By David P. Greisman
As major leaguers gear up towards the forthcoming beginning of baseball season, the same form of anticipation exudes from our championship boxers, with the coming months seeing a tremendous amount of action from the beltholders.
We here at BoxingScene.com love to keep you, our faithful readers, constantly entertained and updated, and so this month, we preview our new feature, the Championship Calendar.
At the beginning of every month, BoxingScene.com will be bringing 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).
But since boxing is an unpredictable industry, you can also look forward to quasi-weekly articles listing any corrections or changes.
Please keep your eyes peeled at the beginning of each month for your Championship Calendar, and corrective updates will be posted as necessary each Saturday morning.
Finally, if you notice any mistakes, please feel free to send feedback to boxingscene@hotmail.com, with “Championship Calendar” in the title line.
HEAVYWEIGHTS
Vitali Klitschko, the WBC champion, had been scheduled to defend against Hasim Rahman on April 30 from Madison Square Garden, but has recently pulled a muscle, delaying the fight. In his last outing, Klitschko used Danny Williams as a human punching bag en route to an eighth-round TKO.
Lamon Brewster (WBO) will be meeting Andrew Golota on May 21 at the United Center in Chicago. Brewster retained his belt with an uninspired, disputed split decision over Kali Meehan last September.
Both John Ruiz (WBA) and Chris Byrd (IBF) are rumored to possibly be defending in place of Vitali on the April 30 HBO broadcast. Negotiations are underway for Ruiz to face James “Lights Out” Toney, while the angle seems to be that Byrd would get a rematch against Wladimir Klitschko. Ruiz clinched Andrew Golota to death and Byrd outworked Jameel McCline on the same card in November.
CRUISERWEIGHTS
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, Mass. Braithwaite hasn’t fought in nearly a year, as he won last April by UD12 against Louis Azille. Mormeck has experienced similar inactivity, decisioning Virgil Hall in May 2004.
As for Johnny Nelson (WBO) and Kelvin Davis (IBF), neither currently have anything specific on their horizons. Nelson last defended with a TKO7 over Rudiger May in September (yes, May in September), while Davis picked up the previously vacant belt with a victory over Ezra Sellers.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
WBA king Fabrice Tiozzo was just in action last month, giving a six round scolding to a Darius Michalczewski who came out of retirement. The WBO’s Zsolt Erdei was there in Hamburg, Germany, too, splitting a decision with Hugo Hernan Garay.
With last December’s meeting between Antonio Tarver and Glencoffe Johnson, both champions were stripped of their belts as a consequence of treating the fans to what they wanted to see as opposed to lesser matches against mandatory opponents. In their wake, new leaders will take their thrones. Clinton Woods already picked up Johnson’s IBF belt by knocking out Rico Hoye earlier this month. As for Tarver’s WBC trinket, the winner of May 21’s Paul Briggs/Tomasz Adamek bout will inherit the coveted green.
SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Speaking of green, WBC 168-pound champ Marks Beyer derailed the (Danny) Green Machine via majority decision on the twelfth of this month.
Jeff Lacy gave his newly-earned IBF title a dangling earlier in March, too, retaining with a TKO over a game but clearly outmatched Rubin Williams.
Not to be left behind are Mikkel Kessler (WBA) and Joe Calzaghe (WBO), both of whom will be in action soon. Kessler faces off with Anthony Mundine on May 11, while just a few days from now (3/18) Calzaghe meets Brian Magee. Ever the astute planner, Calzaghe may also be seeing Mario Veit standing across the ring from him on May 7, should he beat Magee.
MIDDLEWEIGHT
In the easiest and briefest update, unified, undisputed champ Bernard Hopkins (who holds all four major belts), outwitted Howard Eastman last month, and is rumored to be facing anyone and everyone out there. Hopkins has said that he wants Jermain Taylor, Glencoffe Johnson, Felix Trinidad and retirement by the end of the year.
JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT
Ronald “Winky” Wright, who held the WBC and WBA belts, will be stepping up to middleweight to face “Tito” Trinidad on May 14 in Las Vegas. The WBC stripped him of their award, and Ricardo Mayorga and Javier Castillejo will dispute the proper ownership of it on May 21. No word yet on what, if anything, the WBA will be doing.
As for the IBF and WBO, Kassim Ouma (holder of the former) looked sharp in his unanimous decision over Kofi Jantuah in January, and may be meeting Shannan Taylor in Australia on April 30. The latter’s Daniel Santos last defended against Antonio Margarito, retaining via a ninth-round technical decision.
WELTERWEIGHT
Zab Judah talked the talk and walked the walk in February, knocking out Cory Spinks and taking his WBC, WBA and IBF titles. The southpaw Judah will next see Cosme Rivera opposite him on May 14, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
That leaves only Antonio Margarito, who returned to 147 after losing to Santos, retaining his belt and chopping off Sebastian Lujan’s ear. Margarito should be one half of an interesting war on the ESPN April 23 PPV, with Kermit Cintron completing him while competing against him.
JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHT
Guess who’s back, back in town? The Thunder from Down Under, Kostya Tszyu, returned triumphantly from years of injury-related layoffs to regain his IBF belt, knocking out Sharma Mitchell in the process. Tszyu will enter Manchester this June 5 to find out if Ricky “Hitman” Hatton is hype or the real deal.
Arturo Gatti (WBC) has had a fairly easy reign to date after winning Tszyu’s vacant belt with a decision over Gianluca Branco. Since then, he has knocked out Leonard Dorin and Jesse James Leija, but he will have his work cut out for him when he faces pound-for-pound denizen Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in Atlantic City on June 25.
The Gatti fight had previously been scheduled for June 11, but with the change (thanks to a delay in settling the negotiations), Miguel Cotto will now be defending his WBO badge of honor on the eleventh. Nothing is set, but possible opponents include DeMarcus Corley (the man Cotto last faced, winning via a prematurely called TKO) and WBA champ Vivian Harris. Harris’s last two fights were against Oktay Urkal, and Emanuel Steward’s new protégé is being avoided like the plague.
LIGHTWEIGHT
Like many of the above, this division has gotten rather interesting. The gritty Jose Luis Castillo (WBC) beat former IBF champ Julio Diaz in convincing fashion earlier this month, and as a reward will meet the hard-hitting, highly regarded WBO king, Diego Corrales, on May 7. Corrales hit the 135 pound scene last August, making Acelino Freitas say “No Mas,” and has since seen his desired meeting with Castillo be delayed twice, as others got the chance.
The IBF belt that Julio Diaz left behind to challenge Castillo will be given to the winner of May 21’s match between Stefano Zoff and Levander Johnson.
The other Diaz, Juan (no relation), is looking to impress on the April 23 ESPN PPV against Ebo Elder, a man who won with an impressive comeback over Courtney Burton last year. Juan Diaz last saw action in January, when he dispatched Canadian Billy Irwin.
SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT
Yes, all the excitement is focused on this weekend’s amazingly anticipated match between Erik Morales and Manny Pacquiao, but the 130 pound champions will still see action while making defenses.
Marco Antonio Barrera (WBC), who usually shies away from holding onto belts, is scheduled to meet Mzonke Fana on April 9, less than five months after beating Morales in the rubbermatch for the title.
Yodsanan Nanthachai (WBA) will defend on the undercard of the Trinidad/Wright fight, seeing Vicente Mosquera in the opposing corner. Nanthachai decisioned Steve Forbes in Connecticut last August.
The IBF belt had been vacant, but was picked up when Robbie Peden repeated history, knocking out Nate Campbell this February.
Wrapping up this weight class, “Mighty” Mike Anchondo (WBO) shall face Jorge Rodrigo Barrios on April 8, nine months after he earned the vacant belt with a decision over Julio Pablo Chacon.
FEATHERWEIGHT
Oh, whither Morales, Barrera and Pacquiao, our trio of warriors? In their place is a mixed batch, including Injin Chi (WBC), Juan Manuel Marquez (WBA and IBF) and Scott Harrison (WBO).
Chi may or may not be meeting Ryuhei Sugita in Seoul on April 30, but what is certain is that his last defense was in January against Tommy Browne.
Marquez has suffered a big letdown since his controversial draw against Pacquiao, making a lackluster defense against Orlando Salido. Marquez may be no Marco (Barrera), but he will be meeting Polo (first name Victor) on May 7.
Harrison had a draw with Polo in January, and is not currently scheduled to be making his next defense.
SUPER BANTAMWEIGHTS
Only half of the 122-pound champs are currently scheduled to fight in the near future, with Oscar Larios (WBC) and Israel Vasquez (IBF) yet to find new opponents. Larios decisioned the Pocket Rocket, Wayne McCullough, in February, while Vasquez won with a fifth-round TKO over Artyom Simonyan in December.
The WBA’s Mahyar Monshipour will defend against Shigeru Nakazoto on April 23, his last victory being over Yoddamrong Sithyodthong (my new favorite boxing name) last November.
As for the WBO, Joan Guzman will enter El Paso, Texas, on April 9 to meet Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson, after dispatching Agapito Sanchez in February.
BANTAMWEIGHTS
Veeraphol Sahaprom (WBC) fights Hozumi Hasegawa on April 16 in Tokyo, last defending a reign that reaches back fourteen matches into 1998 with a September decision over Cecilio Santos.
With the WBA belt, Wladimir Sidorenko won over Julio Zarate this recent February, and is not yet scheduled to meet his next opponent.
The IBF’s Rafael Marquez, a man many consider to be the hardest puncher pound-for-pound, will be testing his steel on May 28 against the skin of Ricardo Vargas. Marquez, the younger brother of Juan Manuel, last victimized Mauricio Pastrana in November.
WBO king Ratanachai Sor Vorapin hasn’t fought since last May, when he lifted the title from Cruz Carvajal, and remains inactive.
SUPER FLYWEIGHTS
Ah, the Superfly, but without Curtis Mayfield. After beating Jose Navarro in a highly disputed decision in January, Katsushuige Kawashima (WBC) will meet fellow countryman Masamori Tokuyama this summer in Osaka, Japan, although the actual date may not yet be set in stone.
Martin Castillo, bearer of the WBA title, shall face Eric Morel on March 19 on the undercard of Morales/Pacquiao, three and a half months after beating Alexander Munoz.
Luis Alberto Perez (IBF) has somehow held onto his belt by not fighting since December 2003. The same cannot be said for Ivan “Choko” Hernandez, who won the WBO belt by knocking out Mark Johnson last September. Hernandez, too, gets some PPV undercard action, meeting Fernando Montiel on April 9, before Marco Antonio Barrera climbs into the ring.
FLYWEIGHTS
Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (WBC) is yet to add a name to his calendar, seemingly taking a break after retaining his belt in January against Noriyuki Komatsu.
Lorenzo Parra will put the WBA belt on the line against Yo Sam Choi on April 5, supposedly, although with no venue currently listed, that is likely to change.
The IBF’s Vic Darchinian shall face Mzukisi Sikali in Australia on March 27, his last bout being December 2004 against Irene Pacheco.
Inactive is Omar Navaez (WBO), who last retained in March of last year with a third round TKO over Reginaldo Martins.
LIGHT FLYWEIGHTS
Former WBC champ Jorge Arce has stepped up one weight class to meet Hussein Hussein on March 19, and in his place Eric Ortiz picked up the vacant title this month by knocking out Jose Antonio Aguirre.
Still vacant is the WBA belt, although it won’t be after April 29 when Roberto Vasquez meets Beibis Mendoza in Panama Cita, Panama.
On May 14, Jose Victor Burgos seeks to retain his IBF championship against Wyndel Janiola, nearly one year to the date from his last fight, a TKO6 over Fahlan Sakkreerin.
Nelson Dieppa will be in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on April 30, and so will his opponent, Hugo Cazares. Dieppa, the WBO beltholder, knocked out Alex Sanchez in the eleventh round in January.
MINIUMUMWEIGHTS
Also known as the straw division, these champions are all active in the near future, which is fitting, as it has taken quite a lot of activity to complete this article.
Isaac Bustos (WBC) will defend against Katsunari Takayama on April 4, his last fight being a December win over Eagle Kyowa.
Yukata Niida (WBA) sees action just twelve days later, meeting Jae-Won Kim in Tokyo. Niida split a decision last October with Juan Landaeta.
Muhammad Rachman fights in an Indonesian amusement park on April 3 against Fahlan Sikkreerin, which isn’t too bad considering how last September Rachman defended against Daniel Reyes in a sports mall in Jakarta, winning via split decision.
Finally, Ivan Calderon hopes to beat Noel Tunacao in San Juan, Puerto Rico on April 30, five months after a unanimous decision victory over Carlos Fajardo.
Please look out for any weekly corrections, and the next full update should come to you on April 1, 2005.