Interviews
Thomas Essomba vs. Charlie Edwards
On Friday night at York Hall, in a bizarre family celebration, former world champion Charlie Edwards attempts to win the European bantamweight title from champion Thomas Essomby, whose manager is Charlie’s younger brother Clear.
Wasserman promotes the Edwards vs Essomba fight as Channel 5 broadcasts it live in the UK.
Edwards’ (19-1, 7 KO) stock has been in decline in recent years, despite the Croydon fighter continuing his unbeaten streak, which has stretched to 11 fights since making a belated shot at a world title in 2016, when he was stopped by IBF flyweight champion John Riel Casimero in a thrilling display at the O2 Arena. Edwards has reset and learnt his craft, and in December 2018 he won the WBC flyweight title with a stunning points victory over Cristofer Rosales.
Edwards defended himself once, against a controversial no contest with Julio Cesar Martinez forced a change in weight.
Since then, “The Eagle” has boxed just four times in four years, all against lowly opposition, and was last seen in April when he scored a wide points victory over Georges Ory to win the vacant WBC International silver bantamweight title.
He will face a tough and experienced champion in Essomba (13-8-1, 4 KOs), a former Olympian who has never been afraid to travel and take risky opportunities. Born in Cameroon and now based in Sheffield, Essomba has an impressive list of opponents and despite eight defeats to his name, he has performed well each time, not being stopped by Lee McGregor until the 12th, final round in 2018.
He also worked with Clear Edwards, who lost on points in 2020. In May last year he travelled to Italy and won the European title by defeating Alessio Lorusso, then defended in his adopted Sheffield in February, taking a split decision against Elie Konki.
Prediction: Edwards starts out as the clear favorite in this one, and understandably so. Essomba will test him, but once Edwards gets through a tough first few rounds, he could take control and secure a wide enough victory to become the recent champion.
Wasserman’s prospects and tantalizing domestic clashes fill the bill
The undercard is only up in the eighth round as Germaine Brown (13-3, 4 KOs) takes on Grant Dennis (18-7, 3 KOs). Brown has lost twice in the English title fight, after decent performances against Zak Chellie and Mark Jeffers, while Dennis has lost four of his last five matches, including two on the schedule. Brown could do so on the break.
In six rounds, super lightweight newcomer Jesse Brandon (4-0, 1 KO) could go the distance for the first time with a unanimous decision over Miguel Angel Nunez (4-10, 1 KO). In the middleweight division, Joel Bartell (6-1, 3 KO) could rebound from his loss to Jordan Reynolds with a unanimous decision over Nikolas Dzurnak (7-7-2, 6 KO).
Lightweight prospect Brandon Olbrechts (6-0, 2 KOs) could also go the distance against Brayan Mairena (15-46-1, 9 KOs), while super lightweight Hannah Robinson (1-0, 0 KOs) should also triumph on the judge’s scorecard against Laura Reoyo (2-1, 0 KOs).
Atomic @Tomwelland04 can let go of hands 🧨
He hopes to break his professional record of 6-0 at York Hall on September 27th 👀@Ladbrokes | @SauerlandBros | #EssombaEdwards pic.twitter.com/cE6O9HEo5U
— Wasserman Boxing (@WassermanBoxing) August 15, 2024
The four-round fight will be headlined by the popular Tom Welland (5-0, 2 KOs), and the featherweight should emerge victorious on points against Darwing Martinez (8-23-2, 6 KOs), while Danny Boardman (1-0, 0 KOs) should do the same, also in the featherweight division against Yin Caicedo (10-21-4, 4 KOs).
Former world champion David Benavidez shed airy on who he will fight next.
Benavidez has become one of the sport’s biggest stars over the past few years, with fans clamoring for a fight between him and Canelo Alvarez.
Unfortunately for the boxing world, the unified super middleweight champion, Alvarez, is reluctant to step into the ring with the “Mexican Monster,” who has decided to move up to airy heavyweight in pursuit of gigantic fights.
The most tempting fights include the fight with the talented Cuban David Morrell, who made his debut at 175 pounds in July.
There was excitement Wednesday after Benavidez announced on social media that a fight with Morrell could be next.
“I’m preparing something gigantic for you guys for my next fight. Wait for further information. If everything goes well and he agrees, I fight Morrell next.”
However, fans were disappointed today when the 27-year-old announced that talks had broken down and he would fight Jesse Hart next, not Morrell.
“I’ll fight Jesse Hart next, not Morrell. But Morrell is a future opponent.”
Although Hart is a two-time world title challenger, he has been most effective as a super middleweight, and at age 35, his best days are likely far behind him.
“Challenging Work” has five wins following a split decision loss to Joe Smith Jr in 2020, although their level is low and Benavidez represents giant improvement.
David Benavidez said reports about his potential next fight with David Morrell are not true, and he will face Jesse Hart in December.
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBenson) September 26, 2024
The Phoenix-born pressure fighter will be the clear favorite against Hart and will want to emulate him wide decision victory over former light heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk in April.
However, he will likely share fans’ frustration that he will have to wait until at least 2025 to secure the mega fight that has long eluded him.
There has been no official announcement regarding the Benavidez vs. Hart fight, but it is expected to happen in December.
Daniel Dubois revealed his thoughts today on the possibility of a second fight with Anthony Joshua.
Dubois picked up the biggest win of his career on Saturday night when he crushed Joshua in five rounds at a packed Wembley Stadium for the IBF heavyweight world title.
AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn said this after the stunning fight he believes that his protégé will try to turn him around with the 27-year-old and that there are contractual provisions that will allow him to do so.
It has since been revealed that the rematch can only happen if “Dynamite” agrees to it as well – but it looks like he’ll have no problem with that.
Conversation with Jim White talk about sports, Dubois made an unusual comment by saying he believes he will do “even better” if another fight with Joshua comes next.
“Yes, if that happens in the future, then yes.
“If it happens later, then yes. I want to go for it. I want to do even better next time.
“I know where I need to improve as a champion and a fighter. I want to prove people wrong every time and that’s what we’ve been doing…
I think yes, I can do much better. It was a great performance, but I think next time I’ll be more clinical. Everything sharper.
Dubois was so destructive last weekend that there was speculation that Joshua, now 34, might hang up the gloves altogether.
“𝗜 𝗡𝗡’𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗞 𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗧 𝗜𝗧 𝗔𝗩𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘” ❎@Carl_Froch thinks we may not see @anthonyjoshua box never again 😳#Box #JoshuaDubois #AnthonyJoshua #CarlFroch (By @frochonfighting) pic.twitter.com/dPICg5IhSU
— Professional Boxing Fans (@ProBoxingFans) September 23, 2024
However, the two-time world champion posted a video on social media yesterday in which he reiterated his post-fight comments that he would continue with his career.
In addition to the second part of Saturday’s cracker, “Triple D” will also feature a meeting with the winner of the rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury, which took place on December 21.
Riyadh Season took place at Wembley Stadium in front of 96,000 fans and saw Daniel Dubois shake up the heavyweight division by knocking out Anthony Joshua in the fifth round to retain his IBF heavyweight title.
Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) came into the bout off a dominant second-round victory over Francis Ngannou in March, while Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) elevated himself to world champion with a stunning eighth-round stoppage of Filip Hrgovic in June.
Dubois went on the attack from the opening bell, trying to get Joshua under his belt, did well and stunned the crowd, knocking Joshua down demanding with a right hand behind schedule in the first round that landed squarely on the money.
The bell came to Joshua’s rescue, but Dubois immediately went on the attack in the second round, again wobbling “AJ” with a left hand, as well as a few other demanding punches.
The fog finally lifted for Joshua towards the end of the round, but disaster struck again behind schedule in the third when another hefty left landed on Joshua’s legs as he sought refuge on the canvas.
The two-time world champion was again out early in the fourth round and was all out but played the round brilliantly. He then produced his best spell of the fight, stunning Dubois with a right hand but stepped into one of his own during the attack and was flattened on impact.
The referee started the count, but Joshua was unable to beat him and… the competition has ended.
Sheeraz flatters Denny
Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KO) added the European middleweight title to his Commonwealth and WBC silver belts with a ruthless two-round shutout of Tyler Denny (19-3-3, 1 KO).
Denny was down within the first 15 seconds of the fight, and a round later a sweeping left hand dropped Denny and he was unable to continue.
Buatsi smashes Hutchinson
Joshua Buatsi (19-0, 13 KOs) won the WBO interim featherlight heavyweight title by defeating Willy Hutchinson (18-2, 13 KOs) by two knockouts.
A flurry of slashing blows to the head and body saw Hutchinson drop to the canvas in the sixth set, and the Scot was back on the deck in the ninth with another flurry of blows. Hutchinson was competitive but never looked like winning, especially after a point deduction for head exploit in round seven, although one judge awarded him a 113-112 win, rightly broken by scores of 117-108 and 115-110 in Buatsi’s favour.
Cacace leaves Warrington
Anthony Cacace (23-1, 8 KOs) defended his IBO super featherweight title and likely ended the storied career of Josh Warrington (31-4, 8 KOs) as the Northern Irishman claimed a clear points victory in their clash.
It was a close fight, but Cacace was just one step ahead in the main round and edged out the winner by two scores of 117-111 and a third score of 118-110.
Warrington left his gloves in the ring after the fight, which is usually a sign of retirement.
Kelly overtakes Davis
Josh Kelly (16-1-1, 8 KOs) had to accept a last-minute opponent change after Liam Smith was sidelined and was tested by Ishmael Davis (13-1, 6 KOs) before winning a majority decision in their middleweight fight.
Scores of 115-114 and 115-113 were for Kelly, while the third judge scored it a 114-114 draw.
MD wins for @joshpbk 👏
He survived a behind schedule push from Ishmael Davis to win – 114-114, 115-113, 115-114#KellyDavis #JoshuaDubois #RiyadhSeasonal Card pic.twitter.com/rPTuAOda3N
— Boxing at Matchroom (@MatchroomBoxing) September 21, 2024
The opening bout saw a huge upset as Mark Chamberlain (16-1, 12 KOs) lost his undefeated record to Josh Padley (15-0, 4 KOs) on points in a ten-round decision. Padley scored an eighth-round knockdown to be declared the winner by two scores of 96-92 and a third of 95-93.
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