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Dmitry Bivol will remain at the gala in Riyad on June 1 and will defend his WBA title against Malik Zinad

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Dmitry Bivol in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing

Malik Zinad will fight for his first major title one fight ahead of schedule.

confirmed that the undefeated 30-year-old challenger has been scheduled to face WBA airy heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. The fight, scheduled for 12 rounds, will take place on June 1 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyad, Saudi Arabia.

Zinad (22-0, 16 knockout) replaces Artur Beterbiev (20-0, 20 knockout), who was to face Bivol for the undisputed championship. Beterbiev, the Ring’s No. 1 airy heavyweight, suffered a torn meniscus and was forced to withdraw.

Messages left with representatives of Bivol, Zinad and event organizer Turki Alalshikh were not returned at time of publication. However, I learned that a contract was immediately signed with GOAT MGT founder Nomaan Ali, Zinad’s manager. As first reported by Mike Coppinger of ESPN.com, a quick call to action allowed Bivol to remain on the program.

Bivol (22-0, 11 KO) will no longer command the main event, although in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter. The main stars of the gala will now be Deontay Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KO) and Zhilei Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KO). Their heavyweight bout anchors the Matchroom Boxing vs. Queensberry Promotions 5v5.

Bivol will try his 11thvol defense of the WBA airy heavyweight title. He has maintained the full version since November 2017, when Trent Broadhurst was knocked out in the first round.

His goal was Beterbiev’s WBC, IBF and WBO titles, which would crown the first fully unified airy heavyweight king in over 20 years. That dream has now been postponed until at least the end of this year.

Meanwhile, Zinad will do his best to be a part of the undisputed equation.

Submitting the first bid for the title also means a quick return to the ring for the Libyan boxer living in Malta. Zinad defeated undefeated Jerome Pamplolone in the IBF semi-finals on April 24 in Sydney. Another victory would establish him as the mandatory challenger.

Thanks to his team’s concerted efforts, this route is no longer necessary.

Zinad’s five-week break between fights is his shortest between fights since 2019. He makes up for lost time accordingly; his victory over Pampellone ended a 13-month absence from the ring.

Bivol returns to the place where his last title defense took place. The No. 2 airy heavyweight and No. 6 pound-for-pound fighter passed Lyndon Arthur on Dec. 23 at Kingdom Arena.

The remainder of the show remains intact and will air live on DAZN Pay-Per-View. Beterbiev-Bivol was scheduled to be broadcast separately on ESPN+. In addition to Bivol-Zinad and Wilder-Zhang, at least four more fights have been confirmed for the event.

Croatian Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KO), number 5 in the heavyweight division, will face former WBA “Regular” champion Daniel Dubois (20-2, 19 KO). As previously reported , Hrgovic-Dubois will likely face the vacant IBF heavyweight title. This will depend on the outcome of Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury’s undisputed championship on May 18. The winner is expected to immediately relinquish the IBF belt in exchange for a mandatory title defense against Hrgovic.

WBA 126-pound world champion Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 8 KO) will defend his belt against Nick Ball (19-0-1, 11 KO). Ford is ranked No. 7 with a score of 126, while Ball is No. 4 in The Ring’s rankings.

Hamzah Sheeraz (19-0, 15 KO) and Austin “Ammo” Williams (16-0, 11 KO) will meet as a pair of undefeated middleweight fighters. London’s Craig Richards (18-3-1, 11 KO) and Scotland’s Willy Hutchinson (17-1, 13 KO) will fight in a airy heavyweight fight.

Wilder is captain of the Matchroom team, which also includes Hrgovic, Ford, Williams and Richards.

Sheeraz leads the Queensberry team, which is also represented by Zhang, Dubois, Ball and Hutchinson.

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Boxing

Ryan Rozicki is waiting for Badou Jack’s consent to mandatory cooperation with the WBC

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Badou Jack Rozicki Mikaelian WBC

The World Boxing Council (WBC) ordered world cruiserweight champion Badou “The Ripper” Jack (20-1-1, 19 KO) to make a mandatory title defense against Ryan “The Bruiser” Rozicki (20-1), number 1 in the WBC ranking – 1, 19 KOs).

If both camps fail to successfully negotiate an agreement, the WBC will organize a tender on February 4, followed by the Jack vs. Rozicki. Rozicki’s promoter, Three Lions Promotions, immediately sent Team Jacek an offer to promote the fight in Canada last week.

“We are waiting for their counteroffer,” explained promoter Dan Otter of Three Lions Promotions. “Boxing has had a huge resurgence in Canada and Ryan is leading the way. He is one of the most electrifying and hardest-hitting fighters in boxing, definitely in the cruiserweight division. He wants the WBC green belt and ultimately the unification of the division. Ryan will fight Jack anywhere for the belt.”

29-year-old Rozicki, born in Sydney (Nova Scotia) and living in Hamilton (Ontario), fought 22 professional fights against 21 different opponents (twice against Yamil Alberto Peralta), stopping 19 of the 20 opponents he defeated. an eye-opening 95-KO percentage.

Jack, 41, was a 2008 Olympian representing his native Sweden. He is a three-division world champion, as well as the WBC super middleweight and World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight heavyweight title holder. Jack has a record of 5-0-2 (2 KO) in world championship fights.

“We respect Jack and I don’t want to sound disrespectful,” Otter added, “but he’s over 40 years vintage and has been relatively inactive for two years (only one fight). He brings a lot of experience and respect to the ring, but he will fight a newborn defender with a lot of power. Jack is going to struggle and honestly, I don’t think he’ll make it past the first few rounds.”

Ryan Rozicki is on a mission to become the first Canadian cruiserweight world champion.

The next move is Badou Jack’s.

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Floyd Mayweather’s record is not normal, it can’t happen in 70 years

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Floyd Mayweather 50-0

Floyd Mayweather’s incredible 50-0 record is not normal and cannot be repeated in sports for another seventy years.

This is the view of Saudi Arabian president Turki Alalshikh, who wants to adopt the UFC model in which fighters lose many fights during their career.

In a speech as he hosted the Ring Magazine Awards after acquiring the long-running boxing publication from Oscar De La Hoya, Alalshikh was unequivocal in his opinion.

“Now losing some fights in boxing must be normal,” he explained. “All fighters want a career similar to Floyd Mayweather – no losses. This may happen once every 50, 60 or 70 years.

“We need it [to be] like currently in the UFC model, where champions lose and win,” added the matchmaker during the Riyad season.

Mayweather rose through the sport in the tardy 1990s to become one of its youngest superstars. Mayweather’s professional success came after winning a bronze medal at the Olympics after losing to Serafim Todorov.

Winning world titles in five weight classes, Mayweather was untouchable. The Grand Rapids native only came close to defeat a few times. He dominated Manny Pacquiao and overtook Canelo Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya after heated debates, with decisions that should have been made unanimously.

Towards the end of his career, Mayweather chose to face Andre Berto and Conor McGregor, easily winning and ending his boxing career at the age of 50 without ever going out. Calling himself “the greatest of all time,” Mayweather earned first-ballot Hall of Fame honors and is widely considered one of, if not the greatest defensive fighter of all time.

However, Alalshikh says this type of career needs to end so that fans can get the most out of boxing, as is the case with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Boxing needs to become more attractive, and Alalshikh sees the failures of top stars as a way to keep interest at an all-time high.

In this sport, many boxers enjoy undefeated streaks, the most notable of which is Oleksandr Usyk. The Ukrainian Pound for Pound King is 23-0 and has beaten the best he has to offer in his division and cruiserweight classification.

It remains a mystery how Alalshikh plans to make Usyk suffer while he dominates everyone else. By the time his grand plan goes into action, Usyk will be long gone, and Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney may be more realistic targets.

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Manny Pacquiao remains the favorite to win the title against Mario Barrios

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Manny Pacquiao vs Barrios

WBN understands that despite alternative options emerging, it is more likely that Manny Pacquiao will face Mario Barrios next.

Bob Santos, coach of WBC welterweight champion Barrios, told World Boxing News that he is currently in contact with Pacquiao’s team. Asked by WBN if he had spoken to Pacquiao or representatives of any other challenger, Santos replied: “Yes, Pacquiao’s promoter, Sean Gibbons.” Pressed on whether Barrios vs Pacquiao might happen next, he added: “It’s challenging to say. We’ll have to see how this plays out.”

WBN contacted Santos after Conor Benn emerged as a potential alternative to Barrios. The British fighter, who recently returned from a suspension following two positive drug tests, is keen to return to competition.

Benn showed favor with the World Boxing Council at the recent WBC Convention, the WBC Evaluation Committee and during an interview with the sanctioning body over the weekend. “The Destroyer” is ranked second in the rankings at 147 pounds, despite less than solid opponents during his time in exile, during which Benn competed twice in the United States while his career in the United Kingdom was in doubt.

As he battled to clear his name and with the British Anti-Doping Authority finding no evidence that Benn had intentionally taken ostarine, the 28-year-old’s career took a pointed nosedive. Despite this, he remains highly rated and at least one step away from fighting for an eliminator or one of the remaining championship titles.

However, Pacquiao remains Barrios’ favorite. Now it’s up to the boxing legend and Hall of Famer who got the first votes to secure his shot. WBN believes a July date – most likely at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas – is the most realistic date for a Nevada swan song.

Pacquiao could extend his record as the oldest welterweight champion by six years if he can secure a huge victory over the 29-year-old world champion. At 46 years antique, such a scenario remains unlikely, but he can never be compared to one of the greatest players of this generation.

Unlike heavier boxers and his training regiment, Pacquiao looks in great shape despite his advanced age. Everything is set for a massive return to the boxing capital of the world, provided Pacquiao and his team can manage his political ambitions, which are expected to run from this month until May. After that time, Pacquiao could find himself in the summer finals and become the all-time champion, regardless of the result.

Barrios is based in the city, where he trained with Santos, and would be the perfect opponent to see out the career of one of the greatest fighters in history.

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