Lee Selby will make the fifth defence of his IBF World Featherweight Championship against Mandatory Challenger Josh Warrington at the home of Leeds United, Elland Road on Saturday 19th May, live and exclusive on BT Sport and BoxNation.
“On May 19th I’ll achieve my dream of becoming a World Champion at the home of my beloved Leeds United,” said Warrington. “The city of Leeds is craving a World Champion and I’m going to give them what they want.
A sequel to the most anticipated boxing event in years will arrive on Cinco De Mayo as Lineal and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) and WBC/WBA/IBF/IBO Middleweight World Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) will clash in a historic and highly anticipated 12-round rematch Saturday, May 5. The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.
By Mauricio Sulaiman – I am in Riga, Latvia, and still feel the great joy of Saturday night’s event at Riga Arena, where Alexandr Usyk dethroned local hero Mairis Briedis. It is, without a doubt, the best cruiserweight championship fight in the division’s history. The fight card was organized by the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) with extraordinary production, making this “an event.” The world-class arena was packed and the atmosphere was electric throughout the 12 rounds.
From a British perspective the upcoming WBSS showdown between George Groves and Chris Eubank Junior has Fight of the Year potential all over it. On it’s own, the WBA/IBO super-middleweight unification clash would be a big deal, a great Grudge-Match; but as part of the quite superb tournament it is even more so.
“Muhammad ‘whatever he wants to call himself’ can’t beat no George Foreman,” Foreman after beating five guys in one afternoon in 1975.
Heavyweight immortal Jack Dempsey once took part in an exhibition where he fought five men in one night, but the only other former heavyweight king to have faced that many men in one afternoon – over one hour – is living legend George Foreman. As fans know, “Big George,” in an attempt at battling the demons he was tortured by after losing his unbeaten record and world title to the one and only Muhammad Ali, took on five fringe contenders/journeymen types in Toronto Canada in April of 1975.
Simply unbeatable in his prime years – 1984 to 1993 – Mexican icon and all-time great Julio Cesar Chavez tore through the super-featherweight, lightweight and super-lightweight divisions, capturing world titles in each weight class and retaining them for a substantial amount of time.
Chavez ducked no-one and he hadn’t even heard the term “cherry pick.” Among the fine fighters Chavez defeated: Mario Martinez, Ruben Castillo, Roger Mayweather, Rocky Lockridge, Edwin Rosario, Jose Luis Ramirez, Meldrick Taylor (twice) and Hector Camacho.
Ghana’s Emmanuel ‘Game Boy’ Tagoe secured the 28th straight win of his career with a round 10 technical knockout victory over Fernando David Saucedo of Argentina on Saturday night in Accra.
Referee Roger Barnor waived the fight over when he was still counting for Saucedo who had just been knocked down for the umpteenth time in a rather boring fight at the Bukom Boxing Arena in the Ghanaian capital.
Plenty of fight fans have read about Deontay Wilder’s recent claim that he would have beaten – destroyed even – the peak, or near-peak, 1986 version of Mike Tyson. Most, by a large margin, not only disagree with the reigning WBC champ’s claim, but are also offended by it. Such is the ongoing adulation “Iron Mike” is held in, practically no-one is willing to hear such talk.
Former two-weight world ruler Zab Judah made a successful return to the ring last night, widely decisioning Mexican journeyman Noel Mejia Rincon over ten rounds in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Judah, now aged 40 and boxing for the first time since January of 2017, hurt his man early on, in round-two, but was then largely content to box and outspeed his opponent to the final bell.
Fights one and two produced some of the finest, most intense lower weight action of recent years, fight-one especially, and featherweight star Carl Frampton is determined to meet Leo Santa Cruz for a third time in a decider. As fans know, Frampton, the former super-bantam and featherweight king, won the first fight with Santa Cruz but lost the return, both fights going all 12 rounds and being close, close, close on the score-cards.