Connect with us

Boxing

US Heavyweight Negotiates Showdown with Murat Gassiev for World Title

Published

on

"US Heavyweight Negotiates Showdown with Murat Gassiev for World Title"

According to Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, Murat Gassiev is currently in negotiations for hi first defence as sole WBA heavyweight champion.

The Russian, who holds the ‘regular’ belt with the sanctioning body, became a bona fide two-division world champion in June, with Oleksandr Usyk’s splintering of the belts meaning there no longer a ‘super’ champion.

Gassiev then ended up retaining his championship status last month, stopping late replacement Peter Kadiru in six rounds after Tony Yoka was forced to pull out of their contest with an injury.

Since then, the 32-year-old has expressed his interest in a unification match, hoping to replicate his success at 200lbs by merging two of the four major belts.

Before that, though, Gassiev may need to defend his strap against Jarrell Miller who, as per Hearn’s latest comments on the matter, is now being steered towards a WBA title shot.

This follows the WBA’s admission to mistakenly naming ‘Big Baby’ as its mandatory challengerdespite having Moses Itauma as the leading contender in its rankings.

With Itauma now facing Filip Hrgovic for the vacant IBF title, however, it could be that Miller will emerge as the sanctioning body’s mandatory challenger after all.

Either way, Hearn has told IFL TV that Gassiev must defend his title against the American.

“There’s a little bit of confusion with the WBA [belt]. Gassiev is the champion. He’s got to fight Jarrell Miller, our guy, which we’re negotiating at the moment.”

Given his previous failed doping tests, Miller remains a controversial fighter but is seemingly on the cusp of another major opportunity.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Boxing

Jermall Charlo Withdraws from Fundora vs Hadribeaj Show Due to Injury

Published

on

Jermall Charlo Withdraws from Fundora vs Hadribeaj Show Due to Injury

This marks the second time in three months that the matchup fell apart, as Charlo (34-0, 23 KO) failed to secure a visa for their planned clash in New South Wales this summer. Despite Mazoudier’s (16-4-1, 6 KO) local appeal being its sole selling point, PBC shunted it onto their Sebastian Fundora vs Ermal Hadribeaj show in Las Vegas, but it seems no amount of Charlo-proofing can get the big guy into the ring.

For those keeping score, he’s now had three fights in six years.

In steps former WBA titlist Jose Armando Resendiz (16-3, 11 KO), who upset Caleb Plant for the belt last year before losing it to Jaime Munguia in his inaugural defense. It’s still not a good matchup, as Mazoudier is a blown-up super welterweight, but Resendiz is usually a middleweight himself and is coming off a loss. I can live with that.

The evening’s other undercard bout, Brandon Figueroa’s featherweight title defense against Tomoki Kameda, remains intact.

Continue Reading

Boxing

Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson Agree on Catchweight for Anticipated Super Fight

Published

on

"Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson Agree on Catchweight for Anticipated Super Fight"

The long-awaited clash between Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson is closer than ever after the two rivals finally verbally agreed to a catchweight overnight.

​Negotiations for the blockbuster bout had previously stalled over the contracted limit, unsurprising given the difference in their recent career trajectories. Haney has now established himself at 147lbs, capturing the WBO welterweight world title last November with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Brian Norman Jr. in Riyadh. He was, at one stage, insistent on a bona fide 147lb clash if he was to face Stevenson.

​Stevenson, meanwhile, has only just arrived at 140lbs. The Newark southpaw officially became a four-weight world champion in January when he put on a masterclass to thoroughly outpoint Teofimo Lopez at Madison Square Garden. Despite his flawless transition to super-lightweight, Stevenson had been heavily pushing for a much lower 144lb catchweight against Haney, leading to a bitter public stalemate. Haney also hit back at attempts to include a rehydration clause.

​The obstacle appeared to he finally overcome during a late-night exchange on X when Stevenson publicly accepted Haney’s counter-offer to meet in the middle at 145lbs.

​Confirming the newly proposed limit, Stevenson said: “You got a deal.”

​Crucially, there was no mention of the rehydration clause that Haney had previously urged Stevenson to drop. The absence of that stipulation in the overnight exchange suggests that secondary hurdle may also have been quietly cleared.

​While anything official may be days or weeks away the public compromise removes the biggest stated obstacle to the fight. Both men are coming off career-defining championship victories, and with the weight dispute seemingly resolved, the pressure is now firmly on both camps to put pen to paper and deliver one of the most significant fights in US boxing.

Continue Reading

Boxing

Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson Reach Deal on Catchweight for Super Fight

Published

on

"Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson Reach Deal on Catchweight for Super Fight"

The long-awaited clash between Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson is closer than ever after the two rivals finally verbally agreed to a catchweight overnight.

​Negotiations for the blockbuster bout had previously stalled over the contracted limit, unsurprising given the difference in their recent career trajectories. Haney has now established himself at 147lbs, capturing the WBO welterweight world title last November with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Brian Norman Jr. in Riyadh. He was, at one stage, insistent on a bona fide 147lb clash if he was to face Stevenson.

​Stevenson, meanwhile, has only just arrived at 140lbs. The Newark southpaw officially became a four-weight world champion in January when he put on a masterclass to thoroughly outpoint Teofimo Lopez at Madison Square Garden. Despite his flawless transition to super-lightweight, Stevenson had been heavily pushing for a much lower 144lb catchweight against Haney, leading to a bitter public stalemate. Haney also hit back at attempts to include a rehydration clause.

​The obstacle appeared to he finally overcome during a late-night exchange on X when Stevenson publicly accepted Haney’s counter-offer to meet in the middle at 145lbs.

​Confirming the newly proposed limit, Stevenson said: “You got a deal.”

​Crucially, there was no mention of the rehydration clause that Haney had previously urged Stevenson to drop. The absence of that stipulation in the overnight exchange suggests that secondary hurdle may also have been quietly cleared.

​While anything official may be days or weeks away the public compromise removes the biggest stated obstacle to the fight. Both men are coming off career-defining championship victories, and with the weight dispute seemingly resolved, the pressure is now firmly on both camps to put pen to paper and deliver one of the most significant fights in US boxing.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending