Skye Nicolson is on the eve of making history in Saudi Arabia, but it is a homecoming fight in Australia she craves.

On Saturday the 29-year-old will attempt to defend her WBC featherweight title against Raven Chapman on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol in Riyadh, and will therefore feature in the country’s first fight for a women’s world title.

If the Kingdom is to succeed in rebuilding its image as a less oppressive society, the time may come when Nicolson and Chapman – 30 years old and from England – are recognised as contributing a major part.

For all that she recognises the potential benefits in doing so, however, Nicolson is more focused on her target of defending her title in Australia. She is from Meadowbrook, Queensland, and in the event of victory intends on pushing her promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom, to make her ambition real.

“I want to take big fights home to Australia,” she told BoxingScene. “I’ve said that all along, for my whole career. I fought for my first title – the Commonwealth title – back at the end of 2022, so to defend my world title on home soil would be very special for me, but for my family and fans as well. It’s something I’m going to keep pushing, and hopefully we can get that over the line in the near future.

“It’s a conversation I’m almost bored of having, to be honest. I ask and ask and ask, but we haven’t been back there for a while. I know that Eddie wants to do a homecoming for me and [Liam] Paro; it’s just about the right opponents, the right date, and making it make sense for everyone. I was really, really hoping that I would get to fight at home before the end of 2024, but obviously that’s nearing now, and it doesn’t seem likely that it’s gonna happen with Paro fighting [Richardson Hitchins] in Puerto Rico in December. That makes me feel like that’s not happening anymore.

“The conversations are definitely being had. But the when, where, how it all happens is all still up in the air. 

“I was disappointed. But I understand it from a business point of view. Australia, and the Australian public, just don’t give boxing the support – the recognition – that it needs and it deserves. Especially with the world champions that we have coming out of our country; we’re not really backed by the Australian government or by the Australian public, unfortunately, which does make it hard for Matchroom to take a show there when other cities are willing to pay up and, I guess, make better fights.

“Probably after every fight my team talks to Matchroom about a homecoming. But I understand it from a business point of view and it has to make sense for everyone – but we’ll keep pushing. 

“My chief ambition is to be undisputed champion of the world. I want to bring big fights home to Australia, and it is important to me, and I will keep pushing for it. But my goal remains to be undisputed world champion.”

That the Saudi Arabian culture continues to limit women’s rights potentially leaves Nicolson, Chapman and others who accept the increased purses on offer there open to criticism. 

She was asked if, in the modern era when fighters have become so accessible, she had been criticised for doing so. She also revealed that she is yet to meet the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh.

“From what I’ve seen – not that I sit and scroll through every comment – I haven’t really seen any negative criticism about fighting out here,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of positive stuff, and a lot of people saying that this has been a long time coming and this is a movement in the right direction for women in Saudi Arabia; for women in boxing. So it’s been quite a positive reaction and experience so far.

“I haven’t met him yet. I assume I will this week, but I haven’t actually spoken to him yet.

“I’ve honestly had a really positive experience out here. Everyone I’ve met has made me feel very welcome; it’s been nothing but positivity from the male and female Saudis that I’ve met. I feel like I’m in a very empowering position, to inspire the women here. I’ve met a few of the Saudi boxers – the young up-and-coming boxers in the boxing gyms here. I feel like I’m really inspiring that next generation; I’ve only felt positive things about fighting over here.

“Apart from the main event, the female fight’s probably been the most talked about fight. We’ve had the most media attention. Which I think’s great; it’s great for women’s boxing; it’s great for Raven and I. It’s giving us the spotlight; it’s giving women’s boxing the spotlight it deserves, and that’s probably been missing and needed, especially from these Riyadh Season cards. It’s all been very positive for women’s boxing, and for myself and my own career, and for the people of Saudi Arabia as well.”

Nicolson, who won her title against Sarah Mahfoud and defended it against Dyana Vargas, is the favourite for Saturday’s fight. Chapman is considerably less proven at world level, but she has, unlike Nicolson, previously fought in the Middle East – in 2022 she outpointed Fatuma Yazidu at Yume Nightclub in Dubai.

“She’s a good fighter,” Nicolson continued. “I just don’t think she’s as good as me. She’s aggressive; quite relentless; strong; powerful; a bit of a brawler. Which are all things that will complement my style. 

“She’s got slow feet. She falls in; she rushes her work; she doesn’t set her shots up, and she’s very easy to hit.

“I see what’s coming before it comes. I find her quite easy to read, and I think she’s gonna be there for me to hit all night long.”

Chris Eubank Jnr and Conor Benn had to be separated when they came face to face in Riyadh on the eve of Eubank Jnr’s fight with Kamil Szeremeta.

Eubank Jnr and Szeremeta, both 35, meet at super middleweight on the undercard of the undisputed light-heavyweight title fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

The former’s encounter with Benn, however, will inevitably fuel speculation that they will finally fight in 2025.

Their catchweight contest in 2022 was abandoned when Benn twice tested positive for the banned substance clomifene and he  subsequently relinquished his British Boxing Board of Control license.

The 28-year-old Benn’s promoter Eddie Hearn said as recently as September that he hopes Benn’s return will happen imminently. “We’ll know more early October how that will play out,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of questions asking why doesn’t he just take a two-year ban – the test was in June 2022.

“But to Conor’s detriment he’s never wanted to concede a ban because he believes in his innocence. He’s never wanted to do a deal, and it has cost him time.”

“This little weasel waited to the day I’m starving and dehydrating myself making weight to grow some balls and pull up on me,” Eubank Jnr posted on social media.

“Don’t lose to this nugget on Saturday, satsuma head,” Benn responded. “And I suggest you scrub your teeth because your breath smelt like a mountain of shit.

“Three rounds I’m flattening you.”

Dan Azeez will have the opportunity to regain the British light-heavyweight title when he fights Lewis Edmondson at London’s Copperbox Arena on October 19. 

The British Boxing Board of Control’s latest championship circular revealed that Boxxer will stage the fight on the undercard of Adam Azim’s intriguing super-lightweight clash with Ohara Davies.

Azeez, 20-1-1 (13 KOs), won the title by beating Hosea Burton in 2021 and defended it twice before losing it to Joshua Buatsi in February. 

Azeez’s victory over Burton kickstarted an outstanding run that led him to the European title and turned the career underdog into a headliner. The 35 year old will next need to prove that he possesses the drive and ambition to launch another by turning back the challenge of the undefeated Edmondson. 

Edmondson, 9-0 (3 KOs), has been heavily linked to a fight with Ben Whittaker but instead gets the chance to win his first professional title. Edmondson has never been beyond eight rounds and will have his stamina tested by the relentless Azeez.

In September it was announced that Brad Pauls, 19-1-1 (11 KOs), will make the first defence of his British middleweight title against Keiron Conway, 21-3-1 (6 KOs). The same circular detailed that Eddie Hearn will promote the fight on a date and at a venue to be advised. Conway, however, is due to face Aaron McKenna in the semi final of the middleweight Prizefighter tournament.

The vacant British super-welterweight title fight between the Commonwealth champion Sam Gilley, 17-1 (8 KOs), and Louis Greene has been postponed due to an injury sustained by Greene, 17-4 (11 KOs). It is a year since Gilley got the better of Greene after 12 outstanding rounds and the rematch was due to take place on October 18. Gilley has been inactive since. 

Nathaniel Collins remains the British featherweight champion but is continuing to work his way back to full fitness after undergoing emergency bowel surgery in May.

In a bid to keep the division moving, the board have decided to put a final eliminator between the Commonwealth champion Masood Abdulah, 11-0 (7 KOs), and the English champion, Zak Miller, 14-1 (3 KOs), out to purse bids. 

In September Abdulah stopped the brave George Stewart to win the Commonwealth title. Miller lost a majority decision to Collins in 2023 and beat the undefeated Lewis Frimpong to win the English title in June.

Marcel Braithwaite withdrew from his vacant British super flyweight title with the English champion Brandon Daord, 10-0 (3 KOs). Quaise Khademi, 12-3-2 (4 KOs) steps up. Khademi drew with Ijaz Ahmed in two previous attempts at the title. Lee Eaton will stage the fight on a date and at a venue to be advised.

The latest British Boxing Board of Control British title circular in full

Heavyweight

Fabio Wardley (holder) v Frazer Clarke

The above contest to be promoted by Frank Warren, will take place on 12 October 2024 in Saudi Arabia.

Cruiserweight

Cheavon Clarke (holder)

Light heavyweight (vacant)

Dan Azeez v Lewis Edmondson

The Stewards to approve a request from promoter Ben Shalom for the above contest, which will take place on Saturday, 19th October 2024 at the Copperbox in London.

Super middleweight

Callum Simpson (holder)

Middleweight

Brad Pauls (holder) v Kieron Conway

The above contest to be promoted by Eddie Hearn, will take place on a date and at a venue to be advised.

Super welterweight (vacant)

Sam Gilley v Louis Greene

Following injury to Louis Greene, the above contest to be promoted by Frank Warren will take place on a date and at a venue to be advised.

Dean Sutherland (holder) v Fraser Wilkinson

The Stewards decided to approve a request from promoter Sam Kynoch for the above eliminator contest, which will take place on 30 November 2024 in Aberdeen.

This contest is also for the Celtic super-welterweight Championship.

Welterweight

Harry Scarff (holder) v Liam Taylor

The above contest to be promoted by Nisse Sauerland, will take place on a date and at a venue to be advised.

Super lightweight

Jack Rafferty (holder)

Ben Marksby v Khaleel Majid

Following injury to Khaleel Majid, the above eliminator contest to be promoted Nisse Sauerland will take place on a date and at a venue to be advised.

Lightweight

Sam Noakes (holder)

Regan Glackin v Kyle Boyd

The above final eliminator contest to be promoted by Sam Kynoch will take place on 31st January 2025 in Glasgow.

This Contest is also for the Celtic lightweight championship.

Super featherweight

Reece Bellotti (holder) v Michael Gomez Jnr

The above contest to be promoted by Eddie Hearn will take place on 26 October 2024 in Manchester.

Featherweight

Nathaniel Collins (holder)

Masood Abdulah v Zak Miller

The Stewards decided to put out the above final eliminator contest to purse bids to be submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions to the Board’s head office by 12pm on 13 November 2024; the contest to take place by the end of March 2025.

Super bantamweight

Dennis McCann (holder) v Peter McGrail

Following agreement being reached between the parties, the above contest to be promoted by Frank Warren, will take place on a date and at a venue to be advised.

This contest is also for the European super-bantamweight championship.

Bantamweight

Andrew Cain (holder)

Super flyweight (vacant)

Brandon Daord v Quaise Khademi

Following Marcel Braithwaite vacating the above championship, the Stewards decided to approve a request from promoter Lee Eaton for the above contest, which will take place on a date and at a venue to be advised.

Flyweight

Jay Harris (holder) v Conner Kelsall

The above contest to be promoted by Frank Warren, on a date and at a venue to be advised.

This contest is also for the European and Commonwealth flyweight championship

Jan Paul Rivera and Andy Beltran both made weight ahead of Rivera’s homecoming fight on the DAZN-streamed card from Coliseo Roger L Mendoza in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

The eight-round featherweight bout headlines the Most Valuable Prospects 9 event.

Rivera (10-0, 6 KOs) of Puerto Rico, who will face undefeated Las Vegas native Beltran (8-0, 5 KOs), weighed in at the featherweight limit of 126lbs. Beltran, 23, came in at 125lbs.

Rivera is managed by Amanda Serrano and her trainer, Jordan Maldonado. The duo also manage two other fighters on the card – women’s featherweight Krystal Rosado and middleweight Alexis Chaparro, both of whom will also be in action.

Rivera is coming off a knockout win in July over Justin Goodson (8-1, 8 KOs) on a previous Most Valuable Prospects card in Orlando, Florida.

Beltran spent the first two years of his career fighting in Mexico. His most recent fight, a first-round knockout of Isiah Rodriguez (2-3, 1 KO) in Bellflower, California, was his first outside of Mexico. This will be his first fight in Puerto Rico.

The full weigh-in results are as follows

Featherweight – eight rounds 

Jan Paul Rivera (126lbs) vs Andy Beltran (125lbs)

Women’s bantamweight – six rounds 

Krystal Rosado (116.4) vs Perla Lomeli (116.6)

Welterweight – eight rounds 

Elijah Flores (146.6) vs Omar Rosario (146.4) 

Middleweight – four rounds 

Alexis Chaparro (159.4) vs Steven Kirkwood (157.6)

Heavyweight – eight rounds 

Herich Ruiz (230.4) vs Travorus Barnes (226.8)

Junior lightweight – six rounds 

William Colon (131.4) vs Jan Pomales (131.8)

Featherweight – four rounds

Carlos De Leon (125.6) vs Levale Whittington (125.8)

Junior welterweight – four rounds 

Matthew Soto (140.8) vs Eduardo Perez (141.8)

Unified WBO and WBC champion Sebastian Fundora is walking around with a target on his back in the super-welterweight division and it appeared as though his next fight was planned out. However, it now appears as though he will be stripped of one of his world titles if he goes ahead with what had been agreed.

Fundora shocked the world when he defeated Tim Tszyu on short-notice to become a unified super-welterweight, a sizeable cut to the Australian aiding him on his way to a famous split-decision victory.

Since then, ‘The Towering Inferno’ has been continuously linked to a first defence of the titles in a clash with Errol Spence Jr. – despite the fact that Spence’s last contest was in July 2023 and was back down at welterweight against Crawford.

Additionally, arguable pound-for-pound number one and now WBA 154lb champion Crawford holds the position as the WBO mandatory challenger and purse bids for the showdown had been called, with ‘Bud’ supposedly keen to add two additional titles to his collection as he attempts to become a three-weight undisputed champion

Yet, it was surprisingly revealed that Crawford had agreed to allow Fundora to proceed with a voluntary defence of the belts against Spence Jr. – likely in the hope that Spence Jr. would come out on top and set up a fruitful rematch between the pair.

Although, those plans seem to have gone out of the window regardless of the deal, as the WBO have confirmed that they will not allow Fundora to defend their belt against Spence Jr. due to the fact that he is not ranked, as per Dan Rafael.WBO tells me they will accept this but Fundora optional cannot be vs. Spence as he is not in the top 15 rankings. Keep in mind Fundora could vacate the WBO and still has WBC which could approve Spence. https://t.co/sDXwZlAZLQ

— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) October 10, 2024

“WBO tells me they will accept this but Fundora optional cannot be vs. Spence as he is not [in their] top 15 rankings. Keep in mind Fundora could vacate the WBO and still has the WBC [title] which could approve Spence.”

Should Fundora vacate the WBO or be stripped of the strap, Crawford would be expected to be upgraded to full WBO world champion or at least be given the shot at a vacant belt in his next contest.

Alternatively, the WBO may choose to insert Errol Spence Jr. into their top 15 rankings in order to make proceedings less complicated and to avoid stripping their champion.

The announcement that Gervonta Davis would defend his WBA lightweight title against Lamont Roach in December was met with collective groans of disappointment with many believing there to be other more worthy contenders for his title. Yet, there are signs that the undercard will help prop up the value of the event, with rumours of a second world title contest being added.

‘Tank’ had been linked to a number of unification contests throughout 2024 but news that fellow champions Shakur Stevenson (WBC) and Vasyl Lomachenko (IBF) would be unavailable left the Baltimore banger searching for an alternate dance partner.

With Floyd Schofield and Edwin De Los Santos both well ranked with the WBA and each calling for a shot at Davis’ throne, the expectation was that one of those two contenders would be granted the opportunity.

However, the self-proclaimed ‘face of boxing’ instead opted to bring WBA super-featherweight champion Lamont Roach up from 130lbs and present him with the chance to become a two-division world champion – underwhelming many of his fans.

Although, it was since been whispered that a salivating rematch between Stephen Fulton and Brandon Figueroa will be going ahead as the co-main event – the victor likely to challenge either Rey Vargas (WBC) or Nick Ball (WBA) for a featherweight world title.

Now, esteemed boxing journalist Dan Rafael has declared that the possibility of there also being an additional world title affair on the undercard, with Alberto Puello attempting a first defence of his WBC super-lightweight crown against tricky Spaniard and mandatory challenger Sandor Martin.Dave Allen comments on his next fight against Johnny FisherPer multiple sources, plan is for WBC 140 titlist Alberto Puello & mandatory Sandor Martin to fight on the Tank-Roach card Dec. 14. Their camps (PBC and Top Rank) made a deal in August with the fight having to take place before end of year & purse bid was canceled. #boxing

— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) October 10, 2024

“Per multiple sources, plan is for WBC 140 titlist Alberto Puello & mandatory Sandor Martin to fight on the Tank-Roach card Dec. 14. Their camps (PBC and Top Rank) made a deal in August with the fight having to take place before end of year & purse bid was cancelled. #boxing”

The Davis-Roach event will take place on December 14th at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas as ‘Tank’ hopes to add a 29th knockout to his resume on a PBC card that will be available to purchase on Amazon Prime Video PPV.

Former WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo is also expected to appear on the undercard, expected to fight Thomas LaManna in his second fight in three-and-a-half years.

Chris Eubank Jr. is set to end a 13-month spell of inactivity when he fights on the Beterbiev-Bivol undercard against Kamil Szeremeta this weekend and his involvement on the bill has already been rife with drama. Now, he and Conor Benn have crossed paths in Riyadh and their meeting was as fiery as could be expected.

After their father’s famous rivalry, the animosity between Eubank and Benn was already innate, but it intensified after Conor Benn failed a drugs test ahead of their scheduled grudge match in September 2022, which was rightfully cancelled.

Benn has not returned to fight in the United Kingdom and seems unlikely to any time soon, revoking his British boxing licence but still calling for a showdown with Eubank in order to put their differences aside.

Meanwhile, Eubank Jr. moved on to a rivalry with Liam Smith and suffered a first knockout defeat to the Liverpudlian back in January 2023, although he got his own back over the former WBO super-welterweight champion in their rematch last September – scoring a stoppage victory of his own.

Eubank Jr. has not returned to action since that contest, but he is set to make a comeback to the ring against Szeremeta on Saturday night.

As the clock counts down to fight night, Conor Benn bumped into his foe ahead of today’s weigh-in and shoved his rival, before labelling him as a ‘dead boy walking’.‼️ Conor Benn SHOVES Chris Eubank Jr as they clash in person today: "I'm gonna f*** you up, you're a dead boy walking."

[🎥 @ChrisEubankJr] pic.twitter.com/OiWTZ1QsYv

— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) October 11, 2024

[Benn] – “You are lucky you are fighting tomorrow or else I would f**k you up right now.”

[Eubank Jr.] – “You see this guy only comes in when I am cutting weight.”

[Benn] – “I will see you tomorrow after the fight.”

[Eubank Jr.] – “You get in that ring.”

[Benn] – “Yeah, I will get into that ring and give it to you. Course. You are f***ing lucky that you are fighting tomorrow.”Martin Bakole claims Zhilei Zhang ‘ran’ from their fight

[Eubank Jr.] – “We will see. Let him come in close, I like this energy.”

Benn shoves Eubank Jr.

[Eubank Jr.] – “You are a kid.”

[Benn] – “I am a kid that is going to f**k you up.”

[Eubank Jr.] – “Watch what happens.”

[Benn] – “Yeah, yeah, watch what happens. Dead boy walking.”

[Eubank Jr.] – “You are a p**sy.”

[Benn] – “You are lucky that you are fighting tomorrow and that I need you to win because I will give you a good a** beating in front of 60,000. That is what is going to happen.”

Since footage of the incident went viral on social media, Conor Benn has added further comment on X and declared that he would ‘flatten’ Eubank Jr. inside three rounds if given the opportunity.Don’t lose to this nugget on Saturday satsuma head. And I suggest you scrub your teeth because your breathe smelt like a mountain of sh*t.

3 rounds I’m flattening you !! https://t.co/Vz4yuJBnXb

— Conor Nigel Benn (@ConorNigel) October 11, 2024

“Don’t lose to this nugget on Saturday satsuma head. And I suggest you scrub your teeth because your breath smelt like a mountain of sh*t. 3 rounds I’m flattening you!!”

Eubank-Benn does appear to be a fight that is around the corner and remains as one of the most deep-rooted rivalries in the sport. Whether it will take place in the United Kingdom or on Saudi shores remains to be seen, but it will likely hinge on Eubank Jr.’s success against Szeremeta this Saturday.

Brandon Figueroa broke the news on his Instagram, posting footage of him shadowboxing rapidly and an image of him as a child with the caption: “I’m a 3X champion now.”

Through a series of events, Figueroa’s planned title showdown against the WBC featherweight champion Rey Vargas was scrapped because the injured Vargas was designated “champion-in-recess” by the WBC.

Figueroa (25-1-1, 19 KOs) was then elevated to champion and placed by Premier Boxing Champions on to the December 14 Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach pay-per-view lightweight title card in Houston, where he’ll stage a rematch against Stephen Fulton.

In 2021, Fulton (22-1, 8 KOs) defeated Figueroa by majority decision in Las Vegas to become the unified WBO and WBC champion.

Figueroa, 27, of Weslaco, Texas, previously won the WBC belt by knocking out Luis Nery earlier in 2021.

Figueroa has gone 3-0 since the loss to Fulton, capturing the WBC interim 126lbs belt by posting a unanimous decision victory in March 2023 over Mark Magsayo and then retaining that belt by knocking out the former champion Jessie Magdaleno with a ninth-round body shot on May 4 on the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-Jaime Munguia card in Las Vegas. 

The WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told BoxingScene that Vargas (36-1-1, 22 KOs) “was committed to” fighting Figueroa following Vargas’ March 8 draw with the reigning WBA featherweight champion Nick Ball.

Premier Boxing Champions told BoxingScene in June that Vargas-Figueroa would happen in 2024, but Mexico’s Vargas injured his shoulder and has undergone surgery, Sulaiman reports.

That therefore moves Figueroa to Fulton, who is coming off a sluggish showing on the September 14 Alvarez Edgar Berlanga undercard.

Carlos Castro knocked down Fulton in the fifth round and Fulton was noticeably jeered by the crowd when awarded a split-decision victory via scores of 94-95, 96-93, 95-94.

2024 has proven to be a phenomenal year for boxing with Turki Al-Alshikh’s involvement in the sport resulting in a plethora of blockbuster events that have captivated fans around the globe. Yet, the Saudi is not a necessity when it comes to manufacturing major cards and Top Rank now appears poised to end the year with bang without the assistance of boxing’s newfound catalyst.

Three-division world champion Emanuel Navarette (38-2-1) attempted to claim a title at a fourth weight earlier this year but came up short against Denys Berinchyk this May, resulting in back-to-back fights without a win for the Mexican.

That last win came in a dominant performance against former WBC super-featherweight champion Oscar Valdez (32-2), who has since become the WBO interim title-holder and therefore has earnt his shot at a rematch with the out-of-sorts ‘Vaquero’.

Meanwhile, Rafael Espinoza (25-0) pulled off one of the upsets of the year when he outpointed Robeisy Ramirez (14-2) last December, edging a majority-decision against the two-time Olympic gold medallist to claim the WBO featherweight title.

Since then, Espinoza has made one successful defence of the belt to prove that his victory was no fluke, knocking out Sergio Sanchez in June, whilst Cuba’s Ramirez got back to winning ways with a stoppage win of his own – halting Brandon Benitez, also in June.Chris Eubank Jr in talks to fight three blockbuster names

Now, Boxing Scene have reported that both rematches will take place on the same card for the respective WBO super-featherweight and featherweight world titles.

“The Rafael Espinoza-Robeisy Ramirez WBO featherweight title rematch will not go to a purse bid tomorrow, as Top Rank reached an agreement with both fighters before the deadline, per reporting from Lance Pugmire of BoxingScene.

“Espinoza and Ramirez will be the co-main event on the Dec. 7 Top Rank card in Arizona, headlined by the rematch between Emanuel Navarrete and Oscar Valdez.”

The imminent announcement of the bill will add to what is already set to be an action-packed end to the calendar, as December plays host to Davis-Roach, Fury-Usyk II and Inoue-Goodman already.

This weekend plays host to what many are calling the ‘best fight in boxing’, as Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol go toe-to-toe in a battle to crown a first four-belt undisputed light-heavyweight champion. Ahead of fight night, a former opponent of Bivol’s has spoken out and detailed why he believes Beterbiev will have his number.

Beterbiev remains as boxing’s only world champion with a 100% knockout ratio, scoring stoppage victories over the likes of Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Joe Smith Jr. and Callum Smith since becoming champion.

Meanwhile, Dmitry Bivol represents the slick boxing technician in the age-old stylistic match-up that is a powerful puncher versus a masterful boxing mind with tremendous footwork.

Yet, that is not to say that Beterbiev does not possess extremely intelligence in the ring himself, with his aggression being far more advanced than your average front-footed swarmer – as shown by his success in the amateurs, where he won two European championships and one world championship, making for an intriguing affair this weekend.

In an interview with Pro Boxing Fans, Lyndon Arthur, who lost a decision to Bivol back in December, revealed his prediction and detailed why Beterbiev’s success in the amateurs could prove pivotal, although he admitted that the age and recent injuries of the 39-year-old does raise alarm bells.

“When I was in there with Bivol, I thought, ‘He doesn’t hit as hard as I thought he would,”

“I was able to defend a lot more punches than I thought I would.”Team GB star signs with boxing advisor

“I’ve been in with both of them. I was sparring Beterbiev. It’s not the same as a fight, but the punches he throws to be able to take them with 10-ounce gloves at the pace he brings them and the resilience he comes into the ring with, it’s going to be hard for Bivol to keep him off.

“He definitely hits hard with 10-ounce gloves with both hands, and it would hurt to get hit with 10-ounce gloves,”

“Bivol, it’s his combination punching, his distancing, and the way he gets in range. Before you know it, he’s there. Beterbiev, it’s his relentless and his ability to come forward. He’s very good at boxing. Because he knocks everyone out, everyone thinks he’s a come-forward fighter, but he was on the Russian team for a long time in the amateurs.”

“He had a long amateur career. He’s seen a lot of styles. He’s very good at boxing. Yeah, [I am picking Beterbiev to win].”

“As long as Beterbiev has got something left in the tank and didn’t grow old overnight. If he’s not showing age, I believe Beterbiev will get him,”

Beterbiev-Bivol will take place on Saturday night, topping a mammoth undercard that features names such as Jai Opetaia, Chris Eubank Jr. and Ben Whittaker.

Jai Opetaia has warned Jack Massey that the physical approach that inspired his victory over Isaac Chamberlain won’t serve him when on Saturday they contest the IBF cruiserweight title.

Opetaia makes the first defence of the title he won for the second time in his rematch with Mairis Breidis in May, and at the same venue – the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Massey, 31, transformed his career a month later when as the underdog he largely bullied Chamberlain in the course of earning a unanimous decision, and in turn won the Commonwealth and vacant European cruiserweight titles, and ultimately the opportunity to dethrone Opetaia: the finest cruiserweight in the world.

He will again be the underdog against the 29-year-old Opetaia—he has previously recorded defeats by Richard Riakporhe and Joseph Parker in what represented his toughest fights—but for all that he has improved and he impressed the defending champion in victory over Chamberlain, Opetaia has reminded him that he is entering a vastly different nature of fight.

“Those boys, they punched the shit out of each other,” Opetaia told BoxingScene. “They just stood there and fucking banged it out, eh? Far out. But we’re a completely different kettle of fish, compared to those guys. We’re not going to stand there and turn this into a fucking slugfest. We’ll use the ring, and ring IQ, and we’re going back to the roots of boxing and movement.

“He’s good, man. We’re not taking him lightly at all; he’s a good, tough opponent. At the press conference he was saying he has a big amateur pedigree, so he’s been around the sport for a long time. He’s good. He’s a tough opponent. But styles make fights.

“There’s pressure in every fight. I’ve had pressure in every single fight of my pro career; it’s been a stepping stone to get where we want to go, and we’re still very far from our final destination. We’re always under pressure. 

“These underdog boys remind me of myself. I was in their shoes; no one knew who I was. I went from fighting at the Music Hall in Brisbane [in Australia] to fighting for a world title. They’re dangerous, so I take every fight very serious.

“Everything we have is earned every day. It can easily be taken away from us in one bad day. We don’t fucking prepare properly for a fight, and we fall short, everything will be taken away from us. We’ve gotta win it before we go in there, so we’re doing all the hard work that needs to be done.”

Turki Alalshikh has emerged as the man to have organised and arranged some of the biggest boxing fights in the past few years.

A Saudi Arabian adviser at the Royal Court under the rank of Minister and the current Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), Alalshikh has helped Saudi host a series of high profile fights.

Even when the fights are not in Saudi, the fingerprints of Turki Alalshikh are all over them.

Case in point being the recent fight between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.

Taking place at Wembley Stadium in England, the bout was billed as part of Riyadh Season and there was even the Saudi national anthem sang before the main event.

If that’s not an indication of the influence of Turki Alalshikh and Saudi on the sport of boxing, then nothing is.

So when Alalshikh comments on what’s set to take place in the world of boxing, it’s important to take note.

And he’s just provided an insight into some of the future fights lined up.

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol clash on Saturday, the Saudi matchmaker made a series of revelations.

“See in February again Queensberry against Matchroom, 5 vs 5, we will finish it maybe this week with a big surprise and then let’s see the result about this fight, the result of the big fight December 21, [Oleksandr] Usyk-Tyson [Fury].

“Joshua, Dubois, Tyson, Usyk, everyone, everyone on the line.Martin Bakole claims Zhilei Zhang ‘ran’ from their fight

“This is what we want. We want the big fights and to see who’s really the best fighters in each division.”

There’s a lot to unpack there.

Firstly, it seems that Queensbury vs Matchroom 2 is taking place in February, with an official announcement coming soon.

And then Turki Alalshikh seems to imply that Joshua vs Dubois is likely to be happening around that time also.

So it looks like February 2025 is the date being earmarked for the rematch.

Of course, things can always change.

Right now, Anthony Joshua is still suspended from boxing and must wait until he’s allowed to return to the ring.

Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, has already stated that AJ’s preference is a rematch with Dubois.

So while the result from the Usyk vs Fury fight may alter things, it seems that the plan right now is for Anthony Joshua to fight Daniel Dubois in February.

And if anything can make that happen, Turki Alalshikh is certainly the man for the job.

There is no doubt that Austin Trout still has more fights left in him.

The 39-year-old Trout, a former junior middleweight titleholder who scrapped with some of the best of his era, is now moonlighting as a bare knuckle fighter for the fast-ascending, Conor McGregor-backed Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. 

Trout – 37-5-1 (18 KOs) in boxing – is 2-0 in the BKFC and has already picked up the promotional company’s 165-pound title, and he’ll be defending his crown for the first time against Rico Franco on Saturday in Marbella, Spain, on DAZN.

“No, I have not officially retired from boxing,” Trout told BoxingScene. “As the BKFC champion, I feel like I do have a certain responsibility to make the BKFC my main piece, as pimps would say. But I still love boxing, and if they have an opportunity for me, and if it fits my BKFC schedule, why not? But boxing hasn't had any opportunities for me, even though I'm still looking. The call has not been made yet. So I'm just going to keep bare knuckle fighting until I get the best opportunities.”

Trout made his bare knuckle fighting debut in February 2023 and scored a fourth-round TKO win against Diego Sanchez. In February of this year, Trout was already fighting for the vacant title, scoring a five-round unanimous decision against Luis Palomino.

His boxing career is much more decorated. Trout became a 154-pound titleholder in 2011 by beating Rigoberto Alvarez, the brother of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. He defended the title four times, with wins against the likes of Miguel Cotto and Delvin Rodriguez, before losing to Canelo in 2013 in a competitive clash.

“I can still make 154 pounds in boxing,” said Trout. “I fight at 165 pounds for the BKFC, but the plan is to come down to 155 pounds and take that belt, too, to become double champ.”

Doing so will make Trout even more marketable for the BKFC and perhaps interest McGregor, who became the first UFC fighter to earn double-champ status during his heyday, to fight him. 

In April, McGregor became a co-owner of BKFC and has already teased fighting in the discipline himself. 

“Conor is taking bare knuckle fighting to the next level, for sure,” said Trout. “We've seen it with the buzz. There is a lot of momentum, and I am proud to be a part of it. It's a perfect time to be a champion of the sport that's about to break through ceilings. I think 2025 is going to be great as we reap what we are setting up now.

“Conor has teased us plenty of times, saying that he's willing to fight in the BKFC – and I don't doubt it. He knows what it would do to his investment. He's a big fan of it. I assume it's going to be hard sitting on the sidelines watching your baby grow. It seems like a good idea.

“Y'all already know me. I'm more than happy to do that fight. But I am going to ruin everyone's plans, you know what I am saying? It wouldn't be the smartest fight [for McGregor], but I would love to take it.”

Trout has not scored a significant boxing win since his career-defining conquest against Cotto nearly 12 years ago at Madison Square Garden in New York. Defeats in several title fights followed. He last fought in a boxing match in October 2023 in Germany, scoring an eighth-round unanimous decision win against journeyman Omir Rodriguez.

However, with a revamped diet and newfound discipline, the native Texan feels that he has found the fountain of youth in bare knuckle fighting, and he can’t wait to prove it again in boxing, too.

“I'm getting better as I keep going,” said Trout. 

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) , Instagram , LinkedIn and YouTube , through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com .

Junior middleweight Tim Tszyu isn't interested in prioritizing money over titles and activity – or whatever else he may want to do at any given moment. 

Speaking at a media workout Monday in Las Vegas ahead of his Oct. 19 title fight against current titleholder Bakhram Murtazaliev at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida, Tszyu emphasized that he, like high-profile peers Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gervonta Davis, is not swayed by boxing’s recent influx of Saudi cash.

“We don’t have to sell our soul, as they say, for money,” said Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs).

Tszyu's relationship with advisor Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, has been rocky. Tszyu, 29, was set to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr. as part of a Riyadh Season undercard that would have been on the Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov event in Los Angeles. Then, a sequence of events unfolded. Tszyu, whose forehead was cut badly in his split decision loss to Sebastian Fundora in March, was not cleared to fight on the card. Ortiz was moved back to Aug. 10 and defeated Serhii Bohachuk via a majority decision in a grueling fight. Most thought Ortiz-Tszyu would be imminent. 

However, Alalshikh unexpectedly cut ties with Tszyu after Ortiz’s win in August. “I will not work with Tim Tszyu,” Alalshikh told Fight Hub TV then. “Let him do his way. He doesn’t understand.”

Despite the drama, Tszyu expressed a desire to fight in Saudi Arabia one day – though acknowledged that his urge to fight in the United States had greater pull. “I'd love to fight in Saudi Arabia. I think it's an emerging country, first of all,” Tszyu said. “But for me, as a young kid and a boxing lover, America is where it’s at. I grew up watching big fights here, and it has always been a dream of mine to be fighting in the U.S. and experiencing it all.”

Tszyu is now set to face 31-year-old Russian titleholder Murtazaliev (22-0, 16 KOs), who resides in California and is managed by Egis Klimas – the same manager who backs Oleksandr Usyk, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Janibek Alimkhanuly.

And Orlando – in the United States – is indeed where it’s at.

Lucas Ketelle is a proud member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and author of “Inside The Ropes of Boxing” (available on Amazon). Contact him on X @LukieBoxing.

“He’s getting weaker, Joe. I can feel him getting weaker.”

Callum Johnson was on the verge of a terrific upset. The heavy-handed former light heavyweight, from Boston, England, had tasted the canvas in round one, but had dropped brilliant Russian Artur Beterbiev in stunning fashion with a second round left hook.

Buoyed, Johnson went back to his corner and saw trainer Joe Gallagher between rounds.

Undefeated in some 20 fights at the time, Johnson believed he might just have the Russian where he wanted him.

“I felt like when I was in there, I genuinely thought I was going to get him. I felt him getting weaker and I was saying to Joe, ‘I’m gonna get him, Joe. I’m gonna get him.’” 

Callum, now campaigning at cruiserweight, pauses for further thought – and possibly for effect.

“Then he got me.” 

Ultimately, Johnson could not stop the collision course that is Saturday’s enticing meeting between the two top light heavyweights of this generation, Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

“Yeah, I am looking forward to it,” Johnson admitted, on his way to a training session. “I have the same opinion as everyone else. It’s the best fight in boxing. I personally fancy Beterbiev, it’s obviously 50/50 and down the middle, looking at what people think, it’s very 50/50. I’m favoring Beterbiev and I’m asking myself, is that a biased pick or not? I don’t think it is. And I do think if the fight was two or three years ago, I don’t think I’d have any doubt. But obviously age and the fact that he’s coming off that knee surgery and everything else, at some point it will catch up with him. But will it be this time? I don’t know. I still think he’ll have enough to win.”

The torn meniscus in Beterbiev’s knee that caused the postponement of the fight in June is a talking point. So is Beterbiev’s inactivity. He is also nearly 40. Factor in Bivol’s qualities on top, and that leaves plenty of unanswered questions.

“People talk about Bivol moving better and everything else and it [the movement] is very good, it’s unbelievable,” Johnson continued. “It’s probably the best out there by any fighter, but I think Beterbiev will deal with it because he’s not got any height [disadvantages to deal with], they’re the same kind of height, he hasn’t got the reach disadvantage so it’s just the movement and I know when you look at him when he fought [Oleksandr] Usyk – and I know that’s in the amateurs – but he deals with that movement. It’s not like it’s something he’s never seen before, so I just think he’ll have enough to deal with it.”

Asked to recall the evening he shared a ring with the Russian who is now 20-0 (20 KOs), in October 2018, Johnson did not feel as though he was in there with someone who could potentially be heralded as a great. Johnson, a decorated amateur and fierce punching contender in his own right, did not believe he was out of his depth – until he was suddenly underwater and drowned.

“People ask me this all the time and it’s weird because when I was in there I didn’t feel as though it was anything crazy. It wasn’t like I was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy,’” he went on. “It didn’t bother me. I wasn’t bothered. Obviously when he hit me, I went down, so that obviously shows how hard he hits. Obviously, we know the first knockdown I wasn’t looking and he kind of hit me and knocked me into next week. I think after that… I can’t really remember too much about the fight anyway after that point. I think I was fighting on instinct anyway.”

A combination of Beterbiev’s blunt fists, time and maybe even the occasion itself means it all seems a little hazy to Johnson now, some six years on, but he is rightly proud of his showing and his significant what if moment.

“Obviously he punches very hard. His record speaks for itself, doesn’t it?” the Englishman added.

“Looking at it now, obviously I got him well and he was on unsteady legs. At the time, I can’t remember too much about it. It’s a blur. It’s one big blur. I remember being in there and I remember hitting him and him going down. I’ve got the visuals of it. I remember walking to the corner. But other than that, it’s a big blur, the whole thing. After that first round knockdown, I don’t think I ever got my senses fully back anyway. I don’t know if I was in Lala Land or deluded or what, but I genuinely, all the way until the end of the fight, thought I was going to get him again. But obviously I never did.”

For some, the walls close in on them as Beterbiev grinds away. It wasn’t like that for Johnson. The finishing sign was in sight, and then Beterbiev crossed the line first and Johnson was left licking his wounds. 

Of that part, Johnson tells it best.

“I remember being in there with Joe [Gallagher] and I remember feeling like he was getting a bit weaker and I remember saying to Joe, ‘He’s getting weaker. I can feel him getting weaker.’ Then he got me, didn’t he? He got me.”

Marc Ramsey is happy with the work ethic of his super middleweight contender Christian Mbilli. The trainer believes Mbilli’s progress has earned the fighter a positive reputation – which shows in the rankings.

Rated No. 2 and No. 3 by the WBO and IBF, respectively, Mbilli, 29, is gunning for a 168-pound title following an impressive 10-round unanimous decision win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko in Quebec City, Canada, last month.

Mbilli, a French fighter of Cameroonian descent, has risen steadily to become one of the hottest properties at 168, having recorded stoppage victories over Rohan Murdock and Mark Heffron earlier this year.

According to Ramsey, unified light heavyweight champ Artur Beterbiev, whom he also trains, has raised the standard of training in the gym.

“I want [Beterbiev] to focus on his stuff, but he still influences the rest of the gym to follow his ethic at training and as a professional,” Ramsey told Pro Boxing Fans. “And now it's the turn of Christian Mbilli, who’s following in his footsteps. A very dedicated fighter, very easy to coach and gifted, strong, and he has a lot of tools.

“Christian also became an example for the new and upcoming fighters. I have a couple of new prospects coming in, and they all look up to Christian and Artur, and it's a kind of reputation that the gym has right now.”

The hard-hitting Mbilli is on course to be considered as a future opponent by 168-pound superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who dominated Edgar Berlanga in a unanimous decision win last month. The unified 168-pound champion is weighing his options and could opt to face the winner of Saturday’s 175-pound undisputed championship fight between Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

When asked if his fighter would consider facing Alvarez next, Ramsey said promoters Top Rank must decide what’s best for Mbilli.

“We don't know yet,” Ramsey said. “Christian had a little surgery right after the last fight. Now he's OK, but we're gonna let the promoters decide. If it's Canelo, we're gonna be very happy. But we don't want to wait on Canelo.

“We want to continue to push [Mbilli], to work with him technically and tactically, to get ready when the phone rings. Boxing is always a question of timing like this, but it's a project that we have, and we really believe we're gonna reach a target at one point with them, no doubt.”

Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at bernardneequaye@gmail.com .

The Rafael Espinoza-Robeisy Ramirez WBO featherweight title rematch will not go to a purse bid tomorrow, as Top Rank reached an agreement with both fighters before the deadline, per reporting from Lance Pugmire of BoxingScene.

Espinoza and Ramirez will be the co-main event on the Dec. 7 Top Rank card in Arizona, headlined by the rematch between Emanuel Navarrete and Oscar Valdez.

Their first bout in December was considered one of the best of the year, with both fighters hitting the canvas. Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) of Mexico earned a narrow majority-decision win, dropping two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs) in the 12th round to capture his first world title. Ramirez had previously floored Espinoza in the fifth round. Espinoza was a +800 underdog going into the fight.

Espinoza, 30, has fought once in 2024, scoring a fourth-round technical knockout over Sergio Chirino in June at the newly opened Fontainebleau Las Vegas, dropping him three times.

Ramirez, also 30, secured a seventh-round technical knockout over Brandon Benitez in his lone 2024 fight at the James L. Knight Center in Miami Beach, Florida.

There was nothing simple about the way Willie Pep boxed. The term “the sweet science” was coined for fighters like him, a man whose feet were performing ballet while his fists unfurled combinations. He could execute everything by the book if he wanted to, but he rarely wanted to. He layered in unorthodoxy, in the way he stood, the way he pivoted, the way he used a subtle shoulder feint to freeze an opponent. You won’t find many clips on YouTube of Pep standing flat-footed and throwing a predictable one-two. What you will find is Pep dancing, ducking, dodging, and landing spectacularly clean punches on befuddled opponents.

He fought with maximum complexity.

His favorite phrase, however, the one he frequently signed photos with, was as simple as could be. Two words: “Keep punching.”

From the moment actor James Madio began to learn about Willie Pep, recognized his physical resemblance to Willie Pep, and combined forces with his screenwriter/producer friend Steve Loff to get a script for a Willie Pep biopic in motion, those two words came to define the effort.

This was not an A-list movie star volunteering to play an A-list ex-athlete and having studios throw tens of millions of dollars at him for a project that couldn’t miss. This was a working man’s actor, with one of those faces you’re pretty sure you know but you can’t quite remember what you know him from, wanting to play an all-time great fighter famous only to hardcore boxing fans, a few octogenarians, and maybe people from Hartford, Connecticut. So it was never going to be quick and easy to get made. Madio and Loff had to tell themselves, over and over and over: Keep punching.

For 12 years.

I’ve seen “The Featherweight,” the new film that hit about 15 theaters in select locations over the last couple of weeks and now awaits wider distribution, and one of my main takeaways is this: Thank goodness it took so long to happen.

It’s the right actor in the right role with the right script at the right time, and had “The Featherweight” come together quickly, a decade or so ago, it wouldn’t have worked nearly as well.

“Yeah, that’s the thing,” the Bronx-born Madio said this week from his home in Ohio, where he lives with his wife and three kids. “Twelve, thirteen years ago, I wasn’t married, had no kids, didn’t lose my mother, didn’t go broke and then make money, didn’t do the roller coaster of finances 17 times. So there was nothing to reflect on, nothing to pull from. And as an actor, you need those scars. They help you. As hard as they are, you can pull from them. So, dealing with the loss of a parent, dealing with having children — this performance in this movie, 12 years ago that performance would have never been. The trajectory of this, it’s what it was supposed to be and it landed where it was supposed to land.”

Madio is 48 now. He was in his mid-30s when his dad first told him to look up the ex-fighter Willie Pep, to learn about this all-time great who was maybe the best defensive boxer ever and went through a half-dozen wives and came back from a plane crash in the middle of his career and returned for 10 fights in his early 40s after being out of the ring for six years. Madio printed out a picture of Pep and put it by his computer. The resemblance was undeniable. Loff certainly saw it when he laid eyes on that photo, and they set to work — on a multi-decade period piece spanning Pep’s life from age 19 to 45.

It was only after six years of running into walls at every turn that a different approach occurred to Loff. He would focus in on a specific point in Pep’s life, when he was 42, broke, drifting, married to a woman half his age, and wanting to fight again. And he landed on an inventive framing: The movie would be a faux documentary. A camera crew shows up at Pep’s house in 1965 to see what the ex-champ is up to, decides to make a film about him, and we, the audience, are watching that footage — with the occasional archival flashback clip mixed in.

So now Madio didn’t have to play Pep across various eras — other than a few boxing scenes, he could focus on playing just the weathered, 42-year-old version.

And by the time everything was green lit and they finally started filming in November 2021, Madio was 45 and had the life experience to relate perfectly to much of what that Willie Pep was going through.

“The objective was to show him in this light, this man who has a film crew knock on his door and that excites him. He thinks he’s going to now be able to be back in the spotlight,” Madio said. “But the joke’s on him because documentary filmmakers, if they find something to track and follow, they're gonna go with it. They're gonna see you when you're crying over your dying father or see you when you're fighting with your kid, and they're gonna get in your face.”

Just when it feels like every version of a boxing movie has already been made, “The Featherweight” comes along and tells a somewhat familiar story in a fresh way. That wouldn’t have been the case if the original version of the script had gone the distance.

Once the documentary-style approach was in place, bringing with it an avenue to make the film on a manageable budget, Appian Way Productions — the company founded by Leonardo DiCaprio, Madio’s co-star in “The Basketball Diaries” way back in 1995 — came on board. At first, “Hoop Dreams” director Steve James was attached, but he took a different job and instead recommended another documentary filmmaker, Robert Kolodny.

This became Kolodny’s debut directing a feature film of the scripted variety. On the September 18 episode of “ The Boxing Movie Podcast ,” Kolodny told host Steve Hunt that, in Pep, Madio had found the defining role of his career.

“Well, look … I hope so,” Madio said when informed that his director had said that. “I worked my ass off for it — it's not like I was given this. I had to go earn it, and now I feel like I'm in a really good place, so if this can help me play more vibrant characters and get better roles, then great, I’ll take that.”

Part of Madio working his ass off for it included the entire movie shoot being crammed into just 18 days. They shot in Pep’s hometown of Hartford, and Madio said it was hectic but rewarding.

“It went by in the blink of an eye,” he recalled. “There's a lot of pressure, but it’s wanted pressure, pressure that you had asked for your entire life and career. And playing Willie Pep, this is something that as an actor, this is the moment you’re waiting for, right? I tried, not in a method-acting way, but I tried to really stay with who Willie was while I was there for those 18 days, because I thought that that would help.

“And the way we shot it, as a documentary, the camera is always rolling. So there was this freedom to explore and move around in ways you wouldn’t normally be able to in traditional narrative filmmaking. I didn't have to worry about hitting a mark. I didn’t have to worry about continuity, because most of the time it was only one take. So there was a great freedom in the way we did it.”

As for the boxing scenes, Madio — who grew up a boxing fan and even gave the sport a try in his early teens, until he faced a southpaw in the gym and took a beating and realized this was not something he should pursue further — said the challenge for him was not in trying to look convincing as a boxer, but in trying specifically to move and box like Willie Pep.

“That man was incredibly gifted, such a special fighter,” Madio said. “It was difficult, knowing his footwork was his specialty, learning his triple jab, his V step, all of that stuff. I would work on that religiously.

“But the good news for me was, it’s filmmaking. There’s an edit that can help me look good. The editor, Robert Greene, could cut out any shot where the boxing didn’t look good enough. I was protected, in a sense. I was protected by an edit.”

Still, it isn’t easy for a guy in his mid 40s to plausibly pass as the 22-year-old Pep who beat Chalky Wright for the featherweight title. One aid to Madio on that front (besides hair coloring products): He stayed in shape for 12 years, always ready to start filming as Pep if a deal to make the movie came together.

Astute boxing fans will notice two familiar faces in cameo roles in “The Featherweight”: The second-best-ever boxer from Hartford, former welterweight titlist Marlon Starling, pops up early in the movie. And current featherweight prospect Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington appears later as a sparring partner for the comebacking Pep.

It’s best to stop there in terms of anything resembling spoilers. Hopefully, fight fans will be able to see the movie soon. Madio said he expects it won’t be long before it’s available on a streaming platform, but in the meantime, powered by mostly positive reviews (81% on Rotten Tomatoes), they’ll keep pushing for a wider theatrical release.

They’ll keep pushing, and they’ll keep punching. Just because “The Featherweight” is, after a dozen years, a finished product, that doesn’t mean the fight is over.

Eric Raskin is a veteran boxing journalist with more than 25 years of experience covering the sport for such outlets as BoxingScene, ESPN, Grantland, Playboy, Ringside Seat, and The Ring (where he served as managing editor for seven years). He also co-hosted The HBO Boxing Podcast, Showtime Boxing with Raskin & Mulvaney, The Interim Champion Boxing Podcast with Raskin & Mulvaney, and Ring Theory. He has won three first-place writing awards from the BWAA, for his work with The Ring, Grantland, and HBO. Outside boxing, he is the senior editor of CasinoReports and the author of 2014’s The Moneymaker Effect . He can be reached on X or LinkedIn , or via email at RaskinBoxing@yahoo.com.

Dana White is not a man to hold back his thoughts.

When asked a question, he’s a straight shooter who is happy to provide an answer.

That’s what happened recently when the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president was asked about claims made by former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou about the difference in pay from the UFC to boxing.

In typical Dana White fashion, he put across his thoughts in a forthright manner.

And his comments has stirred a reaction from Ngannou.

The former UFC heavyweight champion is currently signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) after losing his last boxing match to Anthony Joshua by devastating knockout.

Among his greatest achievements, during his fight against Alistair Overeem at UFC 218 in March 2018, Ngannou landed a devastating uppercut that led him to win by knockout in the first round.

This punch was measured at 129,161 units on the UFC’s punch meter, setting a new record.

After Ngannou parted ways with the UFC due to a prolonged contractual dispute, the French Cameroonian has headlined two boxing events against heavyweight stars Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.

Unfortunately, his loss against Anthony Joshua put a stop to his boxing career.

Since then, Dana White has made several jabs at Ngannou since the former heavyweight champion left the UFC.Jake Paul challenges Mike Tyson with $5 million bet

White has also claimed that the UFC offered him the largest heavyweight contract in UFC history, and that he would have earned more than in his first two professional boxing fights combined.

Upon hearing these accusations, Ngannou did not stay silent and has now responded by labelling the UFC president a liar.

In an interview with SHAK MMA, Ngannou said, “Unless he was the one writing the check, I don’t see how he could know that.

“But for me, as the one receiving that money after leaving the UFC, and based on what the UFC was proposing, it was just a trap.

“It wasn’t a solid contract… so that’s a lie.”

Additionally, Ngannou reacted to White’s comments about entering the boxing business.

“Honestly, I don’t know anything about what he said.

“He has said many things so far; we are all confused.”

It seems that the relationship between the two will remain complicated.

For UFC fans dreaming of a reconciliation between the two men any time soon, it certainly seems far from happening.

The good thing about having low expectations is that it means you are rarely disappointed. 

This rang true again this evening (October 10) when Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev shared a top table at yet another press conference ahead of their light heavyweight battle on Saturday (October 12) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

Fed up with talking, both Beterbiev and, to a lesser extent, Bivol were content to allow the giddy promoters and managers on either side of them to do most of the selling on their behalf and no amount of coaxing could get them to change their ways. 

Of the two, Bivol was the most vocal. He spoke in complete sentences and appeared happy to elaborate when pressed. 

“Every time when I think about my opponents, I am getting excited,” he said. “One of them is the face of boxing (Saul “Canelo” Alvarez), and it’s exciting to fight against this guy; another had almost 50 fights and never lost (Gilberto Ramirez); and another guy (Lyndon Arthur) is a champion also. It makes me more excited, not nervous. Artur is a great champion. He has what I want. He has belts. It’s not only about belts. When I look at his skills, I want to check my skills against this amazing fighter.”

Asked if he has imagined how Saturday’s fight with Beterbiev will play out, Bivol, 23-0 (12), said: “In my training camp, in my head, I’m always trying to realise how it goes. There are a lot of different scenarios. Usually a fighter will be more calm in some situations when he realises he is ready for everything. If he trains something in his training camp, and this happens in the ring, he is more confident. Against Beterbiev, we had to do a great camp. We had to think about different scenarios and we did. Now I am just curious how it will be in the ring.”

It is fair to say that most watching tonight’s press conference in Riyadh were slightly curious to see how Beterbiev, 20-0 (20), would react to being asked questions. Having been accused in recent days of being “arrogant” by Eddie Hearn, Bivol’s promoter, it could have gone one or two ways. Either Beterbiev could have taken the bait, tried to overcompensate, and simply gone on the attack, or, conversely, he could have doubled down on his truculence and annoyed Hearn further. 

“I think we talk a lot,” said Beterbiev to start, at which point it became clear he had no interest in appeasing anyone. “I’m preparing for a good fight,” he added. “We’ll see. Be ready. I will be, too.”

As for Bivol, as well as ready, he said this to finish: “I’m just different. I just have a different name, different body, different skills. This is why it is such an interesting fight. We all know everybody is different.”

Bivol and Beterbiev are certainly different, that much is true. Also, at a time of loud noises and unearned hype, different can be considered rather refreshing, a nice change.