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Oleksandr Usyk requests exception to IBF mandatory defense against Filip Hrgovic

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Oleksandr Usyk has taken the first step – and perhaps the last sigh – to keep his undisputed heavyweight championship intact.

The Ring confirmed that the undefeated two-division champion filed an exception to avoid being stripped of his IBF title. The request to delay the outstanding mandatory title defense came six days after Usyk defeated Tyson Fury in a split decision aimed at fully unifying all heavyweight titles. Fury’s representatives confirmed plans to introduce a rematch clause.

It also comes eight days before he faces another title challenger. Mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic and England’s Daniel Dubois collide on June 1 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyad, Saudi Arabia. The historic victory of Usyk took place in the same place, crowning the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the 21st century.

Ukrainian Usyk (22-0, 14 knockout) entered his undisputed RING clash with Fury knowing that a decision on his mandatory IBF defense would be made immediately.

Croatian Hrgovic has been the top IBF heavyweight contender since his victory over Zhilei Zhang in August 2022. Since then, Ring’s sixth heavyweight has fought just twice, largely due to the mandatory challenger rotation system for unified titles. Finding willing opponents was also a problem, even with the interim IBF title at stake.

Immediately after Usyk’s victory on May 18, it was widely speculated that his undisputed reign would last less than two weeks. It was strongly suggested that the belt would be available to Hrgovic-Dubois. The heavyweight bout will be part of the 5-on-5 Matchroom vs. Queensberry, which will take place on June 1.

The matter is now in the hands of the IBF. The decision will be made before Hrgovic-Dubois, but not much sooner, as the application was only received on Friday.

The threat of an immediate split in the reign emerged when Usyk and Fury (34-1-1, 24 KO) agreed to fight terms. The matter became even more complicated when the originally scheduled date of February 17 was postponed by three months. Fury suffered a cut during sparring, which postponed the historic championship clash.

Usyk won the WBA, IBF and WBO titles following a points victory over Anthony Joshua (27-3, 24 KO) in September 2021 in north London. Usyk repeated the feat, this time via split decision in the August 2022 rematch. On the same show, Hrgovic defeated Zhang and became the mandatory challenger.

Usyk’s approach of staging one fight a year since moving up to heavyweight has contributed to the current dilemma. Hrgovic was forced to wait for Usyk’s ordered WBA title consolidation fight with Dubois due to the rotation system. Usyk won the fight by knockout in the ninth round on August 26 in Wrocław.

At this point, Saudi advisor Turki Alalshikh revealed his plans for major boxing events in his kingdom. In the first outing of the 2023 season in Riyad, Fury narrowly defeated Francis Ngannou and won a ten-round decision in a non-title fight on October 28 in Riyad. Fury then agreed to risk his WBC belt against Usyk, although it was no secret that the winner would have to deal with a long-term IBF situation.

At the post-fight press conference, the topic of an immediate rematch was discussed. Fury gave a typically wide-ranging response, but his team eventually informed Usyk of their plans to get him back.

Usyk, in turn, has now gone to great lengths to ensure exactly the same stakes in the second act. Even one less belt on the scale will not change the meaning. Usyk is the champion of The Ring and is widely considered the king of the heavyweight division.

That said, he learned one of two scenarios to play against Hrgovic-Dubois.

There is still a possibility that the full title will be available next weekend. Another option would be for the IBF to provide an interim title. The winner would be guaranteed – on paper, anyway – an immediate shot at the Usyk-Fury II winner.

Usyk’s victory over Fury brought additional accolades. The 37-year-old southpaw was ranked No. 1 in The Ring’s pound-for-pound rankings.

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Bruce Carrington congratulates the tough Sulaiman Segawa for taking him to recent heights

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Bruce Carrington picked up the biggest victory of his career on Friday night, but he remained focused on giving credit where he felt it was due – for believing and facing his toughest challenge yet.

Carrington (13-0, 8 KO) faced his toughest test yet in Sulaiman Segawa (17-5-1, 6 KO), the WBC’s No. 3 featherweight. “You’re a good fighter bro, yeah, definitely my best fighter I’ve had so far,” Carrington said after the fight. He also attributed his faith in the victory, adding: “I want to thank God for my victory, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

The fight was close from the start, with Segawa taking Carrington down early, landing more punches and briefly rocking his undefeated opponent with hooks in the second round. Carrington responded with a piercing counterattack, starting a back and forth fight.

As the rounds progressed, Carrington began to take control. He landed a solid right hand in the fourth round that energized the Modern York crowd, and then he adjusted his strategy, focusing on body shots to leisurely Segawa’s pace.

After a header in the seventh over, Carrington suffered a noticeable knock, but he kept pushing forward in the final overs, pushing for action while Segawa took clumsy, defensive shots. Ultimately, the judges scored the fight 95-95, 97-93 and 97-93 in favor of Carrington.

Contemplating victory, Carrington accepted Segawa’s challenge. “I owe him a lot,” Carrington said. “This will just take me to the next level.”

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Will Haney become an outcast after the Garcia trial?

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Image: Keyshawn Davis: "I Know I Would Stop Devin Haney"

Devin Haney risked his career and decided to sue Ryan Garcia over the events that occurred on April 20 earlier this year in Brooklyn, Modern York.

If Haney loses the lawsuit, it could damage his career by making him a pariah among top-flight players and treating him like a member of an untouchable class. A lawsuit is a huge risk and could end Haney’s career, leaving him in a much worse situation than he would have been.

Did Haney make a bad move?

Perhaps instead of filing a lawsuit, Haney should have started generating interest in a rematch with Ryan Garcia by conducting repeated interviews and posting on social media. By the time Ryan’s suspension ends in April 2025, fan interest will be high.

Haney would have a desire for revenge and wouldn’t be seen as frail like many fans now see him because of his lawsuit. Even if Haney lost the rematch, he would still make a lot of money.

There is a very real risk that Haney’s lawsuit could result in him losing out forever on the biggest payday of his career in a rematch with Ryan, which would be a huge missed opportunity.

If Haney wins the lawsuit and receives tens of millions, it may not matter. After giving his lawyer part of his estate, he will have enough money to live comfortably and not worry that his career will be ruined. Actually, it already happened, but a lawsuit would be the final straw.

The lawsuit could hurt his chances of fighting other big-name fighters unless His Excellency Turki Alalshikh takes him under his wing. Turki would have the money to lure fighters to fight Haney, but otherwise he might be an outcast. It’s unclear how Turki will view Haney after all this. Will he find him worthy of pumping money into his career like he did with the aging Terence Crawford, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, or will he ignore him?

Garcia (24-1, 20 KO) tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine and was 3.5 pounds overweight heading into his 140-pound title fight for Haney’s WBC welterweight belt.

“Devin’s father made great decisions for his son. I think it’s another great decision,” coach Greg Hackett said Fightin response to Devin Haney filing a lawsuit against Ryan Garcia, alleging fraud, battery and unjust enrichment in connection with the fight that took place on April 20.

Taking Ryan to court doesn’t seem like a well-thought-out idea, as it seems more like an action based on emotion rather than looking at the bigger picture. If you look at the lawsuit from a narrow perspective, it makes sense, but now when you consider how it ruins Haney’s chance at a rematch. If top players avoid Haney from now on, he has shot himself in the foot.

Is Ryan Garcia being milked?

“My opinion is a little different. I would like to hurt Ryan Garcia [in the ring]but in business and the world of finance they always utilize this expression: ‘You’ve got to hit it where it hurts,’ which is the bank,” Hackett continued.

“I saw Devin doing this because not only was it not what he did well, but we really want you to pay for it. We really want him to understand this [stuff] it wasn’t nippy and it doesn’t need to be repeated,” Hackett said.

If Haney feels his career is over, a lawsuit makes sense. However, if Haney sees this as a way milking Ryan Garcia like a cow extracting as much money from him as possible and then arranging a rematch would only disappoint him.

You never know. This may be something Devin wants to do to maintain attention. I wouldn’t do it, but I can’t be mad at him for doing it. In the world of entertainment, it is a completely different world from what we are used to in everyday life. Sometimes you have to deal with these things,” Hackett said.

“If something happened, we’re talking about the entire empire [Haney’s career]and construction took years. Boom! They wouldn’t let him make more money if something stupid happened to the kid because of him. So you have to sue him.

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Mykquan Williams will appear in ‘Heroes on the Hudson 2’ on October 23

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Miyo Yoshida vs Shurretta Metcalf

Undefeated super lightweight “Marvelous” Mykquan Williams will headline the co-main event of DiBella Entertainment’s “Heroes on the Hudson 2.”

The event will take place on Wednesday, October 23, at the theater at Madison Square Garden. The latest edition of Broadway Boxing will be a special event to honor our heroic veterans of the United States Armed Forces ahead of Veterans Day. IBF bantamweight world champion Miyo Yoshida will headline the gala, making the first defense of her belt in a rematch with Shurretta Metcalf.

World-class Mykquan Williams (21-0-2, 10 KO) of East Hartford, Connecticut will defend his WBA Continental Americas gold title in a super lightweight fight against Lavisas Williams (10-1-1, 3 KO) of Rochester, Modern York. Trained by longtime trainer Paul Cichon of the Manchester Ring of Champions Society boxing gym, Mykquan started the year by winning the belt in January with an impressive sixth-round knockout of previously undefeated Luis Feliciano. Then, in June, as part of a celebratory weekend during which his manager Jackie Kallen was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, Mykquan scored a third-round victory over Willmanek Brito in Verona, Modern York.

“Super lightweight fighter Mykquan Williams, a staple of the Broadway Boxing franchise since his professional debut, is a great addition to Heroes on the Hudson 2.” Starting off the year with the best performance of his career, he has truly blossomed into a legitimate Top 10 World Class contender,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “To have a chance at the world title, he must first overtake the skillful Lavisas Williams on October 23.”

“This will be my first time boxing at Madison Square Garden and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to fight in such a historic venue at an event honoring our military veterans,” Williams said. “I want to end the year on a high note and move on to bigger and better things in 2025.”

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