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Gary Antuanne Russell looks at Ortiz’s fight after back-to-back wins

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Image: Gary Antuanne Russell Expresses Disappointment as Richardson Hitchins Avoids Unification Bout

Russell, the WBA junior welterweight titleholder, is awaiting his first defense against mandatory challenger Andy Hiraoka. The fight has not been finalized yet. Russell and Hiraoka were previously scheduled to meet last November before the fight was canceled, leaving Russell without a confirmed date for his first defense.

“I beat him. It was a tournament in Georgia. I managed to catch him, but I would like to see him professionally.” Russell said from Ortiz. “But first he has to beat Keyshawn. I have to beat this guy Andy Hiraoka.”

Russell rejected the idea that a victory over Ortiz would have constrained significance for Davis, describing Ortiz as a fighter who is regularly underrated.

“To say that Keyshawn doesn’t really have any weight to beat this guy is a lie,” Russell said. “He’s sleeping. This guy is sleepy. He could fight.”

A victory for Ortiz would immediately change his standing at 140 pounds, putting him closer to a title shot and directly into talks with established belt holders.

Russell’s comments come days after he was ranked fifth in The Ring magazine’s updated junior welterweight rankings released Jan. 15. Dalton Smith climbed to the top spot with a knockout victory over Subriel Matias. This decision was met with criticism from fans who questioned Russell’s place due to his recent achievements.

Russell still needs a date for his mandatory defense. Ortiz still has Keyshawn Davis in front of him.

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Tim Bradley Predicts Canelo Alvarez vs Christian Mbilli: Hes Going to Piece Him Up

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Tim Bradley Predicts Canelo Alvarez vs Christian Mbilli: "He's Going to Piece Him Up"

Tim Bradley anticipates a “hell of a fight” unfolding between Canelo Alvarez and Christian Mbilli, but only sees one man emerging victorious on October 31.

The pair will collide in a super-middleweight contest in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Mbilli making a first defence of his WBC world title.

He was upgraded from ‘interim’ to full champion following the retirement of Terence Crawford, who became the undisputed 168lb king by dethroning Canelo with a unanimous decision victory in September.

That same night, Mbilli defended his then-interim belt with a 10-round draw against Lester Martinez, producing a performance that aptly reflected his high-volume style.

But while the Frenchman does, indeed, force a considerable pace in the ring, many doubt that this will be enough to trump the 36-year-old Canelo.

Despite coming to the end of his decorated career, the Mexican hardly disgraced himself against Crawford and, prior to that, had remained unbeaten since his 2022 defeat to Dmitry Bivol.

Not only that, but many feel Alvarez is a more technically savvy operator than Mbilli, who throws punches in bunches but typically comes forward in straight lines.

It is partly because of this that Hall of Famer Bradley, while speaking with FightHypehas predicted a dominant victory for Canelo.

“He going to piece Mbilli’s ass up. I like Mbilli – tough guy, comes to bring the pain. It’s going to be a hell of a fight. But Canelo going to catch and shoot on his ass all night long.

“Uppercuts, hooks … it’s going to be bad. [Canelo’s] going to look like he’s back [to his best].”

By “catch and shoot”, Bradley means he is expecting Canelo to punish Mbilli with his counterpunching prowess, even if the 31-year-old keeps springing back with relentless aggression.

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Shakur Stevenson Challenges Devin Haney to Step Up Against KO Champion: You Have No Other Option

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"Shakur Stevenson Challenges Devin Haney to Step Up Against KO Champion: 'You Have No Other Option'"

Devin Haney is currently searching for his next opponent and Shakur Stevenson believes there is only one option for him.

Haney hasn’t fought since becoming a three-division world champion when he defeated Brian Norman Jr by unanimous decision to win the WBO welterweight title back in November.

He has been rumoured to face a number of opponents since then, including Stevenson himself, but it looked like ‘The Dream’ would finally settle on a mandatory showdown with Keyshawn Davis after Top Rank won the purse bid for the clash last week.

Those plans went up in smoke when Davis pulled out of the contest, and Stevenson has explained why he thinks Haney now must target a battle against unified super-welterweight champion Jaron Ennis.

“You said you’d fight Conor Benn? You said you’d find Xander. Why the f**k you don’t say you want to fight Boots now? Matter of fact, you’ve got no other option.

“There’s nobody else on the table. There’s no me, there’s no Key[shawn Davis]there’s no Rolly. Who do you go to? Boots is free. Go get him.”

Ennis previously became unified champion at welterweight before moving up to 154lbs, making an instant impact in the new division when he stopped Xander Zayas in June to win the WBA and WBO super-welterweight titles.

It remains to be seen whether Haney would have any interest in moving up in weight to take on Ennis, with ‘Boots’ also having been linked to fights against IBF champion Josh Kelly, and fellow unbeaten star Vergil Ortiz.

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New World Champion Aims to Follow Canelo and Golovkin as Top Middleweight

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"New World Champion Aims to Follow Canelo and Golovkin as Top Middleweight"

A newly-crowned world champion believes he has what it takes to follow in the footsteps of Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin by becoming the best middleweight fighter on the planet.

Canelo and Golovkin each ruled the 160lb division for a number of years, culminating in two middleweight battles between the pair and one at super-middleweight.

While ‘GGG’ may have last competed in 2022, Canelo remains active, but now fights at super-middleweight, opening the door for a fighter to step up and become the top dog in the middleweight division.

One man who believes he can do just that is Aaron McKenna, who won the vacant IBF middleweight title with a unanimous decision win over Etinosa Oliha in Dublin on Saturday.

Speaking to Sky Sports following that win, McKenna explained how he has ambitions to pick up where the likes of Canelo and Golovkin left off.

“It doesn’t matter [who’s next]whoever wants it. I’m easy to find now, I have a belt. There’s no hiding any more. I want to collect every single belt in boxing. I’m the best middleweight and super-middleweight in the world. I don’t mind jumping up.

“The middleweight division’s there to be took over. It’s been dying for years since GGG (Golovkin) and Canelo left it. I said it again, a year ago, I think I’m going to be the man to take it over.”

The other world champions at 160lbs may have a thing or two to say about McKenna’s plan, as Denzel Bentley is the current WBO champion, Carlos Adamas holds the WBC belt, and Erislandy Lara is the WBA titleholder.

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