Unbeaten Zuffa Boxing champion Jai Opetaia and WBC titlist Noel Mikaelian are finalizing a deal to stage a cruiserweight bout on an upcoming The Ring Magazine card later this year, BoxingScene learned Friday.
Raymond Ford’s trainer Tarae Stevenson has played down how “personal” Saturday’s fight with O’Shaquie Foster has become to them – and he also insists that he is unconcerned that his fighter has become emotional on the eve of his biggest fight
Despite having his next bout booked in, it is clear that Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez is already aware of what will follow it: A mega fight with Naoya Inoue
![Rico Verhoeven [right] clouts Oleksandr Usyk in Egypt on May 23, 2026](https://photo.boxingscene.com/uploads/Oleksandr-Usyk-Rico-Verhoeven-20.webp)
It could be argued that Verhoeven’s success against Usyk – both in landing the fight, then nearly winning it – is, for the purist, as much a cautionary tale as a cause for celebration, writes Elliot Worsell
![Charlie Edwards [left] and Sikho Nqothole go nose-to-nose at the weigh-in](https://photo.boxingscene.com/uploads/Charlie-Edwards-Sikho-Nqothole.webp)
Sikho Nqothole defeated Charlie Edwards by 12-round unanimous decision at London’s York Hall to secure a shot at the IBF junior bantamweight world title
