthermore, due to the rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk occurring on December 21st, it is very unlikely that the PBC would schedule the fight for this date.

Fight fans will have to wait and see how Gervonta Davis’ fight plays out, but what is certain is that blockbuster clashes await him.Been told by 3 sources involved in the event there’s good chance Tank-Roach won’t happen Dec. 14 as announced on PBC social platforms & by the fighters. Venue issue may be reason I’m told. Might happen as planned but unclear. 1 deemed it “50-50.” Could get pushed to early ‘25.

— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) October 24, 2024

Undefeated cruiserweight and former Love Island star, Tommy Fury, has been absent from the boxing ring for over a year now but he has not been absent from the headlines. However, after recent reports that the 25-year-old was set to appear on a major reality TV show, there has been a drastic U-turn from the Brit with a rematch with KSI the likely reason why.

Fury handed both Jake Paul and KSI their first professional defeats since each of the internet personalities made the switch to the fight game, declaring that he wishes to put an ‘end to influencer boxing’ before his clash with the latter.

After a dull six-rounds against Olajide Olatunji (KSI), it was Fury who got the controversial nod on the scorecards but the question as to where ‘TNT’ would go next was a difficult one.

From headlining pay-per-views against social media sensations, a return to building his career by fighting on undercards was a daunting proposal but that decision was taken out of his hands when he was ruled out for 2024 through injury.

With his rehab almost complete, Tommy Fury became one of the names linked with an appearance on beloved ITV reality show ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!”.

However, The Sun has now reported that Fury has pulled out of talks to star in the show in favour of ‘a more lucrative project’ – which is thought to be a second meeting with Olatunji, as a TV insider revealed that ‘bosses are surprised’ by the decision.Former heavyweight world champion set to return at 1,100 capacity venue

“Bosses are surprised Tommy has chosen to pull out of I’m A Celebrity at this late stage as it would have been a great opportunity for him too.

“Thankfully, the execs already had some great names waiting in the wings so they’ll now be looking at which ones fit best into the line up already booked so they can deliver a truly great series.

“With only weeks to go, bosses have lined up one of the most exciting casts in the show’s history.”

News of a potential rematch with KSI being around the corner for Fury conflict with this week’s comments from KSI’s manager, who explained that a second encounter between the popular pair would be expected to go ahead during late 2025.

Although, Fury may opt for a tune-up earlier in the year in an attempt to shake off any ring rust after the longest inactive spell of his career.

Anthony Joshua suffered a catastrophic knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois lost month as his plans to become a three-time world champion came crashing down in dramatic fashion. Instantaneously, both he and Eddie Hearn have called for a rematch, although it appears as though an injury may have hampered his plans.

‘AJ’ stepped through the ropes under the Wembley arch with the expectation of becoming boxing’s fifth three-time heavyweight champion but he was instead dispatched with relative ease by underdog Dubois.

From the opening bell onwards, ‘Triple D’ took the initiative and set out to prove why he was a worthy IBF world champion – and that he did.

A first-round knockdown set the tone for proceedings, and it was one-way traffic from there on out, as the poster boy of British boxing was dropped on four occasions, the last of which left Joshua laid face-first on the canvas and unable to beat the count.

Despite the one-sided dismissal of Joshua, the 35-year-old challenger has maintained that he wishes to meet with Dubois for a second time and level the scores, hopeful that a win could also tee-up the long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury – possibly even for the undisputed heavyweight title.

As a result of Fury’s unified title bout with Usyk in December, Joshua would realistically need to rematch Dubois in February so that he and Fury’s timelines align for a battle in mid 2025.

However, Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports that Joshua is carrying some minor injuries that makes a February return appear too quick of a turnaround, adding that a rematch with Dubois in May would be ‘ideal’.

“Our concern at the moment is just timing,”Sam Jones responds after Regis Prograis leaks his controversial fight prediction

“You’ve got a few little niggles, you get them looked at and then you can’t punch again for four, five weeks. If we’re going to fight him in February, we need to start camp in about three weeks’ time. It’s quite a fast turnaround.”

“Ideally we’d like to return around May time. It does feel as though it’s coming on quite quickly.

“From a body perspective we could probably do with a little bit more time ideally. Sometimes it’s not ideal and you just go for it. But we just need to decide are we going to be ready.

“[Joshua] has told me categorically: ‘I want the rematch.’ But it’s just a case of whether he’s going to be ready for February and that’s something they’re going to have to decide.

“It’s not ruled out. But we do appreciate it’s a fast turnaround.”

As for Dubois, he and Frank Warren are raring to go and full of confidence after the brutal beatdown that the IBF heavyweight champion handed his fellow Brit just a few weeks ago, and with Tyson Fury seeming to rule himself out of a meeting with Dubois, the Joshua rematch remains as his most lucrative proposal.

The comeback continues for bantamweight Manny Flores, who stopped Victor Olivo in the first round with a body shot in Thursday's main event at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California.

Flores, 19-1 (15 KOs), a 26-year-old fighter from Coachella, California, landed a right hook to the body that sent Olivo, 21-5-1 (9 KOs), to the canvas. Olivo was unable to beat the count administered by referee Thomas Taylor.

The stoppage came at 1:50 in the first.

Flores is now on a four-fight knockout streak since suffering his only career defeat, to Walter Santibanes in June 2023. His previous three knockouts occurred in the second round.

In the co-feature, undefeated featherweight Jose Sanchez, 14-0 (8 KOs), of Cathedral City, California, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Palomares, 18-6-3 (9 KOs), in the eighth round of an action-packed fight. The stoppage came at 53 seconds of the round.

Sanchez, 24, started slow as the 28-year-old Palomares was the busier fighter early on, outworking and outlanding his opponent through two rounds. By the middle rounds, Sanchez began to throw more punches, but Palomares kept the fight at close range, smothering Sanchez's attempts to generate power. The pro-Sanchez crowd grew quiet as their man struggled to find his rhythm.

However, after a strong fifth round, Sanchez’s body work started to take effect, with Palomares visibly slowing down and favoring his body. In the seventh, Sanchez began walking Palomares down, forcing him to box on the back foot.

In the eighth, Palomares pushed forward, sensing the fight could be close, but Sanchez caught him in the corner with a big right hand to the chin, followed by a barrage of punches, sending Palomares into the ropes and down. Palomares couldn’t beat the count and remained down before eventually getting to his feet under his own power.

Junior middleweight Grant Flores, 7-0 (5 KOs), the younger cousin of Manny Flores, earned a six-round unanimous decision over Luis Ramos, 7-5-1 (7 KOs), of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. The judges scored the bout 60-53, 60-53, and 59-54, all in favor of Flores.

The fight marked the second time Flores went the distance, with both instances occurring in six-round fights. Flores dropped Ramos with a left hook to the body in the fifth round.

Lightweight Daniel "Junebug" Garcia, now 10-0 (8 KOs), of Westminster, Colorado, knocked out Jorge Villegas, 14-4 (13 KOs), of Oxnard, California, in the second round of a scheduled six-round bout. Garcia dropped Villegas with a left hook to the body, causing him to spit out his mouthpiece, though Villegas rose at the count of nine. Garcia then dropped him again with a flurry of punches while Villegas was on the ropes, sending him to his knee. The stoppage came at 2:15 of the second round.

Cayden Griffiths, an 18-year-old junior welterweight from Lake Havasu City, Arizona, moved to 2-0 (2 KOs) after knocking out Markus Bowes, 2-7 (2 KOs), of Roxboro, North Carolina, in the second round. A left hook started the action, but it was a right hand that produced a delayed reaction as Bowes remained standing awkwardly, prompting referee David Soliven to stop the bout at 52 seconds of Round 2.

In the opening bout, 6ft lightweight Jonathan Canas (6-0, 2 KOs), of Santa Ana, California, won a six-round unanimous decision over Pedro Cruz (3-6, 2 KOs), of San Jose, California. All three judges scored the fight 60-54 for Canas. During the telecast, it was noted that Canas sparred with former unified titleholder Jose Ramirez and Oscar Duarte in preparation for this bout. Cruz suffered a cut from a punch in the fourth round, with two head clashes also occurring during the fight.

I rated Tim Tszyu highly before he entered the ring with Bakhram Murtazaliev – and I still rate him highly. 

There are some fighters who seek to protect their records and their brands, and there are others who fight everybody constantly, provide us with the most consistent entertainment, and don’t get the same rewards – and Tszyu is one of those. It’s little wonder there are so many fighters who are reluctant to take risks.

None of which is to say that fighting Murtazaliev wasn’t a difficult night for him – which is even more unfortunate, given it was his first fight since the unfortunate, badly-handled circumstances of his fight in March against Sebastian Fundora, which would have been a routine win for him until he suffered that cut.

I knew Murtazaliev was dangerous, but I didn’t expect him to beat Tszyu. The odds in Tszyu’s favour were ridiculous, and demonstrated, once again, that when promoters – ProBox included – make the most evenly matched fights, the oddsmakers are clueless about how to treat them. They’ve been spoiled by the many fights it’s easy to make odds for that they struggle to handle others, which is why so recently we’ve had upsets recorded by Murtazaliev and Omar Salcido over Chris Colbert.

It’s been reported that Tszyu was told by his team not to take risks in the opening four rounds, which is understandable, because the lack of knowledge that previously surrounded Murtazaliev meant that Tszyu was going into a dark room. It’s easy to say that he should have listened – even though he should have – because the emotional side of fighters can get the better of them. It’s very clear Tszyu wanted to prove something – and has wanted to since losing via split decision to Fundora. 

He was trying to fight Vergil Ortiz Jnr as soon as he could, after that first loss. He then willingly fought Murtazaliev. Even if he’d been told not to take those risks by his team, I believe he’d decided before he entered the ring that he was going to come out and make the biggest possible statement by taking chances to win in spectacular fashion. He stepped into that dark room, and it blew up in his face and he became the victim of a statement instead.

That first knockdown, in the second round, certainly shocked him. Murtazaliev held his ground while watching Tszyu trying to throw his uppercut and did a catch-and-shoot with the left hook, and made it look effortless – and I question whether he ever recovered. He made the same mistake before another of the knockdowns, too – which highlighted a technical flaw. He has to “hold the phone” with his right hand when he’s throwing those punches. 

When you’re fighting at close range like that it’s so important that you’re technically correct. 

He seemed so hellbent on making that statement that instead of adjusting after that first knockdown, it was like he told himself it was a flash knockdown he’d suffered. “I’m not breaking my mentality – I came to make a statement and I’m going to go right back after him.” Instead, he kept getting hurt – the instructions to not take any chances in the opening rounds went out of the window entirely. Emotionally, that’s how fighters can be.

If it had been stopped any earlier, a fighter like Tszyu would probably have been very, very angry – so much so you almost have to let it go on a little longer. Other fighters, maybe not, but we all knew he had a different type of character when he agreed to fight Ortiz. 

I’ve said it before – fighters from the east are different. So much so I’m tempted to make two pound-for-pound lists. One for “Hollywood” fighters, like Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney, and another for fighters who fight anybody and take losses – like Israil Madrimov, Serhii Bohachuk, and Tszyu, who don’t fight for a hobby but to be the best fighter possible. The criticism those who take losses get, by the way, is a lot to do with why “Hollywood” fighters exist. 

Perhaps those fighters need to take easier fights when they’re coming off a loss – they don’t do that enough. But they deserve more admiration when there are so many “Hollywood” fighters who want to fight dishwashers for DAZN, ESPN and Amazon money. All I’ve heard about Tszyu is criticism, when all he’s done is continually try to fight the best – it’s really frustrating to watch.

After losing to Murtazaliev, the time has come for him to return to Australia and get a win or two there at a lower level. He has to make sure that, having gone straight from Fundora to Murtazaliev, this is a lesson learned. There will still be plenty of talented junior middleweights to fight when he’s ready to step back up. 

It’s been suggested that whenever that is he won’t be the same fighter, which is possible, but it’s worth remembering that his father Kostya once got knocked out by Vince Phillips and had a couple of years when he wasn’t at the highest level. He had to take a step back before he returned to the top of the junior-welterweight division and reigned as champion. 

Murtazaliev was very impressive, and deserves more credit. He was already the IBF junior-middleweight champion, and even though I thought he was good and that the odds against him were ridiculous, I also underestimated him – I didn’t expect him to win. He’s become another player in a very, very good weight class, and one populated by fighters willing to fight each other – Ortiz and Terence Crawford included.

On Saturday, Jack Catterall fights Regis Prograis in Manchester, in what’s an appealing fight. Catterall looks, to me, to be attempting to stay busy and continuing to build his name, because he can certainly fight – and Prograis has become like Catterall’s former opponent Jorge Linares. He’s past his prime, and it’s difficult to say what victory over him should do for Catterall – who impressed in both fights with Josh Taylor – because against Haney, Prograis didn’t appear to have too much left. 

Catterall should have too much for Prograis, who’s becoming an opponent, and earn a decision. Catterall’s very crafty – victory will build his resume and lead to demands for him to have bigger tests.

Regis Prograis taunted Jack Catterall with a message from Catterall’s manager telling Prograis that he would “flatten” him if they fought.

Catterall and Prograis fight on Saturday evening at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, near Catterall’s hometown of Chorley, England.

Where the 31-year-old Catterall aims to secure a world-title fight, having impressively defeated his long-term rival Josh Taylor earlier in 2024, Prograis, 35, is seeking to revive his career following his convincing defeat in December 2023 by Devin Haney.

Catterall’s outspoken manager Sam Jones wasn’t working with him when he sent the relevant voice note to Prograis, but at Thursday’s final press conference the former junior welterweight champion played it for all to hear.

“I like Jack, by the way,” Jones could be heard saying. “I know him very well. But I do think you flatten him. You understand what I mean? Because you’re a different guy to Josh Taylor. Jack wants to fight you, but I think [inaudible].”

“I know when that was,” Jones responded. "I know when that was. Regis, I’ve got some messages of you, so just think very carefully before you play that next one. This is before I knew Jack. This is before I knew Jack. I’d never met Jack before. I had never met Jack. I had never met Jack. I’ve only known him two years. Regis, I’ve got some messages of you, and they’ll be posted later.”

“Go ahead, do it,” responded the straight-talking Prograis. “That’s fine.”

Jones repeated that that message had been sent before he knew Catterall – not that that necessarily ought to have affected his ability to judge him as a fighter.

“We spoke after the last fight and [Eddie Hearn] said I could get a world title shot in 2025,” Catterall said. “I’ve been in that position before; I’ve been waiting on something that might not happen. My instruction to Sam Jones and Matchroom was, ‘I want to fight the best’. Regis was the name proposed, and we jumped at it.”

“This is the fight I wanted,” said Prograis. “Me and Jack were supposed to fight a long time ago, but it didn’t happen for reasons; I feel like they didn’t want to fight. I think you [Hearn] backed them into a corner. This is a big fight, the best fight you can make at 140 without the belts. 

“Right now, I’m feeling super calm, super confident – about everything. I don’t feel like I’m away from home, to be honest. I expected the crowd to be more hostile, I expected people to be talking shit to me, but nobody is saying nothing.”

They share a familiar opponent in Taylor. Catterall has recorded a win and a controversial loss against the Scot; Prograis lost narrowly to Taylor back in 2019. If Catterall had been awarded the victory in his first fight with Taylor that so many observers believed he deserved, he would have been crowned world champion. Prograis has reigned as champion twice.

“Saturday night I’ll pack my bag and we will see what happens, but I just know there’s levels to this game,” Prograis said. “We’ve got some similar opponents but if you take Josh Taylor off his resume what does he have? Nothing. You take Josh Taylor off my resume I’m still a two-time world champion. There’s levels to this game and I’m going to go out there and show skills pay the bills.”

“Yeah, he’s probably [got the better resume] – he’s fought for world titles, won world titles,” Catterall responded. “I’ve yet to do that, but I’m willing to do that, and I will prove that on Saturday. Of course, I’m expecting Regis to come with everything he’s said in the build-up. We’ve seen his Boxrec; we’ve seen his fights. He’s a strong fighter – he’ll come looking for [the knockout] – but I’m the better boxer on Saturday."

The promoter of both fighters, Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn, reiterated that a title shot could be next for the winner.

“For me this is one of the best fights in the division – two of the very best at 140lbs,” he said. “A must-win fight for both. I’ve made it clear – just in a couple of weeks [on December 7] we have Liam Paro fighting Richardson Hitchins. I’d love the winner of this fight to fight the winner of that fight for the [IBF] world championship.”

For all the many macro debates to be had about what the International Boxing Hall of Fame is and should be , at this time of year, the focus shifts to the micro debates. Voters’ ballots are almost due — they have to be postmarked by next Thursday. And each name in each category on those ballots represents its own micro debate.

For me, the most compelling name to debate is that of Joel Casamayor. That’s partially for reasons specific to his career and what he achieved. And that’s partially because of the way his career can be very directly compared to two other fighters. One of them, Diego Corrales, was voted into the IBHOF one year ago. The other, Jose Luis Castillo, has been Hall-eligible for the last five years but has yet to appear on the ballot.

Ask any boxing fan to rattle off the best rivalries of the first decade of the 2000s, and in some order, these are the names you’ll hear: Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward, and Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez. The three-way rivalry between Casamayor, Corrales, and Castillo will not so immediately roll off of tongues. And understandably so — their fights, aside from the first one between Corrales and Castillo, were not quite on that all-timer level.

But what a multi-directional rivalry it was. What outstanding, hyper-competitive battles they waged. What excellent fighters they were. And what a fascinating situation they are now in with regard to Hall of Fame recognition.

Let’s try first to examine Casamayor’s career in a vacuum, uncolored by the HOF status of either Corrales or Castillo.

After winning a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona at age 21, Casamayor waited four full years to defect from Cuba and turn pro. He fought for 15 years, from ’96 to 2011, retiring at age 40 with a record of 38 wins (22 by KO), 6 losses, and 1 draw. He had two alphabet title reigns: one at 130 pounds from 1999-2002, and another at 135 pounds from 2006-08, which included recognition from The Ring as the division’s true champ.

Attaching names to the numbers, his notable fights included, chronologically: a unanimous decision win over David Santos; a ninth-round stoppage of former titlist (and future elite trainer) Robert Garcia; a could’ve-gone-either-way unanimous decision loss to Acelino Freitas; a unanimous decision over previously undefeated Nate Campbell; a thrilling sixth-round stoppage win on cuts over Corrales; a similarly thrilling split decision loss to Corrales in the rematch; a split decision loss to then-lineal lightweight champ and fringe pound-for-pounder Castillo; a draw against unbeaten Almazbek “Kid Diamond” Raiymkulov; a split decision win over Corrales in their rubber match; a split decision win over Jose Armando Santa Cruz that was widely considered an unfathomable robbery; a scintillating 10th-round TKO over undefeated Michael Katsidis; an 11th-round stoppage defeat to Hall of Famer Juan Manuel Marquez in what had been an even fight through 10 rounds; and, on either side of his 40th birthday, once Casamayor was used up, losses to Robert Guerrero and Hall of Famer Tim Bradley.

In all, he handed six opponents their first defeats, he fought all the best 130-to-140-pound fighters of his era except Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao (both of whom he assuredly would have gladly faced if presented with the opportunity), and he went 2-2 against his fellow-IBHOF-gray-area rivals Corrales and Castillo.

Obviously, by the standards for entry in the early years of the Hall — when it was a legends-only club, and the next tier need not apply — Casamayor is not a Hall of Famer. But post the lowering of the bar — I’m not going to single anyone out, but peruse this list and you’ll surely find a few names that make you wince — the Cuban southpaw put together a career very much worthy of that micro debate.

In his case, which side of the fence you fall on may come down to how you scored one or two of his close fights. I personally think he deserved to have his hand raised against Freitas — he got lightly jobbed by the ref and the judges — and that may have been a deciding factor in my ticking off Casamayor’s name on last year’s ballot. If you think that decision was just, plus you’re still angry about the Santa Cruz decision, maybe it’s enough to prevent you from ever voting for “El Cepillo.”

As I just noted, I voted for Casamayor on last year’s ballot. I did not vote for Corrales. My thinking was that if one of the non-Floyd 130-pound titlists of the turn of the century deserved to go in, it was Casamayor, who went 2-1 against “Chico” and, to my eyes, deserved a narrow win over “Popo.” Casamayor has the all-around best resume of the three, with superior longevity and probably the best overall quality of opposition. I decided he was, ever so slightly, worthy of a vote. I felt Corrales was, ever so slightly, not worthy. And I felt Freitas fell decisively short.

I also predicted on the “Showtime Boxing with Raskin & Mulvaney” podcast recorded after I handed in my ballot a year ago that the most likely men to gain induction in that class would be Corrales, Ricky Hatton, and Ivan Calderon, none of whom I voted for. (I will admit, I didn’t see Michael Moorer’s induction coming.) It seemed probable to me that voters would reward the thrills/popularity of Corrales and Hatton, while the hardcore groundswell for Calderon was hard to miss among boxing writers on social media.

Casamayor didn’t have a calling card like those three. He wasn’t an utterly beloved Brit who sold out arenas and participated in superfights. He wasn’t a blood-and-guts warrior who prevailed in arguably the greatest bout in boxing history. And he wasn’t a sublimely skilled slickster who worked his way onto P4P lists. Casamayor was just really damned good for a long stretch of time in a way that never stood out from the crowd.

So it was no surprise that Corrales gained induction before he did. The questions now are whether Casamayor will someday join him, and whether Castillo will someday join the Cuban on the ballot.

Castillo is a fascinating case, a fighter who was, through 2005, on what seemed a clear Hall of Fame trajectory. He beat the excellent Stevie Johnston to claim his first lightweight belt. He gave Mayweather two of the toughest fights of his 50-0 career, arguably deserving to win one of them. He became the lineal lightweight champ once Floyd left the division, beating the likes of Juan Lazcano, Casamayor, and Julio Diaz. Then came May 7, 2005, and the first Corrales fight — a legacy-boosting defeat if ever there was one.

But then it got weird. He missed weight by 3½ pounds and used that size advantage to crush Corrales in the rematch. He missed weight again for the rubber match, causing its cancellation. He lost badly to Hatton in a 140-pound title try. And he fought on for another seven years, a long goodbye featuring no particularly glorious moments and one highly inglorious failure to make weight for a bout against Tim Bradley that, like the third Corrales fight, was scrapped.

Castillo went 2-1 against Corrales and Casamayor and may have had the most HOF-worthy career of the trio, but he left a lousy taste in everyone’s mouth and can’t even get on the ballot. Jorge Arce, Paulie Ayala, Lucian Bute, Mikey Garcia, Leo Gamez, Artur Grigorian, and Omar Narvaez are all on there. But Jose Luis Castillo, the best lightweight in the world for a couple of years, one half of the consensus greatest fight of this century, and the man who came closer than anyone to hanging an L on Mayweather, is not.

It's frequently said that a fighter can’t really hurt his Hall of Fame case after his prime — the legacy is secured and the late-career struggles aren’t held against him. Often that’s true. But it sure feels like the reason Castillo hasn’t been granted a vote from electors stems from failings that began when he hit his mid 30s. 

And, not to be insensitive, but Corrales’ Hall of Fame candidacy was boosted by an opposite run-out. He died young, at 29. He appeared all but finished already as a fighter. But we didn’t have to watch that proven in the ring over and over again. And as it so happens, Corrales missed weight by four pounds for his third fight against Casamayor. But he didn’t have the opportunity to let that devolve into a pattern, the way it did for Castillo.

Is it better, as Neil Young said (and Joe Elliott and others repeated), to burn out than to fade away? For a boxer on the Hall of Fame borderline, it seems so.

Anyway, Corrales is a Hall of Famer, and Castillo is not currently up for consideration. Casamayor is the only one of the three facing the jury this year.

Just three of the 42 fighters on the ballot will go in (barring ties), and one of those three spots belongs to Pacquiao. So it’s effectively a 2-in-41 shot. I don’t love Casamayor’s odds.

I haven’t even decided for sure if I’m voting for him yet. He’s one of about 10 names to whom I’m considering awarding one of my five votes. I still have another week to stall. This micro debate shall go on a few days longer.

But whether he gets my vote this year or not, it doesn’t seem right for history to separate Corrales, Castillo, and Casamayor. The “when” can vary — burning out and fading away take place on very different timelines, after all — but if one of them is a Hall of Famer, they all are in my book.

Eric Raskin is a veteran boxing journalist with more than 25 years of experience covering the sport for such outlets as BoxingScene, ESPN, Grantland, Playboy, Ringside Seat, 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 or LinkedIn , or via email at RaskinBoxing@yahoo.com.

Official negotiations between unified middleweight titleholder Janibek Alimkhanuly and Hamzah Sheeraz have been extended by the World Boxing Organization, the WBO announced Thursday.

The teams for Alimkhanuly and Sheeraz, the WBO's No. 1 contender, had been assigned a deadline to reach a fight agreement by Wednesday, after which it would be sent to a purse bid. But on Thursday, the WBO announced on its official X account that promoters Top Rank (Alimkhanuly) and Queensberry (Sheeraz) had " jointly petitioned an extension of the negotiation period," which the organization then granted.

The sides now have until November 4 at 3 p.m. ET to negotiate a deal.

Alimkhanuly, 16-0 (11 KOs), a 31-year-old from Kazakhstan now based in Oxnard, California, defended two of his other belts in a stoppage of Andrei Mikhailovich on October 4.

Sheeraz, 21-0 (17 KOs), is a 25-year-old Londoner who most recently blitzed Tyler Denny in a two-round stoppage In September. He is also the WBC's No. 1 middleweight contender.

When Tyson Fury says that Oleksandr Usyk neither surprised him nor was particularly difficult to fight back in May, it really doesn’t matter whether you choose to believe him or not. All that really matters, in fact, is that Tyson Fury has decided to say it, more than once, and that, in saying it, he presumably believes it. 

Whether the rest of us do is neither here nor there. We only watched the fight. We only saw Usyk hurt and almost stop Fury in round nine before settling for a reasonably comfortable points win. This was our view of events – and indeed it is an agreed, almost universal one – yet that still does not mean Fury is wrong to say, or believe, what he said either. He, after all, was the one feeling the fight; not simply watching it. He had an insight not one of us outside the ropes can match; an insight even Oleksandr Usyk, the man with whom he shared a ring, will not have ahead of their rematch on December 21. 

Asked yesterday if there was anything that surprised him about Usyk in May, Fury said on TNT Sports, “Being honest, as I always am, it was actually easier than I thought it would be. I listened to Tony Bellew, and I listened to AJ (Anthony Joshua), and they said this guy is so hard to hit, he’s The Matrix. So I’m thinking this guy must be really hard to hit. I’m expecting to be missing him a lot. But in realistic terms he was much easier to hit than I anticipated and it got me a little bit complacent because every time I threw an uppercut to the body or the head, or a feint, I would hit him.”

Of all the things said at Wednesday’s launch press conference, this was one of the more interesting, if only because you could sense the conviction. It is entirely possible, too, that both things can be true; that is, it can be true that Fury was soundly beaten by Usyk in May, but also that he came away from the defeat that night with a belief, or at least some knowledge, he was previously without. That alone could be a decisive factor when these two heavyweights meet again. For no longer is Usyk a surprise, or some mythical being, in the mind of Fury. He is instead someone who was easier to hit than he expected and someone who only managed to get the upper hand and ultimately beat Fury because Fury, to use his own theory, got complacent and was having too much fun. 

If that happens to be true, any element of it, Fury should be just fine as far as confidence goes on December 21. He may, ironically, have even more confidence going into the rematch coming off a defeat than he had going into the first fight, back when he was unbeaten yet Usyk, his opponent, represented the unknown and created in him so much uncertainty. 

It is worth noting as well how the first fight changed, and how the momentum shifted. It changed suddenly, you will remember, after a period in which Fury appeared to be settling down, working Usyk’s body and looking on course to take over and pull away. It changed just as he was starting to relax, feel good about himself. It started, perhaps, just as he was getting ahead of himself, a tad complacent. 

In other words, should you hear Fury’s account of fight one and believe what he is saying, there is enough proof in that fight to convince yourself both you, and Fury, are not going mad. Equally, there is enough proof, both in how Usyk turned the fight around, and how Usyk turns every fight around, to indicate that the trajectory of fight one had less to do with Fury and more to do with his opponent. Meaning, although it could be true that Fury found Usyk easier to hit than expected, and although it could be true that he found the fight itself easier than expected, what probably surprised him in the end was how Oleksandr Usyk was still able to do to him what he has done to every opponent he has faced in his 22-0 fight pro career – without knowing how, without seeing it coming, without even realizing it.

Hamzah Sheeraz is currently one of the most exciting fighters Britain has to offer.

Whilst only being 25-years-old he has rapidly progressed in his career to now be one of the most feared men in the middleweight division.

With an 81 per cent knockout ratio, you have to be a brave man to get in that squared circle with him.

In his most recent performance, he blitzed through Tyler Denny in just two rounds.

Along with his stellar performances, he has impressed Turki Alalshikh so much that he is now a Riyadh Season ambassador.

At just 25 years old, the lanky, heavy-hitting middleweight has the world in the palm of his hands.

Despite being so young, the idea of becoming a world champion next year is not in any way a fantasy.

After winning by knockout in each of his last 15 fights, the man from Ilford has talked up the chances of himself dethroning the undefeated Kazakh Janibek Alimkhanuly (16-0), who currently holds both the WBO and IBF middleweight world titles.

On the 8th of October, the WBO ordered a world title contest between current champion Janibek Alimkhanuly and Sheeraz, giving 15 days for the respective teams of both men to agree on a deal.Teófimo López accuses Turki Alalshikh of deliberately harming Canelo Alvarez event

However, today the WBO has given an update on the current situation regarding the negotiations.

Official: WBO Middleweight Division Zhanibek/Sheeraz. Be advised @Queensberry & @trboxing jointly petitioned an extension of the negotiation period. #WBO Committee granted the extension. Therefore, agreement must be reached no later than Monday, Nov. 4 @ 4:00 pm (AST).

This update implies that the fight is likely to be made as both the fighters respective teams have asked for an extension.

There were concerns that ‘Qazaq Style’ may be nearing the end of his time in the division, due to a feeling that he may have outgrown the 160lb weight limit.

If the current champion does decide to vacate then it is likely that Sheeraz will fight fellow countryman Denzel Bentley (20-3-1) for the belt.

Whatever happens, what is for sure is that Sheeraz is going to be a star in the sport as he progresses through his career.Official: WBO Middleweight Division Zhanibek/Sheeraz. Be advised @Queensberry & @trboxing jointly petitioned an extension of the negotiation period. #WBO Committee granted the extension. Therefore, agreement must be reached no later than Monday, Nov. 4 @ 4:00 pm (AST).

— WBO (@WorldBoxingOrg) October 24, 2024