Boxing
Why Emiliano Vargas Is Not Prepared to Face Shakur Stevenson
Published
3 weeks agoon

The WBO hurried Vargas up the ladder against opponents who barely belong on televised undercards. Walking through Mills, Agustin Quintana, and Jonathan Montrel is paid sparring. It does zero to prepare a kid for an elite technician coming off a one-sided dissection of Teofimo Lopez. The sanctioning body prints numbers next to names to collect sanctioning fees. It cannot gift a raw prospect the ring IQ required to survive an elite southpaw.
Vargas owns 64 professional rounds. He saw the tenth round exactly once. He never shared a ring with an ex-titleholder, let alone an elusive master of range. The stoppage over Mills gave Top Rank nice internet highlights. Vargas pressed forward against a guy willing to trade in a telephone booth. Mills cooperated completely. Shakur treats fighters like that as light cardio work. The champion controls distance with absolute cruelty.
He will dig body shots, angle out of corners, make Vargas reset every single rush. The moment frustration sets in, Vargas will begin lunging wildly. Shakur will step around those telegraphed swings, crack him with counters, and vanish before Vargas even finishes throwing.
Lopez learned that lesson the hard way. Lopez brought wins over Vasiliy Lomachenko, Josh Taylor, and Jamaine Ortiz into that ring, yet he still looked completely lost. If an experienced champion failed to win three rounds against Shakur, a prospect with zero marquee wins will drown inside six minutes.
Defensively, Vargas is an accident waiting to happen. He keeps his chin stuck in the air whenever he unloads combinations. When return fire comes his way, he commits the cardinal sin of pulling straight back with his left hand resting on his hip. Club fighters miss those openings. Shakur will pick him apart like an unpaid sparring partner.
Power means nothing when a fighter punches thin air. Shakur controls real estate so well that Vargas will spend 36 minutes swinging at ghosts while eating crisp left hands.
The Vargas family already paid this price once before. Fernando Vargas held a real belt at 154 pounds when promoters fed him to Felix Trinidad back in 2000. Fernando possessed true grit, yet he absorbed five knockdowns and sustained trauma that altered his entire career. Fernando took a beating from a puncher. Emiliano is being lined up to get systematically humiliated by a defensive wizard who will make him look amateurish.
Top Rank skipped entire tiers of matchmaking. If Bob Arum wants to find out what he truly has, he needs to stick Vargas in with Lindolfo Delgado. A solid technician like Delgado tests a prospect, exposes defensive holes over ten grueling rounds, and shows whether a kid possesses actual championship grit.
Getting outboxed by Delgado ends the hype train early, but feeding Vargas to Shakur ruins the fighter entirely.
Cashing out a young ticket seller for one mandatory payday is downright reckless. Vargas draws eyes. Top Rank has a marketable commodity they can build into a legitimate draw over three years. Throwing him into a mismatch strips the polish off the product overnight.
Weight drain makes matters worse. Vargas is a huge light welterweight who eventually grows into a full welterweight. Squeezing his body down to 140 pounds to chase an elusive target drains his legs before the opening bell rings.
Shakur will happily take the payday and collect an easy defense. The real blame falls on the handlers who confuse a manufactured ranking with genuine fighting ability. Vargas has plenty of raw talent. Serving him up to Shakur right now sacrifices a good kid just to give a champion an effortless night of work.
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Boxing
Derek Chisora Slams Dana White Regarding Fighter Treatment Issues
Published
9 hours agoon
September 30, 2026
Derek Chisora accused Dana White of operating like a “slave owner,” but Conor Benn’s lucrative move to Zuffa Boxing offers a substantial counterpoint to the heavyweight’s attack.
Chisora’s complaint centered on White turning fighters away from his platform. That hardly explains the comparison, especially with Benn reportedly collecting $15 million for his first Zuffa appearance alone.
“Dana White is not my cup of tea, to be honest with you,” Chisora said in an interview with Fight Hub TV following the Tyson Fury–Anthony Joshua press conference. “Because the way he operates is just, he operates like a slave owner, man. You know, fighters want to fight on his platform. He tells them, ‘You’re not good enough for me, so go away.’ What is a fighter going to do? What is he going to do after that? That’s not right.”
Benn’s experience makes that accusation difficult to defend. His reported $15 million purse for facing Regis Prograis was followed by a world-title opportunity against Ryan Garcia. White’s platform has delivered both substantial money and a major fight for the British welterweight.
One boxer’s earnings cannot answer every question about a promoter’s treatment of fighters. But Chisora supplied no named example to support his accusation. Benn gives readers something concrete to weigh against it.
Chisora also argued that a fighter who performs poorly one night can improve the next time. Fair enough. Promoters still have to decide whom to sign, how many places they can offer, and which fights they want to stage. Wanting a contract does not create an entitlement to one.
His example concerns access to White’s platform, rather than restrictions imposed on someone already fighting there. Those are different issues, and Chisora never explained how rejection justified his language.
Asked about the dispute between Eddie Hearn and White, Chisora made his personal dislike clear. What he failed to provide was an argument strong enough to carry such a loaded accusation.

About the author
Boxing 24/7 Wire
Boxing247.com is an independent boxing news publication covering the sport since 2001. It provides original reporting, fight analysis, schedules, results, and informed coverage of major fighters and events worldwide, backed by more than 25 years of professional boxing journalism.
Boxing
Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury: Live London Press Conference Showdown
Published
18 hours agoon
September 30, 2026
The long-awaited, all-British heavyweight blockbuster between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua is officially set for December 11 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
Backed by Saudi powerbroker Turki Alalshikh, the defining clash will see both men pocket a career-high purse and settle the debate – to a degree – of this generation’s best UK heavyweight.
After more than a decade of false starts and fractured negotiations, the two former heavyweight champions will finally settle their rivalry in what promises to be the biggest commercial event in British boxing history. Broadcast rights have been secured by Netflix for a global audience and Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao may appear on the undercard, despite turning 49 one week after the event.
Crucially, Joshua’s camp held firm during negotiations to ensure the bout remained on domestic soil. Despite the potential for more lucrative offers overseas, ‘AJ’ refused to budge on the location, and the pair meet today in London to make it official.
Fans can watch live via the stream below, with the proceedings expected to kick off at 6 PM – though delays and gamesmanship may be a factor.
Boxing
Filip Hrgovic Criticizes WBA for Allowing Fury vs. Joshua Title Fight
Published
21 hours agoon
September 30, 2026
Filip Hrgovic questions how Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have earned a fight for the WBA “Super” heavyweight title, arguing that attaching the belt to their matchup damages boxing’s credibility.
The fight already has two recognizable names and a rivalry that can sell without a championship. Adding a world title invites a different question: what have either man’s recent performances done to justify that reward?
“They are both big superstars, but how are they fighting for a title?” Hrgovic told The Stomping Ground when asked about the proposed WBA title stakes. “Where did that come from? … These kinds of decisions, it’s killing the sport. It’s not good for the sport. And because of these funny decisions, people don’t consider boxing a serious sport.”
Fury and Joshua already have the recognition to sell their fight. Their rivalry is the attraction. Adding the WBA’s highest heavyweight title gives the event a sporting endorsement that requires more explanation than either man’s name can provide.
Gassiev’s position makes that harder to justify. With him holding the regular championship, the proposed title stakes would allow Fury and Joshua to fight for superior recognition within the same organization without going through its existing titleholder. What, then, is Gassiev’s belt supposed to mean?
That is the weakness of the WBA’s multiple-title structure. A fighter can hold its championship and still watch a more commercially attractive pairing receive the bigger prize. The distinction becomes difficult to defend if the organization cannot explain the sporting criteria behind it.
There is also a financial question worth asking. Sanctioning a major event can benefit the organization collecting the fees. That makes a clear explanation of eligibility especially necessary: what qualifies Fury and Joshua for this opportunity, and how does Gassiev fit into the decision?
Hrgovic has his own interests. He wants recognition as the division’s best champion and would benefit from undermining rival claims. But his objection still demands an answer.
Fans can enjoy Fury-Joshua as a major occasion without treating it as the fight that establishes heavyweight supremacy. The WBA risks blurring that distinction by attaching its highest title to a matchup whose appeal is already secure.
The rivalry gives the promotion something valuable to sell. The championship should represent something the fighters have earned.

About the author
Boxing 24/7 Wire
Boxing247.com is an independent boxing news publication covering the sport since 2001. It provides original reporting, fight analysis, schedules, results, and informed coverage of major fighters and events worldwide, backed by more than 25 years of professional boxing journalism.
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