By David P. Greisman
Entering the middle portion of 2005, the first four months have given boxing fans a good amount of action, and the next segment will hopefully contain just as much championship activity.
This month’s Championship Calendar contains updates on all the April results, and continues to follow the mission of keeping you, our faithful readers, knowledgeable and entertained.
At the beginning of every month, BoxingScene.com brings 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).
As an extra perk, this edition inaugurates a calendar, going beyond just listing what’s going on with the divisions’ beltholders, incorporating title fights by date at the end of the article. Please let me know if you feel that the calendar should be moved to the top of the Championship Calendar in future editions. Your opinions do matter.
The processes of organization and research continue to improve, but if you notice any mistakes, please feel free to send feedback to dgreisman@aol.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
Lamon Brewster, the WBO champion, will be meeting Andrew Golota on May 21 at the United Center in Chicago. The champ, who is of no relation to Soleil Moon Frye’s Punky Brewster, retained his belt with an uninspired, disputed split decision over Kali Meehan last September.
Chris Byrd (IBF) last left the ring with a split decision victory over good friend Jameel McCline in November. Since then his battles have been only within the boundaries of this sport’s politics, and his next bout is yet to be decided.
Vitali Klitschko (WBC) has undergone surgery on his back, and his match with Hasim Rahman, already pushed back multiple times, has been postponed for a period of undetermined length. Last December, Vitali beat down an overweight Danny Williams, knocking him out in the eighth round.
James Toney answered the prayers of many on April 30 when he won a twelve-round unanimous decision and took the WBA belt away from John Ruiz.
CRUISERWEIGHTS
On May 20, O’Neil Bell and Dale Brown shall duke it out for the vacant IBF belt. Bell knocked out Ezra Sellers last September, and Brown won via TKO over Shelby Gross this past February.
As for Jean-Marc Mormeck (WBC and WBA) and Johnny Nelson (WBO), neither pugilist has anything on their horizon at the moment. Mormeck unified his titles by defeating Wayne Braithwaite on April 2, and Nelson hasn’t defended since winning with a TKO over Rudiger May in September.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
The undercard of the May 21 Brewster/Golota bout will contain a fight between Paul Briggs and Tomasz Adamek to see who shall inherit Antonio Tarver’s old WBC belt. Briggs outpointed Stipe Drews in August, and Adamek won the same way in September over Ismail Abdoul.
Zsolt Erdei (WBO) hopes to remain undefeated after he faces Mehdi Sahnoune in Germany on June 18. Erdei split a decision with Hugo Hernan Garay in February.
WBA champ Fabrice Tiozzo beat down Darius Michalczewski on the same February card as Erdei, and IBF king Clinton Woods picked up his title by defeating Rico Hoye in March.
SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Joe Calzaghe (WBO) is slated to go against Mario Veit on May 7, two months after canceling a match with Brian Magee. Calzaghe beat Kabary Salem in October, but had to survive a fourth-round knockdown in order to do so.
Jeff Lacy (IBF) will follow his March victory over Rubin Williams by defending against Robin Reid on August 6.
The WBC’s Markus Beyer will be active on September 3 against Eric Lucas. Beyer won a majority decision over Danny Green in March.
May 11 was to have had Mikkel Kessler defend his WBA belt against Anthony Mundine, but Kessler has suffered a back injury and the fight has been postponed. Kessler caused Manny Siaca to quit last November, resulting in an eighth-round TKO.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS
On and off more times than the lights in a Clapper commercial, Bernard Hopkins, who holds all four titles), may actually truly meet young gun Jermain Taylor on July 16 in Las Vegas. The Philadelphian champion won a decision over Weird Beard, also known as Howard Eastman, in February.
JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHTS
The WBC’s 154 pound champ has me stuck in something similar to the Temptations’ “Ball of Confusion.” Javier Castillejo was awarded the green belt after Winky Wright decided to cowboy up and head to middleweight for a May bout with Felix Trinidad. Rumors had it that Castillejo was to face Fernando Vargas this summer, but now the Spaniard is scheduled to defend against Ricardo Mayorga on July 23.
No defenses are scheduled yet for Kassim Ouma (IBF) or Daniel Santos (WBO). Ouma was to have met Shannan Taylor on April 30, but instead his last bout was an impressive January victory over Kofi Jantuah. Santos hasn’t fought since September of last year, when he earned a split technical decision over Antonio Margarito.
As for Winky Wright, it seems that for all intents and purposes, the man who beat Shane Mosley last November, is still considered the WBA champion.
WELTERWEIGHTS
Zab Judah, who holds three of the four belts (WBC, WBA and IBF), is defending against Cosme Rivera on May 14 in Las Vegas. Judah knocked out Cory Spinks in February, and should he retain successfully against Rivera, the Brooklynite is planning a megamatch in the latter portion of the year.
WBO champ Antonio Margarito had an impressive return to 147 on April 23, dispatching Kermit Cintron within five rounds.
JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHTS
These guys are attracted to June like Anna Nicole Smith to nursing homes. All four titlists are defending within the span of three weeks.
Kicking off on June 4 is Kostya Tszyu’s Manchester meeting with Ricky Hatton. Tszyu, the IBF champion, had been plagued with injuries, but came back triumphantly in November, rocking and socking Sharmba Mitchell.
Miguel Cotto (WBO) will meet the man who beat him in the 2000 Olympics, Mohamad Abdulaev, on June 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Cotto was last seen in February winning via a premature stoppage over DeMarcus Corley.
Two weeks later on June 25, Arturo Gatti and Floyd Mayweather Jr. will be in front of a sold out Atlantic City crowd, as the “Pretty Boy” tries to wrest away Gatti’s WBC title. Gatti’s last opponent was Jesse James Leija, who was sent into retirement after their January fight.
On the undercard of Gatti/Mayweather is a rare televised appearance of the WBA’s Vivian Harris. Harris, whose last two victories came over Oktay Urkal (the most recent one in October), will have Arturo Morua as his challenger.
LIGHTWEIGHTS
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 was scheduled to pit Levander Johnson against Stefano Zoff on May 21 in Italy for the vacated belt, but this date and match is currently uncertain in this scribe’s eyes.
WBA champ Juan Diaz was to have defended against Ebo Elder on April 23, but a cut received in training cancelled what was expected to be an exciting bout. Diaz’s last victory was over Billy Irwin in January.
SUPER FEATHERWEIGHTS
Nothing on the docket yet for the 130 pound champions, although all have fought recently.
Jorge Rodrigo Barrios lifted the WBO belt from Mike Anchondo last April 8, Marco Antonio Barrera retained his WBC title against Mzonke Fana on April 9, and Robbie Peden picked up the formerly vacant IBF championship by knocking out Nate Campbell in February.
Vicente Mosquera defeated Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai for the latter’s WBA title on April 30, winning with a unanimous decision.
FEATHERWEIGHTS
Juan Manuel Marquez, who owns the WBA and IBF titles, will face Victor Polo on the undercard of Castillo/Corrales on May 7. Marquez’s last defense was 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 Jin Chi (WBC) and Rocky Juarez will throw down on July 15, a fight that is yet to get a lot of press but should build anticipation as the time nears. Chi made his last defense in January against Tommy Browne.
SUPER BANTAMWEIGHTS
Three of these guys have fallen victim to the same lull in scheduling as their cohorts eight pounds up on the scales.
The IBF’s Israel Vasquez seemingly has a non-title bout against Julio Gamboa on May 31, his last retention being a fifth-round TKO victory over Artyom Simonyan in December.
In April, Joan Guzman (WBO) outpointed Fernando Beltran Jr., and Mahyar Monshipour (WBA) knocked out Shigeru Nakazoto.
In an entertaining battle, Oscar Larios (WBA) decisioned Wayne McCullough in February.
BANTAMWEIGHTS
Rafael Marquez, the IBF champ, will enter the Staples Center in Los Angeles on May 28 hoping to wallop Ricardo Vargas. Marquez landed some heavy leather en route to a TKO8 over Mauricio Pastrana in November.
The WBA titlist, Wladimir Sidorenko, will be in Tokyo on June 4 facing Manabu Fukushima. Sidorenko beat Julio Zarate in February via unanimous decision.
On the same day, but in Las Vegas, Ratanachai Sor Vorapin and Mauricio Martinez will duel over the WBO belt. Vorapin has led a recent (non-title bout) slaughter of tomato cans, the most recent being a six round decision over the 1-0 Ayon Naranjo on April 19.
Finishing up this division, April saw Hozumi Hasegawa defeat Veeraphol Sahaprom to win the WBC championship.
SUPER FLYWEIGHTS
Nagoya, Japan will host a June 26 bout between WBA champ Martin Castillo and Hideyasu Ishihara. Castillo retained his title in March against Eric Morel, completing outclassing his opponent on the way to a unanimous decision victory.
After his disputed decision over Jose Navarro in January, Katsushige Kawashima shall defend his WBC belt against Masamori Tokuyama.
Fernando Montiel blazed back to glory on April 9, when he knocked out Ivan Hernandez to win the WBO title that Hernandez had taken from Mark Johnson, which Johnson had taken from Montiel.
Luis Alberto Perez rebounded from inactivity, coming back on April 30 with a sixth round knockout of Luis Bolano, retaining his IBF trinket.
FLYWEIGHTS
Quite far into the distance, the WBA’s Lorenzo Parra is scheduled to put his belt on the line against Brahim Asloum on December 5. Parra took out the trash, specifically Trash Nakanuma, in January.
Vic Darchinyan (IBF) had a TKO8 victory over Mzukisi Sikali in Australia on March 27.
Omar Navaez, who has not actually defended his WBO title since March 2004, knocked out Wellington Vicente and his magnificent 15-8 record in April. It was Navaez’s third non-title bout in a row.
WBC beltholder Pongsaklek Wonjongkam followed a similar path as Navaez, winning against 15-11-1 Daniel Dolan in April. Wonjongkam’s last defense was against Noriyuki Komatsu in January.
JUNIOR FLYWEIGHTS
On May 14 in Las Vegas, fighting under the Winky Wright/Tito Trinidad main event, Jose Victor Burgos will seek to retain his IBF championship against Will Grigsby. Burgos last got in the ring nearly a year prior, when he knocked out Fahlan Sakkreerin in the sixth round.
Roberto Vasquez knocked out Beibis Mendoza in the tenth round on April 29 in Panama City, Panama, claiming the vacant WBA belt for himself.
Eric Ortiz picked up Jorge Arce’s vacated WBC title in March with a TKO of Jose Antonio Aguirre.
In an April 30 fight that was stopped in the tenth round due to cuts, Mexican Hugo Cazares took the WBO crown from Nelson Dieppa.
STRAWWEIGHTS
Okay, I’ve given in and will no longer refer to this last weight class as the minimumweights. If I had my way, though, these guys would be called the “Itty-Bitty-Teenie-Tiny-Weights.” Alas, I’m too new to the fight game to have that kind of pull.
Katsunarai Takayama took Isaac Bustos’s WBC belt on April 4, and his first defense will come on August 6 against Eagle Kyowa.
Yutaka Niida (WBA) outpointed Jae-Won Kim in Tokyo on April 16.
On April 5, Muhammad Rachman retained his IBF title with a third round technical draw with Fahlan Sakkreerin.
April 30 saw a successful title defense for Ivan Calderon (WBO), who stopped Noel Tunacao in the eighth round.
THE ACTUAL CALENDAR
May 7:
- Joe Calzaghe vs. Mario Veit, WBO Super Middleweight
- Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo, WBC and WBO Lightweight (unification)
- Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Victor Polo, WBA and IBF Featherweight
May 14:
- Zab Judah vs. Cosme Rivera, WBC, WBA and IBF Welterweight
- Jose Victor Burgos vs. Will Grigsby, IBF Junior Flyweight
May 20:
- O’Neil Bell vs. Dale Brown, vacant IBF Cruiserweight
May 21:
- Tomasz Adamek vs. Paul Briggs, vacant WBC Light Heavyweight
- Lamon Brewster vs. Andrew Golota, WBO Heavyweight
May 28:
- Rafael Marquez vs. Ricardo Vargas, IBF Bantamweight
June 3:
- Scott Harrison vs. Michael Brodie, WBO Featherweight
June 4:
- Kostya Tszyu vs. Ricky Hatton, IBF Junior Welterweight
- Wladimir Sidorenko vs. Manabu Fukushima, WBA Bantamweight
- Ratanachai Sor Vorapin vs. Mauricio Martinez, WBO Bantamweight
June 11:
- Miguel Cotto vs. Mohamad Abdulaev, WBO Junior Welterweight
June 18:
- Zsolt Erdei vs. Mehdi Sahnoune, WBO Light Heavyweight
June 25:
- Arturo Gatti vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr., WBC Junior Welterweight
- Vivian Harris vs. Arturo Morua, WBA Junior Welterweight
June 26:
- Martin Castillo vs. Hideyasu Ishihara, WBA Super Flyweight
July 15:
- In Jin Chi vs. Rocky Juarez, WBC Featherweight
July 16:
- Bernard Hopkins vs. Jermain Taylor, WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF Middleweight
July 18:
- Katsushige Kawashima vs. Masamori Tokuyama, WBC Super Flyweight
July 23:
- Javier Castillejo vs. Ricardo Mayorga, WBC Junior Middleweight
August 6:
- Katsunari Takayama vs. Eagle Kyowa, WBC Strawweight
- Jeff Lacy vs. Robin Reid, IBF Super Middleweight
September 3:
- Markus Beyer vs. Eric Lucas, WBC Super Middleweight
December 5:
- Lorenzo Parra vs. Brahim Asloum, WBA Flyweight
THE NEXT EDITION…
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 June 1, 2005.
