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Roarke Knapp and Shervantaigh Koopman return to action on Saturday on DAZN

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Rising junior middleweight stars Roarke Knapp and Shervantaigh Koopman will return in separate fights at the Emperor’s Palace in Gauteng, South Africa.

The good news is that the rest of the world will eventually see them.

Their fights have so far been broadcast on the African continent by subscription channel Supersport, leaving the rest of the world in the murky. However, tomorrow’s event will be broadcast internationally on DAZN to combat fans from outside the continent.

The stimulating Knapp went from strength to strength, compiling a record of 17-1-1 with 12 knockouts, avenging his only loss to Brandon Thysse in 2019. He fought twice in 2022, winning a decision over veteran Ahmed El Mousaoui, and also became the first to stop Przemysław Zysk, crushing the Pole in five rounds. Britain’s proposed fight against Josh Kelly, scheduled for slow last year, was canceled when Knapp injured his hand in training and required surgery.

Knapp, an stimulating boxer-puncher, has a charisma that will get your butts in your seats, and his return and exposure on a bigger platform couldn’t come any sooner. In the 12th round he will face Mexican Jorge Garcia Perez for the IBO 154-pound belt, which is not recognized by The Ring.

The more experienced Perez has 24 knockouts in his 29 wins against four losses and has never been stopped. He is on a four-fight winning streak and has worked with gigantic names like Jorge Paez Jr. whom he stopped in the top four, and world title challenger Carlos Ocampo, whom he denied a decision in 2020.

Shervantaigh Koopman (left) and Wendy Toussaint (right) – photo: Droeks Malan

However, Knapp is not the only hope for a junior middleweight fight from South Africa. There’s also his stablemate, the undefeated 13-0 Shervantaigh Koopman. His opponent will be Haitian player Wendy Toussaint, who lives in the USA.

Koopman impressed in 2023, causing Brandon Thysse to retire in his corner after eight rounds. This was a great victory for him and he used this momentum to put on a boxing clinic against Cristiano Ndombassy in his next fight. Nimble in his hands and feet, Koopman showed great variety in his striking. He also has the versatility to be in the box or in the trenches if needed.

Toussaint’s 15-2 lasting nine rounds against then-undefeated and eight-point The Ring rival Charles Conwell is another step up and it will be intriguing to see how Koopman handles it.

A fight between Knapp and Koopman, who spar regularly, would be a local dream fight. For noDroeks Malan in the chances of that happening are zero and both are heading in different directions.

On the card below, 6-0 strawweight prospect Beaven Sibanda must sink or swim as he faces the more experienced Siphamandla Baleni over eight rounds. 21-6-2 Baleni competed at a much higher level and shared the ring with, among others, former IBF strawweight boss Nkosinathi Joyi.

The eight-round heavyweight bout between former national champions Juan Roux and Chris Thompson should also be a crowd pleaser.

The card is presented by Rodney Berman from Golden Gloves Promotions.

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Boxing

Floyd Schofield and Rene Tellez Giron headline the DAZN performance on November 2 in Las Vegas

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Lightweight rising Floyd Schofield. Photo promotions / Golden Boy

Floyd Schofield Jr. in his next fight he will add to his class as he tries to make it to the lightweight division.

The undefeated 22-year-old will face Rene Tellez Giron from Mexico at the DAZN gala on November 2. The location of the event was not disclosed, although The Ring learned that it will land at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

Schofield (17-0, 12 knockouts) will fight for only the second time in 2024, although only at the mercy of others. “Kid Austin” was scheduled to face H20 Sylve at the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul Netflix gala scheduled for July 29 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. However, the performance was delayed until November 15 due to Tyson’s hospitalization earlier in the summer.

Sylve’s team handpicked their next opponent for the DAZN Pay-Per-View event in Tampa, Florida. This backfired, as Lucas Bahdi (17-0, 15 KO) emerged as the main contender for the 2024 knockout.

Since Sylve is promoted by Most Valuable Promotions, only his spot would be secured for the fresh date. With this, Schofield and Golden Boy Promotions continued their efforts to advance the career of the Austin, Texas lightweight fighter.

Giron (20-3, 13 KO) is a proven spoiler with a reliable chin.

The 25-year-old from Queretaro, Mexico has won three in a row since a heartbreaking majority defeat to Jose Matias Romero last June in Argentina. Current events included an eight-round unanimous decision over George Acosta at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. Giron also dealt the first defeat of his career to former standout amateur Karlos Balderas.

The victory over Balderas came six months after Giron submitted Michel Rivera to an eight-round decision in June 2019. Both boxers were undefeated at that time. He suffered another defeat in January 2022 against the then undefeated Giovani Cabrera.

Schofield last fought on March 16, losing by disqualification in the fifth round to Esteuri Suero at this stadium. This fight was supposed to be an advancement in the rivalry, but Suero refused to fight under the rules during their miniature romance.

The opportunity will mark Schofield’s third headliner since signing a co-promotional deal with Golden Boy in 2022. Last July, he was the leader of the gala in San Antonio, which was originally intended for the three-canceled fight for the WBA welterweight title between Eimantas Stanionis and Vergil Ortiz.

The Ring has learned that passive super middleweight contender Bektemir “Bek The Bully” Melikuziev (14-1, 10 KO) will appear on the program. Plans call for the 2016 Olympic silver medalist to land a WBA title eliminator, depending on which opponent he secures.

Follow @JakeNDaBox

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Bruce Carrington congratulates the tough Sulaiman Segawa for taking him to recent heights

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Bruce Carrington picked up the biggest victory of his career on Friday night, but he remained focused on giving credit where he felt it was due – for believing and facing his toughest challenge yet.

Carrington (13-0, 8 KO) faced his toughest test yet in Sulaiman Segawa (17-5-1, 6 KO), the WBC’s No. 3 featherweight. “You’re a good fighter bro, yeah, definitely my best fighter I’ve had so far,” Carrington said after the fight. He also attributed his faith in the victory, adding: “I want to thank God for my victory, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

The fight was close from the start, with Segawa taking Carrington down early, landing more punches and briefly rocking his undefeated opponent with hooks in the second round. Carrington responded with a piercing counterattack, starting a back and forth fight.

As the rounds progressed, Carrington began to take control. He landed a solid right hand in the fourth round that energized the Modern York crowd, and then he adjusted his strategy, focusing on body shots to leisurely Segawa’s pace.

After a header in the seventh over, Carrington suffered a noticeable knock, but he kept pushing forward in the final overs, pushing for action while Segawa took clumsy, defensive shots. Ultimately, the judges scored the fight 95-95, 97-93 and 97-93 in favor of Carrington.

Contemplating victory, Carrington accepted Segawa’s challenge. “I owe him a lot,” Carrington said. “This will just take me to the next level.”

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Will Haney become an outcast after the Garcia trial?

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Image: Keyshawn Davis: "I Know I Would Stop Devin Haney"

Devin Haney risked his career and decided to sue Ryan Garcia over the events that occurred on April 20 earlier this year in Brooklyn, Modern York.

If Haney loses the lawsuit, it could damage his career by making him a pariah among top-flight players and treating him like a member of an untouchable class. A lawsuit is a huge risk and could end Haney’s career, leaving him in a much worse situation than he would have been.

Did Haney make a bad move?

Perhaps instead of filing a lawsuit, Haney should have started generating interest in a rematch with Ryan Garcia by conducting repeated interviews and posting on social media. By the time Ryan’s suspension ends in April 2025, fan interest will be high.

Haney would have a desire for revenge and wouldn’t be seen as frail like many fans now see him because of his lawsuit. Even if Haney lost the rematch, he would still make a lot of money.

There is a very real risk that Haney’s lawsuit could result in him losing out forever on the biggest payday of his career in a rematch with Ryan, which would be a huge missed opportunity.

If Haney wins the lawsuit and receives tens of millions, it may not matter. After giving his lawyer part of his estate, he will have enough money to live comfortably and not worry that his career will be ruined. Actually, it already happened, but a lawsuit would be the final straw.

The lawsuit could hurt his chances of fighting other big-name fighters unless His Excellency Turki Alalshikh takes him under his wing. Turki would have the money to lure fighters to fight Haney, but otherwise he might be an outcast. It’s unclear how Turki will view Haney after all this. Will he find him worthy of pumping money into his career like he did with the aging Terence Crawford, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, or will he ignore him?

Garcia (24-1, 20 KO) tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine and was 3.5 pounds overweight heading into his 140-pound title fight for Haney’s WBC welterweight belt.

“Devin’s father made great decisions for his son. I think it’s another great decision,” coach Greg Hackett said Fightin response to Devin Haney filing a lawsuit against Ryan Garcia, alleging fraud, battery and unjust enrichment in connection with the fight that took place on April 20.

Taking Ryan to court doesn’t seem like a well-thought-out idea, as it seems more like an action based on emotion rather than looking at the bigger picture. If you look at the lawsuit from a narrow perspective, it makes sense, but now when you consider how it ruins Haney’s chance at a rematch. If top players avoid Haney from now on, he has shot himself in the foot.

Is Ryan Garcia being milked?

“My opinion is a little different. I would like to hurt Ryan Garcia [in the ring]but in business and the world of finance they always utilize this expression: ‘You’ve got to hit it where it hurts,’ which is the bank,” Hackett continued.

“I saw Devin doing this because not only was it not what he did well, but we really want you to pay for it. We really want him to understand this [stuff] it wasn’t nippy and it doesn’t need to be repeated,” Hackett said.

If Haney feels his career is over, a lawsuit makes sense. However, if Haney sees this as a way milking Ryan Garcia like a cow extracting as much money from him as possible and then arranging a rematch would only disappoint him.

You never know. This may be something Devin wants to do to maintain attention. I wouldn’t do it, but I can’t be mad at him for doing it. In the world of entertainment, it is a completely different world from what we are used to in everyday life. Sometimes you have to deal with these things,” Hackett said.

“If something happened, we’re talking about the entire empire [Haney’s career]and construction took years. Boom! They wouldn’t let him make more money if something stupid happened to the kid because of him. So you have to sue him.

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