By David P. Greisman
As the temperatures are getting warmer, the boxing scene is heating up, too, with a plethora of championship fights on the horizon.
This month’s Championship Calendar updates the premiere edition from last month, and continues to follow the mission of keeping you, our faithful readers, constantly entertained and updated.
At the beginning of every month, BoxingScene.com will bring you a ledger full of all the coming bouts featuring the reigning titlists, as well as keeping you in the loop about what has gone on in any of the pugilists’ recent matches in the time prior. To keep things simple, we will deal with only the four major sanctioning bodies, and only the true belts (none of the International or Continental Americas tripe).
We’re a bit more organized this time around, with each division listing the bouts chronologically (as opposed to being determined at the author’s whim), so hopefully the reading will be easier. It’s also worth noting that some dates and events have changed between editions (not much of a surprise, knowing this industry).
If you notice any mistakes, please feel free to send feedback to boxingscene@hotmail.com, with “Championship Calendar” in the title line. Corrections will be posted in my weekly “Fighting Words” column, which should come to you each and every Monday.
HEAVYWEIGHTS
John Ruiz, the WBA champion, will be meeting James “Lights Out” Toney on April 30 at Madison Square Garden. The card had originally been scheduled for Vitali Klitschko to defend his WBC belt against Hasim Rahman, but Klitschko suffered an injury, leaving a vacancy for Ruiz and Toney to fill. Ruiz’s last fight was a clinch-fest decision over Andrew Golota in November, while Klitschko added Danny Williams to his list of tubby victims with an eighth-round TKO.
Lamon Brewster (WBO) will be meeting Andrew Golota on May 21 at the United Center in Chicago. The champ, whose fan club should be called the Brew Crew, retained his belt with an uninspired, disputed split decision over Kali Meehan last September.
The rumors on the aforementioned Klitschko/Rahman match are that it has been moved to July 23. More on that as the month goes on and information becomes available.
Chris Byrd (IBF) last left the ring with a split decision victory over good friend Jameel McCline in November. After turning down a rematch with Wladimir Klitschko (who beat the Byrdman in 2000), the Las Vegas transplant from Flint, Michigan is still awaiting his next opponent.
CRUISERWEIGHTS
One day after this article goes to press, respective WBC and WBA champs Wayne Braithwaite and Jean-Marc Mormeck will seek to unify when they meet on April 2 at the Centrum Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. Braithwaite hasn’t fought in nearly a year, as he won last April against Louis Azille. Mormeck has experienced similar inactivity, decisioning Virgil Hall in May 2004.
The IBF belt was stripped from Kelvin Davis recently after he filed for bankruptcy (no, I don’t get it either), so O’Neil Bell and Dale Brown will duke it out for the vacant title on May 20 in Hollywood, Florida. Bell knocked out Ezra Sellers last September, and Brown won via TKO over Shelby Gross this past February.
As for the WBO’s Johnny Nelson, he last defended with a TKO over Rudiger May in September and is not yet scheduled to fight again.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
On the undercard of Brewster/Golota on May 21 will be a fight between Paul Briggs and Tomask Adamek to see who shall inherit the WBC belt that Antonio Tarver was stripped of for choosing to fight Glencoffe Johnson. Briggs decisioned Stipe Drews in August, and Adamek won on points in September over Ismail Abdoul.
IBF champ Clinton Woods just picked up his title by beating Rico Hoye in March. Fabrice Tiozzo (WBA) beat down a Darius Michalczewski who mistakenly came out of retirement in February. On that same card, Zsolt Erdei split a decision with Hugo Hernan Garay, although I’m sure Erdei picked up most of the check. These three champions do not yet have their next bouts planned.
SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Joe Calzaghe, the WBO champ, cancelled his March fight with Brian Magee, but is still (for the moment) supposed to meet Mario Veit in Germany on May 7. Calzaghe beat Kabary Salem in October, but had to survive a fourth-round knockdown in order to do so.
Just four days later, on the eleventh of May, Mikkel Kessler will defend his WBA belt against Anthony Mundine. Kessler caused Manny Siaca to quit last November, resulting in an eighth-round TKO.
Jeff Lacy (IBF) and Markus Beyer (WBC) both fought in March, respectively beating Rubin Williams and Danny Green.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Hopkins, Hopkins, Hopkins, Hopkins. The second most popular Bernard (after the Yankees’ Bernie Williams), the unified champion will supposedly meet young gun Jermain Taylor on July 16. The Philadelphian won a decision over the uniquely bearded Howard Eastman in February.
JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Kassim Ouma (IBF) looked impressive in his victory over Kofi Jantuah in January, and will defend against Shannan Taylor in Australia on April 30.
WBO champ Daniel Santos last fought against Antonio Margarito in September.
The WBC title has been donated by its sanctioning body to Javier Castillejo after Winky Wright decided to step up to middleweight and face Felix Trinidad on May 14 in Las Vegas. The Spaniard last fought in June, winning via TKO5 against Enrique Carlos Campos.
For all intents and purposes, it seems that Winky Wright, who last beat Shane Mosley, is still the WBA’s champion.
WELTERWEIGHTS
Breaking my rules, I will note that Zab Judah is the WBA’s “super” champ, and that its “regular” champ Jose Antonio Rivera shall face Luis Collazo on the undercard of April 2’s Cruiserweight Showdown in Massachusetts. Jose Antonio has been on the shelf since September 2003, when he won the vacant belt by majority decision over Michel Trabant.
The WBO has Antonio Margarito, who returned to 147 after losing to Daniel Santos, retaining his belt against Sebastian Lujan and showing Mike Tyson that a mouth isn’t necessary when trying to remove an ear. Margarito should be one half of an interesting war on the ESPN April 23 pay-per-view, with Kermit Cintron completing him while competing against him.
Zab Judah “did the Ric Flair” in beating the man in order to be the man, knocking out Cory Spinks in February and taking his WBC, WBA and IBF titles. Judah will next see Cosme Rivera on May 14 in Las Vegas.
JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHTS
The “Thunder from Down Under,” the main man at 140, Kostya Tszyu (IBF), shall head to Manchester on June 5 to take on the Hitman (no, not Bret Hart), Ricky Hatton. Kostya capped his return with a triumphant November beatdown of Sharmba Mitchell.
Second in stature in his home country of Puerto Rico to none other than “Tito” Trinidad, WBO beltholder Miguel Cotto may meet the man who beat him in the 2000 Olympics, Mohamad Abdulaev, on June 11 at Madison Square Garden in NYC. Cotto was last seen recently on HBO earning a premature stoppage over DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley.
Two weeks later on June 25, Arturo Gatti and Floyd Mayweather will sell out Atlantic City, as the “Pretty Boy” tries to wrest away Gatti’s WBC title. Gatti’s last opponent was Jesse James Leija, whom Thunder sent into retirement.
And last but not least in this deep division is WBA champ Vivian Harris, who has been avoided by many. Harris’s two most recent fights, the last of which was a TKO11 victory in October, were against Oktay Urkal.
LIGHTWEIGHTS
The “Baby Bull,” Juan Diaz (WBA), is one-fourth of April 23’s ESPN PPV, on which he shall face Ebo Elder. Diaz last fought in January, when he dispatched overmatched Canadian Billy Irwin.
On May 7, lightweight unification will occur when Jose Luis Castillo (WBC) meets Diego Corrales (WBO) on Showtime. Both pugilists were impressive in their last outings: Castillo stopped Julio Diaz at the beginning of March, and Corrales made Acelino Freitas say “No mas” last August.
When Julio Diaz decided to challenge Castillo in March, he was forced to give up his IBF title. The sanctioning body will make Levander Johnson and Stefano Zoff duke it out on May 21 in Italy for the vacated belt.
SUPER FEATHERWEIGHTS
It’d be unfair to mention this division without once again bringing up March’s exciting event pitting Erik Morales against Manny Pacquiao, but unfortunately neither possesses a title at the moment. So…
Mike Anchondo, whom I mistakenly referred to as “Mighty” last month (that would be Mike Arnaoutis), shall defend his WBO belt against Jorge Rodrigo Barrios on April 8, nine months after he earned the vacant belt with a decision over Julio Pablo Chacon.
Marco Antonio Barrera (WBC) is headlining a PPV on April 9, on which he shall be facing Mzonke Fana, less than five months after besting Morales in their rubbermatch.
Yodsanan Nanthachai (WBA) shall be performing on the undercard of the Trinidad/Wright fight on May 14, and his opponent shall be Vicente Mosquera. Nanthachai decision Steve Forbes in Connecticut last August.
The formerly vacant IBF title was picked up by Robbie Peden in February, when he knocked out Nate Campbell in Australia.
FEATHERWEIGHTS
Since boxing never truly makes any sense, and since rules were meant to be broken, hereby included are the two WBA champs in this weight division, too. The “regular” champ, Chris John, whose name does not reveal his Indonesian nationality, shall fight in his home country against Derrick “Smoke Gainer” on April 22. John had a technical draw (due to a head clash) with Jose Rojas last December.
The WBA “unified” champ, Juan Manuel Marquez (who also owns the IBF title), will face Victor Polo on May 7, his last defense being in September against Orlando Salido.
On the third of June, Scott Harrison (WBO) will be in the ring in Manchester with Michael Brodie. Harrison had a draw with the aforementioned Victor Polo in January.
In a change from last month, the tentative April 30 date with Injin Chi (WBC) and Ryuhei Sugita is no longer on the table. Chi made his last defense in January against Tommy Browne. Rumors are now that Chi will face Rocky Juarez on July 15.
SUPER BANTAMWEIGHTS
Joan Guzman (WBO) will be in Hidalgo, Texas on April 22, fighting Fernando Beltran, Jr., nearly two months after dispatching Agapito Sanchez.
The WBA’s Mahyar Monshipour will defend against Shigeru Nakazoto on April 29 in France, his last victory being over the wonderfully named Yoddamrong Sithyodthong in November.
As for Oscar Larios (WBC) and Israel Vasquez (IBF), no foes are scheduled yet. Larios decisioned Wayne McCullough in February, while Vasquez had a fifth-round TKO victory over Artyom Simonyan in December.
BANTAMWEIGHTS
Veeraphol Sahaprom, the WBC champ, fights Hozumi Hasegawa on April 16 in Tokyo, his last defense being a September decision over Cecilio Santos.
Rafael Marquez (IBF) will enter the Staples Center in Los Angeles on May 28 hoping to whallop Ricardo Vargas. Marquez landed some heavy leather en route to a TKO8 over Mauricio Pastrana in November.
The WBA titlist, Wladimir Siodrenko, beat Julio Zarate in February and will be in Tokyo on June 4 with Manabu Fukushima.
WBO king Ratanachai Sor Vorapin hasn’t fought since May 2004, when he lifted the title from Cruz Carvajal.
SUPER FLYWEIGHTS
Not to be confused with Rick James’s “Super Freak,” this division features Katsushuige Kawashima (WBC), Martin Castillo (WBA), Luis Alberto Perez (IBF) and Ivan Hernandez/Fernando Montiel (WBO).
Hernandez meets Fernando Montiel on April 9 on HBO PPV, his last title action being a knockout of Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson in September. It seems (I’m just hazarding a guess) that after Hernandez fought a tomato can Lee Cargle in February, he was stripped of his belt. Interestingly, by the way, Johnson was the first man to beat Montiel, back in August 2003.
After his disputed decision win over Jose Navarro in January, Kawashima shall defend on July 18 in Osaka, Japan, against Masamori Tokuyama.
Castillo retained his title against Eric Morel on March 19, and Perez has not fought since December 2003. Neither has anything on their agenda yet, although it would not be surprising if Castillo defended again first.
FLYWEIGHTS
Lorenzo Parra (WBA) is still listed to put his belt on the line against Yo Sam Choi on April 5, but as of the deadline no venue was listed.
The IBF’s Vic Darchinian beat Mzukisi Sikali in Australia on March 27.
Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (WBC) has not fought since retaining against Noriyuki Komatsu in January.
Omar Navaez, the WBO champion, is still inactive after a third round TKO over Reginaldo Martins in March 2004.
JUNIOR FLYWEIGHTS
Either Roberto Vasquez or Beibis Mendoza will claim the vacant WBA belt on April 29 in Panama City, Panama. Vasquez knocked out the 0-12-1 Farid Cassiani in December, and Mendoza lost an October split decision to Rosendo Alvarez. I’m impressed by the contenders. No, really.
The next day (April 30 for those with short attention spans), Nelson Dieppa will be in San Juan, Puerto Rico, defending his WBO title against Hugo Cazares. Dieppa knocked out Alex Sanchez in the eleventh round in January.
On May 14 in Las Vegas, nearly a year after a TKO6 victory over Fahlan Sakkreerin, Jose Victor Burgos will seek to retain his IBF championship against Will Grigsby.
Eric Ortiz picked up Jorge Arce’s vacated WBC title in March with a TKO of Jose Antonio Aguirre.
MINIMUMWEIGHTS
I doubt these guys are transfixed by Kirstie Alley’s “Fat Actress” TV series.
Isaac Bustos (WBC) will defend against Katsunari Takayama in Osaka, Japan, on April 4, his last fight being a December win over Eagle Kyowa.
On April 5, Muhammad Rachman (IBF) fights Fahlan Sikkreerin in an Indonesian amusement park, which should be considered a step up from his September split-decision defense against Daniel Reyes in a Jakarta sports mall.
April 16 has Yukata Niida (WBA) meeting Jae-Won Kim in Tokyo, half a year after splitting a decision with Juan Landaeta.
Rounding out the division, the month and this article is the WBO’s Ivan Calderon, who is dueling Noel Tunacao on April 30 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, five months after a unanimous decision victory over Carlos Fajardo.
Please look out for the occasional corrections in each Monday’s edition of “Fighting Words,” and the next full update should come to you on May 1, 2005.