UK Boxing
Moses Itauma struck a blow a day after announcing his world title shot
Moses Itauma’s next fight appears to be on hold.
Itauma’s search for an opponent appeared to be over on Wednesday when Kubrat Pulev was ordered to defend his “regular” WBA heavyweight title against him.
However, the 20-year-old appeared to be dealt a blow after Pulev decided to defend his crown against Murat Gassiev on December 12 in Dubai.
The Pulev-Gassiev fight will be the main attraction of the IBA Pro 13 tournament held at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.
“It has been a long and challenging wait, but I am thrilled to have finally defended my world title,” Pulev said.
“I respect Murat Gassiev – he is a powerful and risky opponent – but I am ready, focused and eager to give the fans a great fight.
“I am grateful to the IBA and Epic Sports for making this possible and I look forward to returning to the ring.”
The 44-year-old won the WBA title by defeating Mahmoud Charr in December in his hometown of Sofia.
The WBA ordered the Bulgarian to face Michael Hunter, but after the American’s decision to face Jarrell Miller in a fight that ultimately did not take place, the WBA removed him from its mandatory challenger.
The governing body said Pulev had the opportunity to voluntarily defend his title, but when he failed to do so, he was ordered to face Itauma, with both sides having until November 14 to reach an agreement.
In a letter received by journalist Dan Rafael and posted on page XWBA wrote: “Because the WBA did not receive an agreed contract from Pulev and Hunter within the time required by WBA regulations, and Hunter elected to fight a fight other than the one subject to the award, Pulev no longer has to fight Hunter to retain the WBA title.
“The WBA releases Pulev from any obligation to fight in defense of his title against Hunter and invalidates the Pulev-Hunter offer.
“The agreement provided that Pulev would be able to defend his title against any available challenger within the WBA heavyweight division within a reasonable time after the conclusion of this agreement.
“No such title defense has been conducted or announced.
“Therefore, the Committee requires Pulev to engage in a mandatory defense against the next leading available challenger and WBA No. 1 ranked contender, Moses Itauma.
BREAKING: According to the WBA ruling I obtained, Michael Hunter is a mandatory for “regular” heavyweight champion Kubrat Pulev, who is now ordered to face another top contender: Moses Itauma. They have 30 days to conclude a transaction or bid on the portfolio. He’s probably pushing Itauma’s next fight to January. #box pic.twitter.com/qSR7Y7hM5a
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) October 15, 2025
“The WBA gives 30 days [October 15 – November 14] for negotiations and if no agreement is reached, the World Championship Committee will call for a cash offer.”
Itauma was scheduled to return on December 13 in Manchester, but in airy of the WBA’s order, his return was to be delayed, said a source with knowledge of the plans. proboxing-fans.com.
However, with Pulev-Gasev now official, it is unclear whether the potential top heavyweight will fight before the end of the year.
The Kent fighter, who stopped Dillian Whyte in a round in August, is the number one contender in both the WBO and WBA rankings, behind undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk was agreed to extend the negotiations next Saturday at the O2 Arena he will face WBO interim champion Joseph Parker, who will face Fabio Wardley.
Naoya Inoue is the hefty favorite to defeat Junto Nakatani in an undisputed title clash on Saturday.
Inoue defends all four of his super bantamweight world titles in a huge all-Japan fight against Nakatani at the Tokyo Dome, live on DAZN.
Inoue, a top-three top-ranked pound-for-pound leader, is a 1/4 favorite Bet365 emerge victorious and inflict his first professional defeat on his rival.
“The Monster” has stopped 27 of his 32 opponents and is expected to stop Nakatani 11/10.
The undefeated 33-year-old has gone the distance in his last two outings and is valued at 7/4 for a third straight decision win.
Nakatani is also a star fighting for world champion titles in the fourth weight category.
The 28-year-old southpap is a 3/1 underdog to cause a seismic shock.
“Substantial Bang” has won five of his last six fights at the distance, and he sees his best chance of winning after a stoppage at 6/1.
Nakatani defeated Sebastian Hernandez Reyes on points from Inoue’s undercard defeated Alan David Picasso in Saudi Arabia in December, and a decision victory is valued at 10/1.
Full Bet365 odds
The result of the fight
- Naoya Inoue will win the fight: 1/4
- Naoya Inoue by KO/TKO/DQ: 11/10
- Naoya Inoue by decision or technical decision: 7/4
- Junto Nakatani will win the fight: 3/1
- Junto Nakatani by KO/TKO/DQ: 6/1
- Total cut by decision or technical decision: 10/10
- Draw or technical draw: 14/1
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Round bets
Naoya Inoue
- To win round 1: 80/1
- Win in round 2: 50/1
- To win in round 3: 33/1
- To win in round 4: 25/1
- To win in round 5: 20/1
- To win in round 6: 16/1
- To win in round 7: 14/1
- Win in round 8: 12/12
- To win in round 9: 1/12
- To win in round 10: 12/12
- To win in round 11: 14/1
- To win in round 12: 16/1
- Win by Decision or Technical Decision: 7/4
Junto Nakatani
- Win in round 1: 100/1
- Win in round 2: 100/1
- Win in round 3: 100/1
- To win in round 4: 80/1
- Win in round 5: 66/1
- Win in round 6: 50/1
- Win in round 7: 50/1
- To win in round 8: 40/1
- To win in round 9: 40/1
- To win in round 10: 40/1
- To win in round 11: 50/1
- To win in round 12: 50/1
- Win by Decision or Technical Decision: 10/10
The post Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani – Odds and Betting Guide appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.
UK Boxing
Eddie Hearn responds to the announcement of the Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua fight with three words
Conah Walker returns to the ring next weekend and will face Sam Eggington.
The winner of the Walker vs. Eggington fight may have a chance to win the welterweight world title.
Since the defeat in 2024, “Wolf” has been in excellent form, boasting an impressive series of four victories in the season, the last three of which ended by knockout.
The last defeat in the career of the Wolverhampton fighter came at the hands of the current IBF world champion Lewis Crocker.
He overcame “The Croc” the distance and, in many people’s eyes, was unlucky not to receive recognition on the judges’ scorecards, which showed a unanimous victory for the Irishman.
He returned just two months after this defeat and in Birmingham he faced Lewis Ritson, whom he defeated over the distance.
Walker was the underdog against Harry Scarff in Nottingham and lost most, if not all, of the rounds until the 11th round before landing a series of punches in the penultimate round that forced the referee to stop the fight.
In his last fight, “The Wolf” was once again the clear underdog, beating Olympic silver medalist Pat McCormack in Monaco.
Walker performed well throughout the fight, but fell on two judges’ scorecards before the final round.
The Wolverhampton player took the ball out of the bag and scored a dramatic goal in the last round.
He will face Sam Eggington, a tough opponent also from the West Midlands.
Eggington’s last defeat was to former world champion Abass Baraou, who defeated him by majority vote.
Since then, he has had wins over Alan Velazquez and Lee Cutler.
“The Savage” was injured in his last fight against Cutler and the injury forced the referee to stop the fight early, so he is hopeful that the fight will not be restarted against Walker.
Walker vs Eggington – date, place, start time and ring walks
- The fight between both fighters will take place on Saturday, May 2, live at the Civic Hall in Wolverhampton
- Broadcast will start at 7pm BST/
- The main event will start around 10pm BST
Walker vs. Eggington – how to watch
- The card can be watched live worldwide on DAZN
Walker vs. Eggington – last three fights
Conah Walker
- Conah Walker vs. Pat McCormack – KO in the 12th round
- Conah Walker vs. Liam Taylor – KO in the 7th round
- Conah Walker vs. Harry Scarff – 11th KO
Sam Eggington
- Sam Eggington bt Lee Cutler – technical decision, 9th round
- Sam Eggington bt Alan Sebastian Velazquez – unanimous decision
- Sam Eggington lt Abass Baraou – majority decision
Walker vs. Eggington – Undercard
- Conah Walker (17-3-1) vs. Sam Eggington (36-9) – welterweight (12 rounds)
- Bilal Fawaz (11-1-1) vs. Ryan Kelly (20-6-1) – super welterweight (12 rounds)
- Kieron Conway (23-4-1) vs. Mark Jeffers (20-2) – middleweight (10 rounds)
- Shannon Ryan (10-1) vs Nicola Hopewell (8-1) – super flyweight (10 x 2 rounds)
- Tiah Mai Ayton (5-0) vs Stevi Levy (15-4) – (8 x 2 rounds)
- Junaid Bostan (10-1-1) vs. Mohammed Graich (12-4-1) – super welterweight (8 rounds)
- Louie Ward (1-0) vs. Jesus Carrasco (2-3-2) – (4 rounds)
- Harley Burrows (debut) vs. Lewis Howells (3-7) – (4 rounds)
The post Conah Walker vs. Sam Eggington – how to watch it appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.
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