Jack Catterall says he didn’t expect his upcoming welterweight title fight against Shakhram Giyasov to end so quickly, even though the division has opened up around him following his move up to 147 pounds.

“This fight could have come out of the blue. But what an opportunity for just one focus to win this title. The camp was good. Good sparring, good work in the gym, strength, track, everything. We figured it all out well together,” Catterall told Matchroom Boxing, discussing his call-up to fight Shakhram Giyasov at the May 23 event.

“It’s a little over a week and a half before we fly to Egypt. This is a great opportunity for me to win the regular WBA world title. I’m very grateful for this opportunity, but also very confident that I will go out there and secure it.”

Catterall and Giyasov will fight for the vacant WBA welterweight title next Saturday at the Oleksandr Usyk-Rico Verhoeven event at the Giza Pyramids in Egypt.

Catterall also admitted he didn’t know much about Giyasov before the fight ended, but claims his team spent time researching the undefeated Uzbek challenger during the camp.

“Shaka [Shakhram]unfortunately, he was fighting six southpaws. So there’s a lot of footage of him fighting southpaws,” Catterall said. “I wasn’t aware of him until the fight was announced, but now we’ve had time to go out and watch and work on what we need to do.”

The former welterweight contender believes the extra time at welterweight has helped him physically after years of struggling to cut down to 140 pounds.

“Now I had time. It’s coming up on the year, so I had time to take care of it and do everything right. Stay mighty at this weight,” Catterall said.

Robert Segal is a boxing reporter at Boxing News 24 with over a decade of experience covering fight news, previews and analysis. Known for his first-hand reporting and in-ring perspective, he delivers authoritative coverage of champions, challengers and emerging talent from around the world.

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Last updated: 19/05/2026 at 1:11

Claressa Shields has been “banned” from all future Most Valuable Promotions events following an altercation with Alycia Baumgardner at last weekend’s Rousey vs. Carano event in California.

They were both present at the first MMA gala organized by Most Valuable Promotions and at Netflix’s first entry into combat sports. The card has been completed Ronda Rousey defeats Gina Carano in 17 seconds and also featured the return of Francis Ngannou, as well as a veteran clash between Nate Diaz and Mike Perry.

On the boxing side, MVP Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian have formed the strongest stable of fighters in the sport, and Baumgardner is emerging as a leading star.

The unified super featherweight champion has been embroiled in a feud with five-time Shields division champions that has been widely reported on social media. When the pair came face to face in the VIP area at the event, Shields appeared to punch Baumgardner.

A few days later, MVP announced that “The GWOAT” would no longer be able to participate in any of his events.

“Most Valuable Promotions is aware of an incident that occurred during MVP Rousey vs. Carano Saturday night, which involved physical contact between Claressa Shields and Alycia Baumgardner.

“MVP maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy for hostile, threatening or aggressive behavior towards athletes, staff, media or guests at any of our events. Physical altercations outside the ring or cage are unacceptable in any MVP environment. MVP does not condone, condone or condone Claressa Shields’ behavior in such an environment and it reflects poorly on MVP and the women’s sport we have worked tirelessly to support.”

” Effective immediately, Claressa Shields is banned from all MVP events until further notice. There is a time and place for tension and athlete banter, but physically attacking another athlete while he or she is a guest in a private VIP area is unacceptable.

“MVP would like to thank venue security for their quick response in addressing and de-escalating the situation, and appreciates that Alycia Baumgardner did not retaliate or make the situation worse. We remain committed to maintaining a safe and sound, respectful and professional environment for all participants at our events and will continue to enforce these standards without exception.”

Shields has not responded yet.

By Boxing Insider Staff

Ronda Rousey returns to the cage Saturday night against Gina Carano at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, in the main event of MVP MMA 1 on Netflix. In the days before the fight, a video of Rousey’s open training striking session became the dominant story of the fight week, and not in the way Most Valuable Promotions would portray it.

Footage of Rousey throwing punches in front of cameras spread widely on social media this week, sparking mockery from fans and players. One widely shared post on X claimed that Rousey “looks like she’s never done striking in her life” – a sentiment echoed across MMA and boxing accounts.

Ronda Rousey looks like she’s never taken striking practice in her life. 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/04F5R2SDcy

— 𝓚𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓕𝓲𝓰𝓰𝔂 👹🩸 (@ChampFiggy) May 15, 2026

Rousey (39) told reporters during fight week that she started preparing for her 2024 return while pregnant. “I was about three months pregnant when my husband caught me doing suplexes in the garage,” she said, referring to former UFC heavyweight fighter Travis Browne. At Thursday’s press conference, Rousey was asked if she would hesitate to break Carano’s arm in the cage. “I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to break it,” she said. “But I wouldn’t hesitate to put it back in place either.”

Pioneer context

Receiving training videos is additional given Rousey’s place in combat sports history. She was the first fighter signed by the UFC, headlined UFC 157 against Liz Carmouche in February 2013 in the promotion’s first women’s fight, and retained the bantamweight title with six defenses. Her mainstream visibility, magazine covers, ESPY Awards and Hollywood roles are widely credited with making women’s MMA a mainstream product.

This visibility extended beyond MMA. The infrastructure and audience that Rousey helped build for women’s combat sports in the mid-2010s preceded the commercial growth of women’s professional boxing seen since then, an era that produced Katie Taylor, Claressa Shields, Amanda Serrano and the first women’s main events at Madison Square Garden and on stadium-level boxing cards.

Mayweather Cycle

The viral clips also bring back memories of one of the strangest promotional cycles in the recent history of combat sports media. In 2014 and 2015, when Rousey was at the peak of her UFC career, the question of whether she could beat Floyd Mayweather circulated in interviews, talk shows and sports columns for the better part of two years.

The framing was usually pushed by others, not Rousey herself. UFC President Dana White has said publicly that Rousey will hurt Mayweather in the fight. Conor McGregor said in 2015 that Rousey would “dismantle him in seconds.” Rousey, when asked directly during an August 2015 Reddit AMA if she could beat Mayweather, gave a more measured answer. “Floyd is one of the greatest boxers of all time,” she said. “He would definitely beat me in a boxing match. Unfortunately, I don’t like ‘matches’. I’m fighting for my life.” She added that in a fight without rules, she believed she could beat anyone, as ESPN reported at the time.

The boxing-specific version of the question of whether Rousey could compete with a pound-for-pound boxer of her generation was largely a media and promotional construct. Mayweather closed the 2015 ESPYs himself, telling reporters that he had never seen an MMA fighter earn that much in one fight.

Saturday night

Rousey enters the Carano fight with a 12-2 record in professional MMA, and last fought in December 2016 when she was stopped by Amanda Nunes in 48 seconds. Carano (7-1) hasn’t fought since 2009. The fight lasts five rounds in the 145-pound featherweight limit. Nate Diaz and Mike Perry will be the co-main event, with Francis Ngannou and Philipe Lins also appearing on the main card. according to ESPN’s card breakdown.

This fight is billed as the last professional appearance of both women. Whatever happens in the cage, the reaction to a few seconds of glove work this week is a data set on how much the conversation around women’s combat sports has changed, a conversation Rousey was instrumental in starting in the decade since her name appeared alongside Mayweather’s.