The IBF won’t stand in Anthony Joshua’s way from fighting Wladimir Klitschko in a rematch, as long as he does it by December 2. Joshua is supposed to be defending his IBF heavyweight title against his mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev next if he wants to keep the belt. However, the International Boxing Federation has decided to let Joshua fight Wladimir in a rematch FIRST before he defends the IBF title against Pulev.
IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. (22-0, 19 KOs) is targeting both WBA/WBC champion Keith “One Time” Thurman and WBO champion Manny Pacquiao in unification fights. Spence, 27, will be fighting in September in Dallas, Texas. Thurman is out of commission with an elbow injury, so there’s zero chance of him fighting Spence next. Pacquiao has a fight against Jeff Horn on July 2 against Jeff Horn in Brisbane. Australia. Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum isn’t going to put him back inside the ring so quickly against a dangerous puncher like Spence.
Yesterday evening I was able to watch the Dmitry Kudryashov vs Olanrewaju Durodola rematch that took place in Russia. Kudryashov was a fighter I had kept an eye on as a prospect and possible contender, and this was his chance to revenge his knockout loss to Durodola that occurred two years ago.
As I watched the two knockout artists, I knew that, like the last fight, this one was not going to go the distance. After five rounds where both boxers had their chances to win, Kudryashov took control and viciously TKOed Durodola to win and become the #1 mandatory for the WBC Cruiserweight title.
Oscar De La Hoya is already predicting that his fighter Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) will be knocking out middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) in their fight in 3 months on September 16 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is very ambitious of De La Hoya to pick Canelo by a knockout.
Undefeated #1 WBC Eleider Alvarez (23-0, 11 KOs) kept his number 1 mandatory spot with the World Boxing Council at light heavyweight a 12 round majority decision win over Jean Pascal (31-5-1, 18 KOs) on Saturday night in the co-feature bout on the undercard of the Adonis Stevenson vs. Andrzej Fonfara fight card at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.
WBC Light Heavyweight Champion Adonis “Superman” Stevenson (29-1, 24 KOs), reminded challenger Andrzej Fonfara (29-5, 17 KOs) of two time-tested adages. “Don’t tug on Superman’s cape”, and “Be careful what you wish for..you might get it”.
Light heavyweight champion Andre “SOG” Ward rates the July 29th fight between former 4-division world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner (33-2, 24 KOs) and lightweight Mikey Garcia (36-0, 30 KOs) as a “50-50” affair that can go either way. Broner-Garcia will be televised on Showtime Championship Boxing.
The venue for the Broner vs. Garcia fight hasn’t been decided yet, but it’s being talked about taking place in New York.
Andre “SOG” Ward (31-0, 15 KOs) says he’s going to have fun inside the ring in his rematch with Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-1-1, 26 KOs) in less than 2 weeks on June 17 on HBO PPV at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ward says he’s been working on some adjustments to make in the fight, and he says he’s got his legs back and he’s able to move more.
WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis “Superman” Stevenson (29-1, 24 KOs) massacred a badly over-matched Andrzej Fonfara (29-5, 17 KOs) in a 2nd round stoppage in a pointless rematch on Saturday night on Showtime Championship Boxing at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. Stevenson dropped the 29-year-old Fonfara late in the 1st round.
