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Boxing Mail — Plans for Ryan Garcia, Teofimo Lopez? Naoya Inoue’s Biggest Fight?

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Naoya Inoue, one of the best boxers in the world, returns Tuesday morning to defend his undisputed junior featherweight title against TJ Doheny (ESPN+, 5:45 a.m. ET). And he’ll have plenty of opportunities for more gigantic fights with a win over Doheny. The four-division champion scored an impressive win over Luis Nery in front of more than 44,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome in May, and a future fight with bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani could top that total.

A week later, the sport’s biggest star, Canelo Alvarez, puts his unified super middleweight championship on the line against Edgar Berlanga, a fight Terence Crawford will be watching with interest. The following week, another highlight crosses the line as Anthony Joshua attempts to become a three-time heavyweight titleholder against Daniel Dubois, with the winner set for a number of gigantic fights in the near future.

With a star-studded September on the horizon, let’s tackle the boxing questions in this ESPN mailbox:


User X OttTalksBoxing asks: Bigger commercial event? Inoue vs. Junto at Tokyo Dome or Inoue vs. Tank at T-Mobile?

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Inoue knocked down for the first time, comes back and wins by knockout

Naoya Inoue is knocked down for the first time in his career, but he recovers and scores a great knockout victory over Luis Nery.

There’s a good reason Inoue rarely fights in the U.S., and that’s the mountain of money he generates as a megastar in Japan. And a fight with Nakatani would be his biggest fight in Japan. Not only is Nakatani Japanese, but he would present Inoue with his biggest challenge yet.

Nakatani has shown tremendous power at 115 and 118 pounds, and is now just one weight class below Inoue. The fight could certainly materialize next year and would easily sell out the Tokyo Dome.

But Inoue is at a point now where he could probably sell out arenas around the world, including Madison Square Garden in Recent York. And if he fought Gervonta “Tank” Davis, it would be a headline event in Las Vegas that would generate solemn business, especially on US PPV, pushing it above the money that could be generated in Japan with Nakatani.

The problem with the “Tank” fight is, of course, the weight. Davis is three weight classes above Inoue, so it’s probably nothing more than a fantasy fight. However, a fight with Nakatani looms on the horizon.


User X adam_fnc asks: What’s next for Ryan Garcia?

Garcia will not be eligible to return to the ring until April 20 – a year after his surprising victory over Devin Haney, which was later declared a no contest due to Garcia testing positive for the banned substance ostarine.

In the months following the Haney fight, Garcia was arrested and charged with vandalism following an alleged incident at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills; he was fired from the WBC after using a racial slur on social media; he has repeatedly pleaded guilty he would go to rehab.

What is clear: Garcia remains one of the biggest stars in boxing, and a rematch with Haney is one of the biggest fights possible. What is much less certain: Garcia’s willingness to fight.

Garcia will have to prove he can fight and may even want a warm-up fight after a year away from the ring. Or he could go straight to the rematch with Haney, although the contract weight will also have to be worked out. Garcia weighed 143.2 pounds for his 140-pound title fight with Haney.

A rematch makes a lot more sense at 147 pounds. But first, Garcia has a lot of hurdles to overcome before he’s reinstated in April.


User X WBCHiTech asks: Do you think Crawford will fight Madrimov again after their highly controversial decision? Everyone agrees Madrimov was robbed and deserves a rematch

I’m not sure the decision was highly controversial, although you have a good argument if you award the fight to Ismail Madrimov. The fight wasn’t very fascinating and there’s not much demand for a rematch. There’s almost no chance Crawford and Madrimov will ever get back in the ring.

Crawford turns 37 next month and doesn’t plan on fighting for much longer. The only fight he’s targeting right now is a 168-pound fight with Canelo. Yes, that’s two more weight classes for Crawford, who just debuted at 154 pounds. But at this point, he wants to take on a tough challenge and a chance to define his legacy. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Crawford could earn the biggest payday of his career, many times over, in a fight with Alvarez.

If Crawford fails to lure Canelo into the ring, he could always opt for a fight with unified junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora, but “Bud” will first exhaust all possible avenues to get his dream fight.

As for Madrimov, he certainly deserves another gigantic fight based on his performance. Maybe he can earn a shot at Vergil Ortiz Jr., who also fights on DAZN. That’s a compelling fight and a chance for Madrimov to pick up a gigantic win.


User X oldstylin asks: What’s next for Zhilei Zhang? A rematch with Parker? A fight with Bakole or Kabayel?

Zhang, who came off a stunning fifth-round TKO win over Deontay Wilder in June, is ready for a showdown. This was Zhang’s second straight fight on a Riyadh Season card that has featured significant heavyweight involvement over six events.

Zhang knocked down Joseph Parker twice in March before losing by decision, but the fight was a mixed bag. It’s unlikely we’ll see that fight, at least on the season card in Riyadh. Meanwhile, Agit Kabayel is in line for a significant fight after a TKO win over Frank Sanchez in May. A Kabayel-Parker fight makes a lot of sense considering who’s available in the heavyweight division.

Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority, told ESPN earlier this month that he wanted to match Zhang up with another top heavyweight, Martin Bakole. Both are 6-foot-6, weigh about 285 pounds, and are impressive boxers.

Bakole is coming off his own fifth-round TKO victory over Jared Anderson in the main event of Crawford-Madrimov. Bakole is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (although he currently lives in Scotland), while Zhang is from China and fights out of North Jersey.

Alalshikh said he would like to hold Zhang-Bakole either in Africa or China, two places that have been largely forgotten when it comes to hosting major boxing events. Assuming the fight materializes, the winner would have a chance to fight Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk or Joshua in 2025.


User X TheKidIrv24 asks: How’s the season card going in Riyadh in February? Who looks like the star of the evening?

Alalshikh is planning a card in February, and if all goes according to plan, it could be the gigantic one: Canelo vs. Crawford. Expect talks to resume after the Alvarez-Berlanga fight.

The fight in the build-up to the February card is the anticipated lightweight title unification between Shakur Stevenson and William Zepeda. First, Stevenson will face Joe Cordina on October 12th on the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol card. There were attempts to have Stevenson-Zepeda on that card, but Zepeda was unavailable due to the birth of his child.

Aside from that, Alalshikh has been open about his desire to fight more heavyweight fights at the highest level. He already has two gigantic fights lined up before the end of the year: Joshua-Dubois and the Usyk-Fury rematch on December 21, but he’s also looking further than February.

In an ideal world, Fury beats Usyk and Joshua Dubois, setting up once and for all the long-awaited Fury-Joshua fight, an all-British fight that was supposed to happen in 2020. After it didn’t happen and then seemed to have passed its sell-by date, the fight would be bigger than ever if both fighters picked up gigantic wins, but it wouldn’t happen in February.

If Usyk beats Fury a second time, it would be tough to sell a Joshua-Usyk trilogy, as the Ukrainian has already beaten him twice. There would still be interest, but Joshua would have to put in an explosive performance against Dubois. And the interest in Usyk-Joshua 3 would still pale in comparison to a Fury-Joshua fight.


User X with the nickname HamedBoxing asks: What are the plans for Teofimo Lopez now that he won’t be fighting Brian Norman Jr.?

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Teofimo Lopez cruises to unanimous decision victory

Teofimo Lopez wins unanimous decision over Steve Claggett in Miami.

Top Rank had intended to match Lopez, the junior welterweight champion, with Norman on September 27, but Lopez decided to take a break until the end of 2024, despite having three fights planned for this year.

It’s been a disappointing campaign for Lopez, who struggled to beat Jamaine Ortiz in February and then failed to make a statement against underdog Steve Claggett in June. That came after Lopez revived his career with an impressive win over Josh Taylor in June 2023.

The good news for Lopez: He turned 27 in July. He still has plenty of time to fulfill his immense potential and a lot of fascinating fights to make at 140 pounds. A fight with Haney would be highly anticipated, as would fights with “Tank” Davis and Garcia.

However, 2024 should be considered a lost year for Lopez, whose career has seen ups and downs – from a thrilling victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko to a disappointing defeat to George Kambosos Jr. the following year.

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Boxing

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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