Retirement is a funny thing, because when one is retired they never get a day off.
Whether it’s the money, thrill, pride, or the all mighty crowd effect, like most of the famous fighters, Floyd Mayweather Jr. will not be able to feed off of the limited attention from the world during his leave. He retired before, and he will retire again.
Mexican-American heavyweight contender Andy Ruiz Jr (25-0, 17ko) claims he has bounced back after a 9 month lay-off due to injury, and that his forgettable 8 round comeback win at the weekend over journeyman, Joell Godfrey, was merely a springboard on to bigger and better things now the cogs have been oiled again.
The unbeaten 26 year old is straight back out again on October 24th, when he takes on recent Anthony Joshua foe, Raphael Zumbano Love, and is also insistent that some of the weight and fitness issues that have dogged him will be a thing of the past if he keeps the momentum going.
Long faded 46 year old legend Roy Jones Jr, is continuing in his quest to win an elusive cruiserweight world title, going on record to say he will pursue Brits Ovil McKenzie OR Enzo Maccarinelli in pursuit of that aim.
Last week the news broke that Jones was seeking to fight Welsh former champion “Big Mac” in his new second home – Russia, although it was unclear how that fight would lead to a world title given Maccarinelli no longer holds one and hasn’t for many years – since being destroyed by David Haye in their massive 2008 unification. The Welshman fights a TBA next week in Newport over 10 rounds, and needs a win according to Warrior Promotions in order to secure any potential fight with Jones down the line.
Undefeated Ukrainian 140 lb contender Viktor Postol (27-0, 11ko) is determined to seize his shot at the big time with both hands when he fights Argentine puncher Lucas Matthysse for the WBC 140 lb title on October 3rd, and he credits Wild Card veteran and 7x trainer of the year Freddie Roach with sharpening his tools enough to walk out the ring the new champion.
Postol – who last boxed in a non-televised 8 round tick-over against Jake Giuriceo in April – is the mandatory challenger to the belt left vacant by Danny Garcia’s move up to 147 lbs, and has waited months and months for his title opportunity given that he took a step-aside deal to allow Garcia to box Lamont Peterson on the same bill he fought Giuriceo.
Former WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly travels out to Chicago on October 16th to the adopted backyard of Poland’s Andrzej Fonfara in what will be a make or break fight for the Welshman.
Cleverly had enjoyed a relatively successful tenure as champion from 2011-13, although had arguably been matched very carefully until he ran into Russian banger Sergey Kovalev, who destroyed the Cefn Forest fighter in four brutal rounds in front of his own fans in Cardiff to take his title in August of that year.
America’s WBC heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder (35-0, 34ko), has attempted to deflect the negative attention surrounding him after another performance that fell well short of elite championship level – by ludicrously linking himself to a future fight with dominant divisional boss, Wladimir Klitschko.
Wilder was again sub-par at the weekend, making hard work of the little known Johann Duhaupas, eventually securing an 11th round stoppage after finding that the chin of the durable Frenchman repeatedly stood up to his best shots until the “Reptile” was [prematurely] stopped on his feet as he backed onto the ropes.
When Wladimir Klitschko announced his injury on YouTube, preventing him from facing Tyson Fury on their scheduled date of October 24, 2015, voices of disappointment filled the internet forums and online media outlets. “I knew this was going to happen,” was the most common statement cruising the boxing forums, as fans exclaimed that Klitschko was trying to do anything and everything to avoid a bout against a younger and bigger Fury.
New Matchroom Sport signing Chris Eubank Jr (19-1, 14ko) has stated that the lightly regarded Interim WBA middleweight title he won back in February is merely just the beginning of what he is envisioning as a rich, world championship winning career.
Eubank will make his debut under the Matchroom banner on the October 24th Kell Brook/Diego Chaves card in Sheffield against a TBA opponent that promoter Eddie Hearn claims will be “top 15.”
Canada based Romanian former super-middleweight champion Lucien Bute is still the most realistic next opponent for Britain’s IBF 168 lb champion, James DeGale, with a mid-late November date likely.
It emerged last week that talks had begun for a November 14th meeting in Bute’s Quebec backyard for what will be DeGale’s maiden defence of the title he won in a history making effort in May against Andre Dirrell on Premier Boxing Champions, although an exact date has yet to be pinned down.
Manny Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum has confirmed that talks between his Top Rank outfit and Amir Khan’s own promotional team – including the Brit’s lawyer Robert Davis – are underway for a 2016 fight between the two former Wild Card stablemates.
Arum stated last week that Pacquiao was due to have a scan in the Philippines on the shoulder he injured in May’s mega-clash with Floyd Mayweather, with the results due to be sent to Dr. Neal ElAttrache in the US – the man who performed the surgery on the Filipino star in the aftermath of the fight – however Pacquiao himself has been insistent for some weeks now that the shoulder is ‘fine,’ dubiously claiming he had been healed by the power of God as well as immersing the shoulder in saltwater while swimming in the sea.