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Maybe we are soon to find out who has taken over cruiserweight in a post-Usyk landscape. Maybe Usyk surprises all and comes back down the scale to defend his crown one more time. Regardless, after this weekend we will be down to a two-man debate. Lots of leather will fly before then as four of the best cruiserweights in the world battle over three major sanctioning body titles and a chance to advance.
By Cliff Rold - Oleksandr Usyk remains the king at cruiserweight. Technically. That will only last so much longer. Usyk was supposed to make his move to heavyweight a few weeks back but an injury messed up the timeline. His arrival will come. His hold on belts in his division is ending a hair slower. The WBA already put Denis Lebedev back in place as their top titlist. The WBC belt is n..
Saturday he will attempt the sixth defense of his crown against 24-year old Jason Sanchez (14-0, 7 KO) of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It’s a big step up for Sanchez who has only just cracked the top fifteen of the WBA and WBO ratings and has been ten rounds just once. Can Sanchez surprise a boxing world with a fair share of upsets in 2019? Additional undercard action kicks off at 7:30 PM EST of ESPN+.
By Cliff Rold - It was one of the sport’s longest running stories. Beginning before he even became a fixture on HBO, the legend of Gennady Golovkin was building. He was the guy Felix Sturm was avoiding until he was the guy Sergio Martinez…then Miguel Cotto…then Saul Alvarez was avoiding. Then the avoiding stopped. Like Bernard Hopkins close to a generation before, Gennady Golovki...
No one really knows until the bell sounds. Perceived heavy favorites usually win the fights they are expected to. It doesn’t always happen, but it happens frequently enough we are always left with room for the pleasant surprise. Saturday night, Andy Ruiz came off the deck in round three, moved his hands at close quarters, and changed the arc of two careers.
Anthony Joshua fighting in less than a stadium will mean a different atmosphere. The biggest ticket draw in boxing over the last few years, Joshua goes from stadium to Mecca. He gets a passport stamp along the way. Making his US debut at Madison Square Garden, Joshua brings his WBA, IBF, and WBO belts across the pond for the first time. Originally slated to face undefeated Jarrell Miller, Joshua instead ends up with Andy Ruiz after Miller tested positive for several banned substances.
A late replacement, 29-year old Andy Ruiz (32-1, 21 KO) makes a quick turnaround from an April contest to find the biggest opportunity of his professional career. He has a chance to upset 29-year old British stadium phenom Anthony Joshua (22-0, 21 KO) in Joshua’s US debut at the Garden. Joshua isn’t just arriving with the WBA, IBF, and WBO belts.
By Cliff Rold - This week, what looked likely became nearly concrete. WBC heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KO) won’t be across the ring from Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury in his next outing and that may take him through the rest of the year. Speculation has been that Wilder is following a course of fights f...
MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill - Lightweight sensation Devin Haney (22-0, 14 KOs) scored a vicious one-punch knockout of Antonio Moran (24-4, 17 KOs) in the seventh round.
MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill - Making his debut in the United States, heavyweight Olympian Filip Hrgovic (8-0, 6 KOs), who captured a bronze medal in the 2016 games, blew away Gregory Corbin (15-2, 9 KOs) in one round.