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TV picks of the week: Three women’s world title fights in the lead on Friday and Saturday

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A trio of women’s world title fights are the main attractions this week, including two on Friday — Alycia Baumgardner vs. Delfine Persoon for the WBC junior lightweight title, Sandy Ryan vs. Mikaela Mayer for the WBO welterweight title — and Rhiannon Dixon vs. Terri Harper on Saturday for the WBO lightweight title.

Let’s take a look at these fights and many more on this week’s TV offerings.

Friday, September 27: Sandy Ryan vs. Mikaela Mayer (ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+)

Sandy Ryan holds one welterweight title, but he could just as easily be the lineal champion.

The 31-year-old from Derby, England, took the vacant WBO belt in April 2023 after it was stripped from Jessica McCaskill. Five months later, Ryan challenged lineal champion McCaskill for a draw, although some thought Ryan deserved to win. McCaskill lost her throne to Lauren Price. And now several 147-pounders are vying for the title of queen.

Ryan is among them. In March of this year, she stopped Terri Harper to move to 7-1-1 (3 KOs), with her only loss coming in 2022, in Ryan’s fourth pro fight, a split decision to Erica Anabella Farias. Ryan won an immediate rematch with Farias via unanimous decision.

Mayer, a 34-year-old from the United States, is 19-2 (5 KOs). She turned pro after competing in the 2016 Olympics and became the unified junior lightweight champion. After losing to Alycia Baumgardner in a three-fight fight at 130 pounds in 2022, Mayer moved up a weight class. She has made one appearance each at lightweight (decision win over Lucy Wildheart) and junior welterweight (points win over Silvia Bortot).

In January, Mayer moved up to welterweight and lost a split decision to IBF titleholder Natasha Jonas. This will be Mayer’s second shot at the 147 belt.

The main event at Madison Square Garden Theater will feature separate fights between Xander Zayas and Bruce Carrington.

Zayas is a junior middleweight prospect from San Juan, Puerto Rico, currently residing in Sunrise, Florida. He signed with Top Rank at age 16, turned pro shortly after his 17th birthday, and is now 19-0 (12 KOs) at age 22. He won a unanimous decision over Patrick Teixeira in June.

Zayas will face Damian Sosa, a 27-year-old from Tijuana, Mexico, who is 25-2 (12 KOs). Sosa lost a unanimous decision to Ivan Alvarez (31-14-4) in April 2023, but has won three straight fights since then, including a split decision in April over previously unbeaten Marques Valle.

Carrington is a 12-0 (8 KO) featherweight. This will be his third fight of 2024. The 27-year-old Brooklyn native knocked out Bernardo Angelo Torres in four rounds in February and Brayan De Gracia in eight rounds in June. This will be Carrington’s third straight fight in this arena — will his streak continue?

Standing in his way is Sulaiman Segawa, 33, a native of Kampala, Uganda, who currently lives just outside Washington, D.C. Segawa has a 17-4-1 (6 KO) record and has been vigorous this year, losing on points to Mirco Cuello in March and then scoring a decisive victory over Ruben Villa in July.

Friday, September 27: Alycia Baumgardner vs. Delfine Persoon (Brinx.TV and Fubo Sports)

While Baumgardner is surprisingly the undisputed junior lightweight champion — more on that in a moment — this fight is only for her WBC and lineal world titles and will take place at the Trilith Studios Town Stage in Fayetteville, Georgia.

Baumgardner, a 30-year-old from Detroit, won the WBC belt in 2021 by defeating Terri Harper in four rounds. After a tidy sweep of Edith Soledad Matthysse, Baumgardner won two more titles by defeating Mikaela Mayer by split decision in October 2022. Less than four months later, Baumgardner was the undisputed champion, defeating Elhem Mekhaled on points to add the vacant WBA belt to her collection.

Then controversy arose.

In July 2023, Baumgardner won a unanimous decision rematch with Christina Linardatou, avenging her 2018 split decision loss to Linardatou. But Baumgardner he was later found to have a prohibited substance.

She has not fought since. The WBC has said Baumgardner did not intentionally exploit the substance. The other sanctioning bodies (IBF, WBA and WBO) still have Baumgardner as the titleholder. The result was not changed by the Michigan Boxing Commission, so Baumgardner is still 15-1 (7 KOs).

Persoon, a 39-year-old from Belgium, is 49-3 (19 KOs). She was a longtime lightweight, holding major titles at 135 in 2012 and then from 2014 to 2019. Persoon made nine successful defenses before losing a majority decision to Katie Taylor for the undisputed championship. Their rematch took place 14 months later in August 2020, and this time Taylor won by unanimous decision.

Since then, Persoon has reeled off five straight wins, all at junior lightweight, with one draw that could have easily been ruled a disqualification loss, as Persoon hit the lying Ikram Kerwat.

According to BoxRec, the show will feature only female boxers, with eight fights scheduled.

Friday 27 September: Charlie Edwards vs Thomas Essomba (Channel 5)

The fight at the York Hall in London will take place between former flyweight titleholder Charlie Edwards and Essomba, who managed by former flyweight champion Clear Edwards — Charlie’s younger brother.

Charlie defeated Cristofer Rosales for the WBC title in 2018. Two fights later, he was knocked down in the third round by Julio Cesar Martinez, then knocked down again while he was on the board. Martinez was originally considered the winner, but that result was eventually overturned. Charlie soon relinquished the title, saying he could no longer make the 112-pound limit.

Indeed, he has fought mostly in the bantamweight division since then, with four wins giving the 31-year-old from Surrey, England, a record of 19-1 (7 KOs).

Essomba, 36, hails from Cameroon and currently fights out of Sheffield, England. He has a record of 13-8-1 (4 KOs), with one of those losses coming in 2020 to Clear Edwards. Since then, Essomba has a record of 3-2-1, including a split decision in February over 14-1 Elie Konki.

Friday, September 27: Shakiel Thompson vs. River Wilson-Bent (DAZN)

Thompson (12-0, 8 KOs) is a middleweight prospect from Sheffield, England, who will be making his hometown debut at the Park Community Arena. This is the 27-year-old’s third fight of 2024. In February, he stopped 11-5-3 Gino Kanters in three rounds, then came back in April with an eighth-round knockout of 12-3 Vladimir Georgiev.

Wilson-Bent, a 30-year-old from Coventry, England, is 17-4-2 (7 KOs), which could be quite the test for Thompson. Wilson-Bent has been there with a number of recognizable names, fighting to a technical draw with Tyler Denny in 2021, losing a split decision rematch with Denny in 2022, being stopped in two rounds by Hamzah Sheeraz in 2022, stopped in eight by Austin “Ammo” Williams in 2023 and defeated on points by Ryan Kelly last October. Since then, Wilson-Bent is 2-0-1 against nondescript opponents.

Saturday, September 28: Rhiannon Dixon vs. Terri Harper (DAZN)

Dixon vs. Harper became the main event after two separate fights fell through due to injuries.

Newborn welterweight Dalton Smith was forced to withdraw from his fight with Jon Fernandez at the Utilita Arena Sheffield, then modern headliner, heavyweight Johnny Fisher, was injured and unable to continue his fight with Andriy Rudenko at the Copper Box Arena in London.

So we return to Sheffield, to the Park Community Arena, for the Dixon v Harper fight.

Dixon (10-0, 1 KO), 29, won the vacant WBO lightweight title in April with a unanimous decision victory over Karen Elizabeth Carbajal.

Harper (14-2-2, 6 KOs), 27, is a former junior lightweight titleholder who drew with Natasha Jonas in 2020 and was stopped by Alycia Baumgardner in 2021. She then moved up to junior middleweight and won the WBA belt in 2022 by defeating Hannah Rankin, drew with Cecilia Braekhus in 2023 with the vacant WBO title on the line, and was stopped in four rounds by WBO welterweight titleholder Sandy Ryan in March of this year.

Saturday, September 28: Ardian Krasniqi vs. Saul Ivan Male (DAZN)

Krasniqi is a delicate heavyweight prospect from Rottweil, Germany, who will headline the evening at the Ludwigsburg MHP Arena. The 28-year-old is 9-0 (9 KOs) and has only faced one opponent with more wins than he has lost, a 15-10 first-round knockout of Denis Altz in September 2023.

Male will be the second such opponent. The 30-year-old is 10-1-1 (1 KO). This will be Male’s first fight outside of Uganda. He last defeated Stephen Nyamhanga (3-0-1) on points in April.

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George Kambosos moves up to 140, adds Eddie Hearn to team

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George Kambosos beats Teofimo

Former unified lightweight champion George Kambosos approached promoter Eddie Hearn asking for more massive fights.

Kambosos has signed a co-promotional deal with Eddie Hearn, under which the Greek-Australian slugger will continue his association with DiBella Entertainment Inc. and his own company, Ferocious Promotions.

The 21-3 star will move up to the super lightweight division of Matchroom Boxing’s lively division. He aims to become a two-weight world champion in early 2025, and as part of the deal, a title fight is promised as long as he continues to win.

Since his stunning victory over Teofimo Lopez, Kambosos has never shied away from competing against the best. Those three losses on his resume came to Devin Haney [twice] and Vasily Lomachenko, all at home and all for world titles.

The 31-year-old is now set to face compatriot Liam Paro after defending his IBF title against Richardson Hitchins in December in Puerto Rico.

“I am thrilled to be working with Matchroom Boxing. I am excited to have signed a three-way promotional cooperation agreement with my long-time promoter DiBella Entertainment Inc. and Ferocious Promotions,” Kambosos said.

“I made great success and history when I moved up the Matchroom shows by winning my UK elimination fight against Lee Selby. The most noteworthy and unforgettable is my victory against Teofimo at Madison Square Garden in Up-to-date York to become the 135-pound world champion.

“I am officially announcing that I will be moving up to 140 pounds and signing with Matchroom will ensure my continued success and the legacy I want to leave in the sport of boxing.”

Hearn, who adds an experienced campaigner to his stable, added: “I am delighted to welcome George to the team. George’s victory over Teofimo tore up the script and showed that George was the man for the massive time. He has proven to be a huge attraction in Australia and one of the real driving forces behind the rapid growth of boxing Down Under.

“The 140-pound division is full of massive names and massive potential fights. Adding George to the mix only elevates the level, and a possible fight with Liam Paro is a truly appetizing prospect. If Liam manages to win in a great fight against Richardson on December 7th [the fight could be on].

Lou DiBella, who has worked with Kambosos for years, said: “I’m glad I was able to make a deal with my antique buddy Eddie to work with George Kambosos Jr. and Ferocious Promotions.

“Throughout his career, George has been a fighter who has never shied away from a challenge, and now he wants to test himself against top junior welterweights.

Matchroom works with top 140-pounders, including George’s compatriot Liam Paro, and, like DiBella Entertainment, is heavily invested in Australia.

“It’s a natural partnership,” added the Up-to-date Yorker.

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Mike Tyson had absolutely no chance of knocking out Jake Paul

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Mike Tyson comeback black

One of the hottest topics surrounding Mike Tyson’s return at the age of 58 was the possibility of the boxing legend scoring a knockout of Jake Paul.

WBN has weighed in on this topic several times, questioning the validity of five-second training clips that revealed nothing about Tyson’s abilities at this overdue age. One of the most intriguing observations during the preparations was the opinion of UFC commentator Daniel Cormier.

Speaking on his show “Funky and the Champ,” Cormier reflected on Tyson’s social media videos and offered an informed opinion on the meaning of the clips.

“I understand that [he is in amazing shape at 58]and I understand what he is saying [he feels as though he can compete]– Cormier said. “And I agree that when he hits the pads with Rafael Cordeiro, it looks like there’s still something left in him.

“But then I watch Jake Paul fight Mike Perry. I saw Jake Paul get overwhelmed to the point where he started to feel uncomfortable. It looked like Mike Perry had a chance. But Jake has a reserve tank he can go to and benefit from because he’s 28 years ancient. Then he comes back and finally finishes Mike Perry.

“At the beginning of the fight, Mike Perry gets beaten up and dropped. He looks trained and unmatched. This worries me because what if it looks like a 58-year-old man fighting a 28-year-old man while Mike can’t employ the backup tank to stay and compete with this newborn kid? I think it’s a failure for Jake Paul because if you beat Mike Tyson, everyone will love him.

He added: “What if Mike knocks him out? It’s over. Everything is ready. This would be the backfire of all time. If he gets knocked out, nothing like that has ever happened in the history of the sport.”

Unfortunately for Tyson, this revenge backfired spectacularly, as the former heavyweight champion’s return was the only event that bombed. Tyson had nothing left twenty years after he had nothing left in his tank and no desire to box in his mind.

Paul parlayed this into a money-making scheme that would forever be a success for him and his company, but would be poorly received by the die-hard boxing fraternity.

Cormier’s words resonate, especially after what happened in the ring when Mike Tyson struggled to shift into first gear, warning former fighters thinking about returning after 50.

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Lauren Price looks to win Jonas vs Habazin with an undercard victory

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Lauren Price

Lauren Price MBE will defend her world title for the first time on Saturday, December 14 at the Exhibition Center in Liverpool, while the Welsh champion plans to stage an all-British unification clash with welterweight rival Natasha Jonas, which will headline the Collision Course that night.

Price defends her WBA welterweight title against undefeated Colombian challenger Bexcy Mateus on the same night as Jonas attempts to unify the IBF and WBC titles with Ivana Habazin as part of BOXXER’s ‘Collision Course’ fight night, which can be seen live and exclusively on Sky Sports in the UK UK and Ireland and Peacock in the US.

Price MBE (7-0, 1 KO) made history with an excellent performance, defeating former undisputed welterweight world ruler Jessica McCaskill in front of her fans in Cardiff in May.

Price, the first Welsh boxer to win Olympic gold, once again entered the record books by becoming the country’s first world champion in just her seventh professional fight. The 30-year-old from Ystrad Mynach, who has yet to lose a round as a professional, will now defend her world titles for the first time as she focuses on dominating the welterweight division.

Mateus (7-0, 6 KO), ranked No. 5 in the WBA rankings, is undefeated in the professional ranks and has won all but one of her seven fights by knockout. The 29-year-old from Bogota, fighting outside her native Colombia for the first time, will now have her first chance at global fame, with her goal to dethrone Price and take the top spot in the welterweight division.

Lauren Price said: “I’m excited to defend my belts and complete what has been an crucial year for me. I have full respect for Mateusz. I will prove that I am the best in the division and I will not let anything or anyone stand in my way of being undisputed.”

BOXXER Founder and CEO Ben Shalom said: “It’s a massive night for the women’s welterweight division with three world champions competing. Natasha Jonas returns to her hometown for a mandatory unification fight against Ivana Habazin, and Lauren Price defends her world titles against undefeated challenger Bexcy Mateus. The fight for the undisputed continues. If Natasha and Lauren win on December 14, it will set the stage for a massive “Battle Of Britain” world title unification fight next year.

There’s reason to celebrate as BOXXER delivers a Christmas cracker to end the year. In addition to the world championship fights between Natasha Jonas and Lauren Price, fight fans can expect a gala full of drama and entertainment.

Undefeated Irishman Stephen McKenna (15-0, 14 KO) will face English champion Lee Cutler (14-1, 7 KO) in an invigorating super welterweight fight for the silver WBC International title.

McKenna impressed fans in his three-round fight against Joe Laws last August at Oakwell Stadium in Barnsley. The two struck out in the first round, then McKenna began to apply the pressure, losing Laws three more times and maintaining his undefeated record after a third-round stoppage.

English cruiserweight champion Viddal Riley (11-0, 6 KO) returns to action from a rib injury that has kept him out of the ring since a career-best victory over Mikael Lawal in March. Riley will be looking to shake off the ring rust as he takes on high-profile opponents in the recent year.

Undefeated Chorley super middleweight Mark Jeffers (18-0, 5 KO) scored an explosive fifth-round knockout victory over Darren Johnston in May and will be looking to bring more drama to Liverpool’s Exhibition Center as he goes in search of his 19th professional win.

Mason Cartwright (20-4-1, 8 KO) from Cheshire, a former two-time British title challenger from Ellesmere Port, will be counting on local support as he returns to the title track.

After signing a promotional contract with BOXXER, local star Frankie Stringer (8-0, 1 KO) can achieve his third victory in 2024, when he returns in front of his fans in Liverpool. The 23-year-old lightweight fighter is a player of the notable city team Rotunda ABC, and his manager is former world champion Liam Smith.

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