Derek Chisora ​​shared his thoughts on Oleksandr Usyk’s lack of interest in fighting Moses Itauma, for whom he proposed an alternative dance partner.

Earlier this month, Usyk was asked if he would face Itauma, an undefeated talent, to which he replied that he didn’t want to “break” the 21-year-old.

Highlighting his age, the Ukrainian made it clear that the prodigy should instead focus on gaining experience and improving his skills before taking the plunge against a prodigy like himself.

Ultimately, Usyk outlined his preferred strategy – which includes fighting kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23 – and having two more fights before it’s time for his illustrious career.

After his next appearance, the 39-year-old wants the winner of the Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois fight, which will take place on May 9 for his ancient WBO world title.

Then a potential trilogy clash with Tyson Fury, whom he has twice overtaken, in 2024 seems like his ideal swan song, provided both remain in the win column by then.

WITH Itauma is not included in this three-fight plansaid veteran heavyweight Chisora IFL Television that Usyk has no reason to face a highly-ranked challenger

“Why would he fight Itauma? Did Itauma win the British title? Did he win the European title? Did he win the English title?

“Everyone has steps to take, I think Moses Itauma should go and win the European title, British title and other belts.

“He should fight Fabio [as he’s ranked No.2 with the WBO]. It’s a good fight for Fabio.”

Although Itauma has not won any of the above-mentioned titles, he is nevertheless widely considered to be the heavyweight champion of the world.

But before he gets the chance to prove his title-winning skills, the prolific knockout artist must first face Jermaine Franklin on March 28.

Chisora’s suggestion about Wardley poses a problem because both men share a coach in Ben Davison. Although Itauma did not rule it out, he admitted that a much easier path to the belt is to fight Dubois if he manages to dethrone Wardley in May.

Six weeks ago, the state of the boxing broadcast ecosystem was truly alarming. Top Rank had no television contract. Golden Boy’s contract with DAZN has expired. PBC limped along with a handful of Prime Video paid views. The only promotions with robust long-term TV networks were Matchroom, Queensberry and the fresh kid on the block in Zuffa Boxing. ESPN has completely moved away from sports. The business side of boxing seemed to be collapsing in real time.

Today the picture looks completely different. Not perfect. But alive.

Scorecard

Matchroom Boxing has a five-year extension with DAZN until 2031, announced in February. Thirty events per year. Eddie Hearn isn’t going anywhere, and neither is the deepest squad in the sport – Anthony Joshua, Dmitry Bivol, Jesse Rodriguez, Jaron Ennis, Katie Taylor, Dalton Smith and the rest.

Zuffa Boxing has a five-year contract with Paramount+ in the US, reportedly worth $100 million a year, and has just announced a multi-year broadcast deal with Heavenly sports for the UK and Ireland – confirming that Sky is the broadcaster of all Zuffa events involving at least five cards per year in the UK. Say what you will about Dana White’s entry into boxing, but this is real money and real distribution on both sides of the Atlantic. Paramount+ is also keeping UFC in a separate $7.7 billion deal, which means combat sports fans already have a reason to subscribe. Zuffa’s inaugural Paramount+ card launched in January, and the promotion crowned its first champion when Jai Opetaia dominated Brandon Glanton on March 8, and now has a British TV network that gives it a eternal presence in Europe’s largest boxing market.

Top Rank and DAZN announced their multi-year deal today. Bob Arum’s entire squad – Xander Zayas, Keyshawn Davis, Abdullah Mason, Emanuel Navarrete, Raymond Muratalla, Bruce Carrington and the entire pipeline – now competes on the same platform as Matchroom and Queensberry. It is accompanied by an archive of six decades. Dan Rafael reported that Top Rank is also negotiating a second deal that could bring back the ESPN business, which would give Arum the multi-outlet model he had been pushing for before ESPN’s departure.

PBC remains on Amazon Prime Video with five to six shows a year, mostly on pay-per-view for $79.99 each. It’s not a huge game and it’s not inexpensive for fans, but Sebastian Fundora’s March 28 defense of his WBC junior middleweight title against Keith Thurman is legitimate, and there are still names on the PBC roster that are moving the needle. With PBC, it was never about talent – ​​it was always about availability.

Most Valuable Promotions launched MVPW, a platform dedicated to women’s boxing, and signed a multi-year deal with ESPN through 2028. Credit to that – Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian saw a gap and filled it. Over 40 players have contracts. Caroline Dubois vs. Terri Harper on April 5 in London. Alycia Baumgardner vs. Bo Mi Re Shin at Madison Square Garden Theater on April 17. ESPN is bringing boxing back to the airwaves, even if it’s women-only for now, thanks to MVP. These are real fights with real world titles on the line, not exhibitions.

That leaves the Golden Boy. Oscar De La Hoya’s contract with DAZN expired at the end of 2025 and has not been formally extended yet. Golden Boy actually moved forward with a one-off event on DAZN on March 14, headlined by the Arnold Barboza Jr. fight. vs. Kenneth Sims Jr. at the Honda Center, and De La Hoya has said publicly that he is working on a fresh, long-term extension. Golden Boy has players people want to watch – Vergil Ortiz Jr., Oscar Collazo, Seniesa Estrada – and the sport is better when they have a stable home. But until pen touches paper, it is the only obvious hole in the landscape.

What does it mean

DAZN now includes Matchroom, Queensberry, Golden Boy (at least in practice) and Top Rank. This is an extraordinary concentration of talent on one platform. The promise of this consolidation has always been plain: if everyone is on the same network, network policies that prevent the best from fighting the best should disappear. Matchroom players can compete with top-class players. The boys from Queensberry can take on the boys from Golden Boy. The fights that fans have been clamoring for have become logistically possible in a way that hasn’t been the case for years.

Whether it will actually look like this is another matter. Promoters remain promoters. They still have their own financial incentives, their own relationships, their own egos. Being on the same platform doesn’t automatically mean that the Vergil Ortiz vs. Jaron Ennis fight will take place tomorrow. But it removes one of the biggest structural barriers. It matters.

Another thing worth noting is that there is real cross-platform competition in boxing right now. DAZN dominates the classic promotion model. Paramount+ and Sky Sports support the Zuffa rebellion on both sides of the Atlantic. Amazon runs PBC. Netflix is ​​getting into spectacular events. ESPN returns with its Women’s MVP series. This kind of competitive tension is vigorous for the sport because it forces everyone to deliver better content, better production, and better fights.

It is also worth noting that Saudi Arabia’s investments touch both sides of the divide. SURJ Sports, backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, has a significant stake in DAZN. Sela, a Saudi entertainment conglomerate, is a joint venture partner financing Zuffa Boxing. Turki Alalshikh’s season cards in Riyad are broadcast on DAZN, and his contacts also run through the Zuffa structure. This is not a criticism – it is a reflection of how deeply Saudi capital is now embedded in the sports infrastructure. Growth is real. The investment changed its face. However, anyone paying attention to the business side of boxing should understand that the cross-platform competitive landscape is more intertwined at the ownership level than it may seem.

Six weeks ago, it seemed like the sport was running out of places to put its product. Today, every major promotion except Golden Boy has a confirmed broadcaster, ESPN is back in the boxing industry, and DAZN is closer to a one-stop shop for the sport than any platform since HBO-Showtime. The landscape is not perfect. But for the first time in a while, it looks like this is a sport with a real future.

If Golden Boy can make it to the finish line with DAZN, the picture will be almost ready.

Al “Chico” Evans remains a forgotten heavyweight who dealt Mike Tyson one of the most overlooked defeats of his career, stopping the future champion as a 16-year-old amateur before the sport began to move forward without him.

Tyson wasn’t yet a fearsome professional force that would tear through the heavyweight division. He was still a teenager learning the U.S. amateur scene when Evans, a fully grown 27-year-old heavyweight from Chicago, defeated him in the 1982 U.S. Amateur Championship.

Context matters. Evans deserves full credit for the victory, but the age difference adds perspective.

It was a man standing face to face with a juvenile man who was not yet the completed version that the world would later know.

How Al Evans defeated Mike Tyson

Evans didn’t score a one-punch knockout. Available data indicates a stoppage in the third round, which is consistent with the most detailed press coverage of the fight.

Later Chicago Tribune ReportEvans remembers being warned about Tyson’s strength before the fight. He said Tyson started brisk and picked up early, but felt he was in control of the action despite the pressure.

According to this account, the turning point came in the third quarter. Evans said: “I put in a left hook and that was it.” He then dropped Tyson again with a right hand before the fight was stopped after another fall, a sequence later described by the Chicago Tribune as “flattening” the future champion.

This does not detract from the result, but explains it. Evans beat Tyson clearly enough for the referee to step in, and the knockdown sequence tells the real story better than any headline version.

A context that cannot be ignored

Any truthful story should include where both fighters were at the time. Amateur boxing pits fighters at very different stages of development, and Tyson had yet to become the cohesive, ruthless world title-winning force we saw a few years later.

Despite this, the victory still matters because Evans wasn’t some anonymous opponent pulled out of nowhere. In the amateur ring, he was a legitimate heavyweight with the size, skill and enough pedigree to make the result stand up for scrutiny.

A real contender, not just Tyson trivia

Evans had substance beyond that one night. Reports from the period and the broader history of his amateur career place him among the toughest American heavyweights of the era, even if injuries repeatedly hampered his progress.

He defeated grave opponents, rose to a high level of competition, and in boxing circles became known as a man who managed to do something that almost no one else had done at any stage of Tyson’s career.

That’s why this story continues. Not because it rewrites Tyson’s legacy, and not because it involves exaggeration, but because it shows how uneven a sport can be before greatness has fully taken shape.

Evans never came close to sharing Tyson’s fame. “Iron Mike” became one of the biggest names in sports history while Evans faded into the background.

But the result remains, and so does the account of how it happened.

For this reason, Al “Chico” Evans deserves more than a passing mention. He deserves to be remembered as more than just a curiosity attached to someone’s story.

About the author

Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.