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This Weekend’s Fight Rankings – “Chocolatito”, “Boots”, Ennis and Alimkhanuly

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From the return of former heavyweight king Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, to title defenses by Janibek Alimkhanuly, Skye Nicolson, and Jaron “Boots” Ennis, there are several notable fights taking place around the world this weekend.

Gonzalez, who is currently testing the waters at bantamweight, is a future Hall of Famer trying to secure a title shot in a fifth weight class. Alimkhanuly is arguably the best middleweight boxer currently in the game, and with little competition in the division, a decisive victory could lend a hand him make a future move to 168 pounds, where names like Canelo Alvarez, David Morrell and Christian Mbilli await.

Nicolson has been busy (six fights since February 2023) fighting all over the world – the US, Mexico, England and Ireland. Ennis will defend his welterweight belt for the first time since being elevated to the title by the IBF.

Here’s a list of the most intriguing fights to watch this weekend, taking into account matchups, weight, and emotion.


1. Title Fight: Jaron Ennis vs. David Avanesyan, 12 rounds, for Ennis’ IBF welterweight title
July 13 in Philadelphia (DAZN)

Ennis is electrifying to watch, having won four of his last five fights by KO. After signing with promoter Matchroom Boxing and being promoted to world title by the IBF, his career is potentially taking off.

With Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. now eyeing moves up to junior middleweight, Ennis (ESPN’s No. 3 welterweight contender) could move up to the top if he keeps his winning streak going.

Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) will be looking to put on a show in his first title defense in front of his hometown fans, and recent form suggests “Boots” will be up to the task. Ennis knocked out Roiman Villa in his last appearance a year ago, while Avanesyan (30-4-1, 18 KOs) has fought just once since being knocked out by Crawford in 2022. Avanesyan replaces Cody Crowley, who withdrew with an eye injury in June.


2. Raymond Muratalla vs. Tevin Farmer, 10 rounds, lightweight
July 13 in Las Vegas (ESPN/ESPN+)

Muratalla is a blast to watch. He has won four of his last five fights by KO and will take a massive step toward a world title shot if he beats Farmer, a former junior lightweight champion.

Muratalla (20-0, 16 KOs), from California, is closing in on Shakur Stevenson and Denis Berinchyk with the possibility of massive fights against William Zepeda and Keyshawn Davis in the next 18 months. Zepeda and Davis won their fights last Saturday.

Farmer (33-5-1, 8 KOs), from Philadelphia, hasn’t fought in 3½ years since losing to Joseph Diaz Jr. for the junior lightweight title in January 2020, but he has three wins in the past year. This could be the most competitive fight of the weekend, as it has all the ingredients for an intriguing fight.


3. Roman Gonzalez vs. Robert Barrera, 10 rounds, bantamweight
July 12 in Managua, Nicaragua (ESPN+)

Gonzalez, 37, sees this as a chance to restart his career, rather than a farewell fight in front of his home country’s fans.

“Chocolatito” is hoping that a win in his first fight in Nicaragua since 2015 will give him a chance to win a fifth-division world title in Japan later this year. All four bantamweight titles are held by Japanese boxers: Junto Nakatani (WBC), Takuma Inoue (WBA), Ryosuke Nishida (IBF) and Yoshiki Takei (WBO).

Gonzalez needs a sturdy showing, though, as he hasn’t fought since an epic showdown with Juan Francisco Estrada in December 2022, which he lost by majority decision. Gonzalez (51-4, 41 KOs) most recently sparred with Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, who knocked out Estrada to win the WBC junior bantamweight title on June 29.

After defeating Estrada in the first of three fights, Gonzalez knocked out Ronald Barrera in May 2013. Barrera (27-5, 17 KOs) is looking to avenge his older brother’s defeat 11 years ago and thwart Gonzalez’s plans to fight for a world title.


4. Title Fight: Janibek Alimkhanuly vs. Andrei Mikhailovich, 12 rounds, for Alimkhanuly’s WBO and IBF middleweight titles
July 13 in Las Vegas (ESPN/ESPN+)

Alimkhanuly is ESPN’s number one ranked middleweight and will be looking to pick up a significant victory that will lend a hand him prepare for bigger fights in the future.

The problem is that there are no names in the middleweight division that Alimkhanuly (15-0, 10 KOs) can cash in on. Much like his Kazakh compatriot Gennady “GGG” Golovkin did during his middleweight reign, Alimkhanuly seems to be on a completely different level than the others and in this fight he could show that he has an impact at the weight.

Up-to-date Zealander Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KOs) has not yet shown the level of Alimkhanuly and the champion is expected to win early.


5. Ruben Villa vs. Sulaiman Segawa, 10 rounds, featherweight
July 13 in Las Vegas (ESPN/ESPN+)

Villa, the WBC’s No. 1 contender, can’t afford to slip up with a title shot in his grasp. A win over Segawa would certainly earn him a shot at champion Rey Vargas if the Mexican stays at featherweight. A fight with Brandon Figueroa, who recently won the WBC interim title, is also a possibility if Villa stays on track.

Villa (22-1, 7 KOs) has rebuilt his career following a tough unanimous decision loss to Emanuel Navarreta for the WBO title in October 2020. He hasn’t fought in 18 months, but has since put together four impressive wins and appears to be too much for Segawa (16-4-1, 6 KOs), who lost his last fight via unanimous decision to Mirco Cuello in March.


6. Title Fight: Skye Nicolson vs. Dyana Vargas, 10 rounds, for Nicolson’s WBC women’s featherweight title
July 13 in Philadelphia

Nicolson looks set to become one of the next massive names in women’s boxing. Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano are well into their careers, while Claressa Shields juggles boxing with MMA. There’s room for modern stars to emerge.

Nicolson (10-0, 1 KO), from Australia, already has one of the bigger champion profiles in women’s professional boxing, and the best fight available to her is certainly against Up-to-date York-based Puerto Rican Serrano (46-2, 30 KO), who holds the other three featherweight world titles. However, Serrano is scheduled to face Stevie Morgan first on July 20 and then Taylor in a rematch on November 15, so Nicolson has some time to develop. And she is expected to beat Vargas (19-1, 12 KO) comfortably to remain in contention for the bigger fights.

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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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