Voters: Scott Christ, Wil Esco, John Hansen, Patrick Stumberg and Lewis Watson
Others receiving votes: Jaron “Boots” Ennis 5, David Benavidez 2, Geronta “Tank” Davis 1
Upcoming rankings: (6) Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia, April. 20 … (8) Canelo Alvarez vs. Jaime Munguia, May 4 … (1) Naoya Inoue vs. Luis Nery, May 6 … (3) Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury, May 18 … (4) Dmitry Bivol vs (5) Artur Beterbiev, June 1… (7) Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez vs. Juan Francisco Estrada, June 29
Status quo for me this month as I don’t think there have been any fights of P4P significance in the last month. Terence Crawford still holds the top spot for me and I hope he manages to put something concrete together soon.
It’s unpleasant to see the relative inactivity of some of the most elite talent we have in the sport, but with all the changes in the landscape and such, I hope things will return to normal soon. Cynicism about this is also completely reasonable, so fingers crossed.
Without changes. Other than maybe Tim Tszyu, I can’t think of anyone in the P4P conversation who even struggled in March. No disrespect to Nathan Heaney fans.
At least April will give us a fight with Devin Haney! Way to go? Man, what a snail-paced start to the boxing year.
There were no significant moves this month among either the top 10 or fringe contenders. At least April, May and June are very busy; there is a high probability that we will see some significant changes soon.
Not enough action in March to move the P4P needle. Haney’s high ranking is buffered by the eye test – if (a large if) the Garcia fight takes place on April 20, the argument could be stronger post-fight. Or weaker. I guess that’s the point.
Usyk (22-0, 14 KO) defeated Fury (34-1-1, 24 KO) in the eighth round, which ultimately decided the result. The knockdown was incredible and came at the end of a wild onslaught of pristine shots from Usyk, with Fury wobbling around the ring.
Referee Mark Nelson could have stopped any other fight in this situation, and he could have done so in this case as well, but the overall impression is that he realized how crucial the fight was and gave Fury a chance to recover. Fury went down, but it was slow in the round and time ran out when he got back up.
However, Usyk maintained pretty good control from there, not because Fury didn’t recover very well, but he regained the momentum – which Fury had taken over in some of the early and middle rounds – and simply didn’t let up.
We will probably see a rematch because that was in the contract, regardless of the outcome of this fight. When we see it is another matter, if so, no have to will obviously happen, they can’t force Fury to fight Usyk again, but Fury sounded like he was willing to do it, feeling like he won the fight.
On the undercard
Jai Opetaia defeated Mairis Briedis to regain the IBF cruiserweight title – which was stripped of it on a technicality – by unanimous decision. This fight between Opetaia (25-0, 19 KO) and Briedis (28-3, 20 KO) will certainly not make anyone forget their meeting in 2022, a brutal affair and a candidate for fight of the year. It was much more measured, especially for the 39-year-old Briedis, who hasn’t fought at all since. Briedis made a good effort towards the end, trying to steal the victory in stimulating fashion, but too little, too slow.
Anthony Cacace won the IBF super featherweight title with an upset victory over Joe Cordina after an eighth-round stoppage. This victory will be at least a little controversial, and referee Bob Williams will face some real criticism. Cacace (22-1, 8 KO) caught Cordina with a punch on a third-round stoppage, from which Cordina apparently never fully recovered. Cordina (17-1, 9 KO) went down later in the same round, and although he had a solid fourth, he never returned to the fight after the third. Apart from the half-time strike, Williams makes a pretty pointed change overall.
Agit Kabayel continued to emerge as a grave heavyweight contender, dominating Frank Sanchez en route to a seventh-round knockout in a WBC heavyweight eliminator. Sanchez (24-1, 17 KO) definitely looked like he had something wrong with his knee, to be completely sincere, but Kabayel (25-0, 17 KO) just took him apart, keeping the pressure high, attacking the body and finishing him off Cuban. The post-fight interview with Kabayel was once again a delight as the man is completely uninterested in the usual boxing nonsense and bullshit, he shows up, fights and is ecstatic to do well and win.
Jai Opetaia UD-12 Mairis Briedis (116-112, 116-112, 117-111)
Anthony Cacace TKO-8 Joe Cordina (0:39)
Agit Kabayel KO-7 Frank Sanchez (2:33)
Moses Itauma TKO-2 Ilja Mezencev (0:50)
Mark Chamberlain TKO-1 Joshua Wahab (2:42)
Robin Safar UD-10 Sergei Kovalev (95-94, 97-92, 99-90)
David Nyika TKO-4 Michael Seitz (2:45)
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are finally fighting! Both heavyweights will meet today in a 12-round main event in Riyad for the undisputed world heavyweight championship.
Fury brings the WBC title to the fight, while Usyk holds the WBA, IBF and WBO belts. The winner will become the first man to become the undisputed heavyweight champion in the four-belt era.
Patrick Stumberg will be participating in subsequent rounds of calls in the stream below, starting at noon EST, and we’ll be bringing you full highlights, results and more as the show goes on. Join us and experience one of the most significant days in boxing this year!
Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) vs Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs)heavyweight, 12 rounds, for the undisputed championship (Fury’s WBC title and Usyk’s WBA, IBF and WBO titles)
Jai Opetaia (24-0, 19 KOs) against Mairis Briedis (28-2, 20 KOs)rematch, cruiserweight, 12 rounds, for the vacant IBF title
Joe Cordina (17-0, 9 KOs) vs. Anthony Cacace (21-1, 7 KOs)super featherweight, 12 rounds, for Cordina’s IBF title
Frank Sanchez (24-0, 17 KOs) vs. Agit Kabayel (24-0, 16 KOs)heavyweight, 12 rounds
Ryan Garcia traveled to Saudi Arabia for this weekend’s undisputed heavyweight clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. During a conversation with DAZN, Garcia discusses the shadowy cloud hanging over his victory over Devin Haney, his desire to fight Errol Spence again, and his predictions for a heavyweight fight. Check it out!
Garcia on how he feels about all the controversy surrounding his victory over Devin Haney
“I’m doing great. I’m elated. Justice will prevail, so I don’t worry about anything. God supports me.
“After May 22 there should of course be a result for the B sample, but I don’t think it will come out neat because obviously if they found it in A, why wouldn’t they find it in B? I think it’s all bullshit if we know it. I mean, no one takes steroids the day before and the day after a fight. You’d really have to be stupid.
On insisting on fighting Errol Spence
“I need this. I’m going to cut his head off… You know, Terence Crawford did a good job, but I’m going to finish the job as if he had no intention of boxing anymore after fighting me.
“From the bottom of my heart, I want to meet him as my coach.”
About his predictions for the Fury vs Usyk match
“It will be a 12-round decision, it will be a very close fight, but I think Fury is just too good and I love Fury. Fury has this energy, he looks great. Usyk, a hell of a fighter, but no. Fury is that man, I think he’s the greatest heavyweight of all time.
“I love Muhammad Ali, but I think Tyson Fury is the greatest heavyweight of all time. But shout out to Muhammad Ali.”
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