James Pagan has a fresh opponent in his sights.

As confirmed by promoter Dmitriy Salita, the undefeated lightweight prospect will now face goalie Haskell Rhodes on October 18. The 10-round fight will take place at the Coca-Cola Music Hall in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Salita also announced that middleweight contender Da’Velle Smith will also be part of the “Large Time Boxing USA” event. Both fights will be broadcast live on DAZN (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).

Pagan (10-0, 4 knockouts) was originally scheduled to face Canadian Trevor Thonson in a fascinating clash of undefeated lightweights. Thonson reportedly had travel issues that forced him to withdraw from the fight.

The DAZN headliner will be Pagan’s first scheduled 10-round fight of his newborn professional career. The 24-year-old Grand Rapids, Michigan native has already dealt with above-average adversity.

Pagan defeated Roger Hilley by unanimous decision in his last fight on May 23. Both Pagan and Hilley entered the fight undefeated. Pagan’s return to the ring was delayed after he suffered a deep cut to his left eye from an accidental clash of heads in the first round.

In his previous fight on October 21 last year, Pagan defeated Braulio Rodriguez in six one-sided rounds. He also has a win over another undefeated fighter, Ronnell Burnett, after a stoppage on June 3 last year.

Rhodes (31-6-1, 16 KO), originally from Oklahoma City and currently living in Las Vegas, fought his last fight on August 31. The 36-year-old veteran knocked out Jonathan Perez in the first round, marking the fourth victory of his last six starts.

One of his two losses during that period was a one-sided decision loss to undefeated Floyd Schofield on July 8 last year.

Smith (9-0, 7 KO) will claim a knockout victory in his last fight on September 12. The 24-year-old Taylor, Michigan fighter defeated Esau Herrera de la Cruz in the third round. He has stopped four of his last five opponents.

Both Pagan and Smith are promoted by Salita and managed by Aaron Samson.

In the co-main event, undefeated Juan Carrillo (12-0, 9 KO) from Barranquilla, Colombia will face Gilbert Castillo Rivera (25-5-1, 9 KO) from the Dominican Republic in a 10-round fight. attack.

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Author: Sean Crose

It’s understandable why some, if not most, fight fans would consider Canelo Alvarez at super middleweight/delicate heavyweight to be a bridge too far for Terence Crawford at junior middleweight. One hundred and sixty-eight pounds is quite a weight advantage to support a fighter over one hundred and fifty-four pounds. Even at the catchweight division, it’s clear that Canelo’s size could be a major problem for former junior welterweight Crawford. Still, there are those who know the rules of the fight inside out and believe that Crawford has a good chance against Canelo if the two men meet in the near future.

If famed trainer Teddy Atlas has something to say about it (and Atlas always has a lot to say), Crawford shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. Although the fighter known as “Bud” failed to stop Israil Madrimov in his junior middleweight debut, he still won the fight. Moreover, Atlas believes it was a learning experience for the multi-division champion.

“Don’t think it’s going to be the same Crawford,” Atlas said, “when he jumps to sixty-eight, if that happens. This will be a better armed Crawford, even better than ever. It will be Crawford who is now armed with this information, now armed with more confidence, now armed with the things he needs to add another skin to his collection, add another belt, another title, add to his already great collection the collection he has.”

Does this mean Atlas thinks Crawford will beat Canelo? Of course not. Earlier in the interview, Atlas spoke enthusiastically about Canelo and pointed out that it is foolish to think that the man is finished at this point in his long career. Indeed, Atlas said he thought Canelo made some positive changes himself when he defeated Edgar Berlanga a few weeks ago.

The truth is that the Canelo-Crawford fight should be an outrageous proposition. After all, Canelo is now fighting two, sometimes three, divisions higher than the one Crawford currently fights in. However, what makes this possible shot intriguing is Crawford, a disciplined, skillful and lively fighter who may be the best fighter in the world, pound for pound. The sight of a great fighter like Crawford fighting a living legend like Canelo is both terrifying and tempting – terrifying because of the difference in the fighter’s natural size, tempting because it really makes you wonder if Crawford could pull it off.

On paper, Janibek Alimkhanuly should be considered the best middleweight in the world.

I emphasize “on paper” because it’s been a while since he made a statement that would give a fighter that kind of title – which is partly because it’s been a year since his last fight, as he failed to make weight earlier in 2024.

It was in July that he was pulled from a fight scheduled against Andrei Mikhailovich for the IBF and WBO 160-pound titles in Las Vegas because, according to his manager Egis Klimas: “Although tests showed no kidney damage, he was severely dehydrated and is not in able to fight.”

Instead, Alimkhanuly-Mikhailovich will take place on Friday and in Sydney, Australia. There was a time when Alimkhanuly looked great, but the struggle to gain weight has to be a concern and makes me wonder if there’s a time coming when we’ll see him fighting at 168 pounds instead – especially since he’s from Kazakhstan and fighters from Eastern Europe are usually among the most disciplined of all.

I commented on many of his early fights on Top Rank promotion cards. He methodically dismantled opponents – even good journeymen, at such an early stage. He was selected opponents to test him, and he tactfully disarmed, dismantled and broke them. He also had a few good knockouts, but what was most impressive was the way he blasted his opponents to pieces with his high boxing IQ.

He is also a southpaw, with a long reach of 71.5 inches, and he is clumsy. He looked great.

Even today, I would make him the favorite against any other vigorous middleweight. But not the way I used to do it. And if the time comes when we see him at 168 pounds, I’m also not convinced he has the right staff to be successful there.

Where he was once on track to become the top middleweight in the world, he would be below elite at super middleweight. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez remains number one; there are also blue-collar fighters like Jaime Munguia, Christian Mbilli and Edgar Berlanga. If they didn’t want to take part in a boxing match with Alimkhanuly, they could impose their size on him and he didn’t have enough power to stop them.

The Australian market seems to me to be increasingly vital to some of the top promoters in the world given the way they appear to be trying to get a fight there or sign a top Australian fighter – which will be partly due to the existing untapped fan base there. Mikhailovich may be from nearby Novel Zealand, but Friday’s fight, announced relatively delayed in advance, doesn’t seem likely to make Alimkhanuly a crossover star, so it’s challenging to say what it will do for him from a business standpoint.

In the year 2024, the middleweight division, which has been one of the most eminent for so long, is extremely faint, which means that Alimkhanuly is still considered number one. A unification fight is complex to arrange when there is more than one superstar in a weight class; in 2024, there are none at all – Hamzah Sheeraz seems most likely to change that – which should make it easier for all interested parties to organize the most attractive fights.

Also at 160 pounds, I respect Carlos Adames and his physicality, but it was Sheeraz who caught my attention the most. Sheeraz doesn’t just have physical assets like frame, length, strength and power – as he showed by stopping Tyler Denny in two rounds on the Daniel Dubois-Anthony Joshua undercard, he continues to improve. He looked great in June when he defeated Austin “Ammo” Williams – and Williams is another fighter whose look I liked.

I’d be interested in fighting Sheeraz in a fight against any of his division rivals, and given his talent, the only reason he might lose at this stage is his lack of top-level experience – and even that might not be enough to stop him . If he proves he has the drive to complement his technique and athleticism, there will come a time when he will beat them all.

Sheeraz’s fellow Brit, Chris Eubank Jnr, is popular in the UK but has little popularity in the US. It’s also challenging to truly consider him a top middleweight because even if that’s his natural weight class, he seems most interested in fighting Conor Benn at sub-160 pounds or Canelo at 168 pounds for the biggest payday he can earn .

He sells the fight very well, and he has talent for it. On October 12, he fights Kamil Szeremeta – whom I saw live against Gennady Golovkin – and I expect him to win convincingly because he is far too animated, skilled and robust for such a one-dimensional opponent who is so uncomplicated to hit.

It worries me that Alimkhanuly is fighting in Australia because of his previous efforts to gain 160 pounds – there are many other factors involved in traveling that far. We have also seen strange things during fights in Australia before – including relatively recently, Manny Pacquiao, one of the greatest figures in the history of the sport, undeservedly losing a decision to Jeff Horn.

However, if Alimkhanuly manages to gain weight safely, he will retain the potential to remind everyone why he was so highly regarded not too long ago. If he fights to the best of his ability, he can dominate the undefeated Mikhailovich. Friday’s fight will show us which weight class he belongs in – but it’s the middleweight division he should ideally be in and that also needs him.