In exchange for the toll of his first loss, Jaime Munguia continues to learn how greatly he cashed in so many more valuable opportunities.

Mexico’s Munguia (43-1, 34 KOs) on Friday night returns from a May 4 unanimous decision defeat to boxing’s most popular fighter, countryman Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, by shifting to a new, one-fight U.S. promotional deal with Top Rank, which will place his bout against Canada’s Erik Bazinyan on ESPN’s platform.

The fight is Munguia’s second of the year in Arizona, following the rousing support he received at Phoenix’s Footprint Center in January, when he topped Alvarez’s 2023 victory by decision over England’s John Ryder by scoring a ninth-round technical knockout triumph over the Brit.

The coming reception at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, for Munguia, 27, is expected to be even more boisterous given that the former junior middleweight titleholder is coming back with the marketing boost of the Canelo fight while reuniting with his immensely popular Tijuana neighbor and trainer, Hall of Fame fighter Erik Morales.

“It was a great experience, a great stage. Overall, it was a good learning experience to fight Canelo,” Munguia told BoxingScene. “I’m excited to go back to Arizona … to Glendale/Phoenix. We’ve been well-received there, and I believe this will not be an exception, because I’m going to deliver another great fight.”

That’s what Top Rank is expecting, with company chairman Bob Arum expressing deep interest in keeping Munguia in the fold after the fighter previously spent the years elevating through his 2018 world title to the Alvarez fight while promoted in America by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.

Munguia’s promoter in Mexico, Fernando Beltran, is expected to have a prominent voice in Munguia’s career path, and they both might find it especially appetizing to hear what Arum strives to undertake next year.

“He’s a very talented kid with a tremendous fan base, particularly with the Mexicans,” Arum told BoxingScene. “And next year, we hope to start doing a number of events all around Mexico, like we used to do with Morales: in Guadalajara, Tijuana, Mexico City, all over the Yucatan [including Cancun], with great results.

“We’ve signed Munguia for this one fight, and then we hope to put him in his next fight in Mexico.”

Currently, with its ESPN deal nearing expiration, industry sources tell BoxingScene that Top Rank is considering taking its fights to multiple broadcasters in an arrangement similar to those of the NFL, NBA and MLB, hoping “to have major TV deals to announce by the end of the year,” according to an official familiar with company plans.

Arum said the intention is to capture the passion of the Mexican fight crowds and stream/broadcast the vigor of that rooting interest to worldwide audiences.

Top Rank’s impressive roster is loaded with Mexican and Mexican-American champions and contenders, including featherweight titleholder Rafael Espinoza, 130-pound belt holder Emanuel Navarrete and his two-division-champion opponent on Dec. 7, Oscar Valdez, plus Lindolfo Delgado, prospect Emiliano Vargas (11-0) and U.S. Olympic medalist, heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr. (10-0, 10 KOs)

The latter two will be on the Friday card with Munguia.

Said Arum: “To go into Mexico like we used to is important … the Valdez-Navarrete winner would fit into this picture … we’ve missed being in the Mexican market since well before the pandemic."

First things first for Munguia, who started so strongly against Alvarez before getting knocked down in the fourth round. The fighters repeatedly engaged through the middle to late rounds, with Alvarez getting the better of the action until the final round, when he hurt Munguia and said he backed off from knocking out the younger challenger in the 12th because he didn’t want Munguia to be embarrassed over what was such a heartfelt effort.

Munguia objected to Alvarez’s claim that the three-belt super middleweight and four-division champion could have finished him if he wanted.

“I don’t think so, because I believe he would have done that [if he could have],” Munguia said. “It was a good fight. It was a close fight. That’s what I think.”

After crediting legendary trainer Freddie Roach for assisting with his defensive strides, Munguia said he opted to reconnect with Morales as his cornerman because of their familiarity and the fact it afforded him the opportunity to train in the high altitude of Big Bear Lake, California.

“It’s a good team, amazing,” Munguia said. “We’ve known each other for five years – it’s more than just working with each other. So I’m good, and I’m happy about that.”

Transferring the lessons from the Alvarez fight to the meeting with Bazinyan, who is the second-rated 168-pounder by the WBO and No. 4 in the WBA, will be paramount to victory.

“All of that learning and experience comes together, and that’s what’s going to make this a great fight,” Munguia said. “I could’ve been more calm at the start [with Alvarez]. Now, I feel really good fighting with Erik Morales. He’s given me more attitude. [Because of Big Bear training boosting my cardio], we can push through this fight for a better opportunity. I like to bring excitement. That’s the best way to sell fights.

“[Bazinyan’s] a strong fighter. It’s not going to be easy. But I have to keep moving forward.”

While Alvarez said he isn’t all that familiar with his No. 1 contenders Diego Pacheco (WBO) and Top Rank-promoted Mbilli (WBC), Munguia said he is quite familiar with them and other top super middleweights such as former Alvarez 168-pound title opponents Edgar Berlanga Jr. and Caleb Plant, and October IBF title fighters William Scull and Vladimir Shishkin.

“I know them all and I’m willing to fight all of them,” Munguia said.

Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.

Newfound Saudi boxing catalyst Turki Al-Alshikh has staged a plethora of high-profile cards since his plunge into the world of boxing last year and this weekend’s showdown between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois is right up there amongst the most intriguing cards. Now, despite the event being just days away, a further three fights have been confirmed for the fight week.

Al-Alshikh’s first run of boxing cards took place in Riyadh, as the sports’ latest kingpin successfully attempted to promote his country to the rest of the world and display the beauty and brilliance of Saudi Arabia. However, Al-Alshikh has now begun to branch out and stage events in other countries, with the impressive Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov show in Los Angeles kickstarting a new stage in the Al-Alshikh boxing takeover.

For that fight week, Al-Alshikh also introduced a new concept that saw an additional fight card take place during the build-up to the main show, as three fights took place on the iconic Santa Monica Pier in California following Madrimov and Crawford’s open workouts on the Wednesday.

Here, Marc Castro extended his undefeated streak to 13 contests with a technical-decision victory over George Acosta, whilst Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist Shakhram Giyasov edged a split-decision to improve to 16-0 and 20-year-old Nathan Lugo scored a second consecutive knockout win.

Now it has been formally announced that the Joshua-Dubois fight event will follow a similar pattern and that three additional fights will take place once Joshua and Dubois have completed their public workouts.🥊 Announced: A separate three-fight Riyadh Season Card will take place after the Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois public workout tomorrow at Wembley Arena – Cameron Vuong vs Joe Underwood Hughes, Chris Kongo vs Jacob Quinn & Aadam Hamed vs Santiago Garces.

— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) September 17, 2024

“Announced: A separate three-fight Riyadh Season Card will take place after the Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois public workout tomorrow at Wembley Arena – Cameron Vuong vs. Joe Underwood Hughes, Chris Kongo vs. Jacob Quinn & Aadam Hamed vs. Santiago Garces.”Carl Froch Predicts Joshua-Dubois And Reveals The Undercard Fighter That Has Caught His Eye

This will be Chris Kongo’s (15-2) second outing of 2024 as he aims to maintain activity after a career-best win against Florian Marku on Easter Sunday, appearing against Huddersfield’s Jacob Quinn (8-4-1) in a welterweight affair.

Meanwhile, 20-year-old Cameron Vuong (5-0) has impressed in his five professional bouts to date and he will look to build on a solid display against Jeff Ofori. He takes on Joe Underwood Hughes (8-3) in a lightweight contest that was originally scheduled to take place on the ever-changing Dalton Smith vs. Jon Fernandez bill (that is now headlined by Rhiannon Dixon vs. Terri Harper) in Sheffield on September 28th.

Finally, the son of legendary featherweight Prince Naseem Hamed, Aadam Hamed (2-0), will fight for a third time against durable 22year-old Colombian Santiago Garces (4-32-5) – who is winless in his last 34 scraps but has only been stopped on three occasions prior.

Those three fights will take place on September 18th at Wembley Arena following the consummation of the public workouts for fighters who appear on the main card, which are scheduled to begin at 5pm and will be available to watch live on the DAZN Boxing YouTube channel.

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Rightly or wrongly, Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson is well-poised to be one of the biggest events of 2024 as fans hope to see shades of the ‘Iron’ Mike of old and a competitive contest between the 27-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer and the 58-year-old two-time heavyweight champion. However, even those fight fans who scorn at the idea of bringing Tyson back to professional boxing could be tempted to tune in, following yesterday’s announcement of an impressive undercard.

Paul-Tyson has been disapproved by the masses and Tyson’s withdrawal from the bout that was originally scheduled for July was met with relief. Although, it was later revealed that the once ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’ would instead fight Paul later in the year, once Tyson had recovered from a stomach ulcer flare-up and was able to properly prepare.

Meanwhile. Paul went ahead with the proposed fight date and faced off with former UFC star Mike Perry – scoring a sixth-round knockout.

Next, Paul will finally take on Tyson in a third outing of the year, whilst Tyson is yet to fight professionally for the first time since a stoppage defeat to Kevin McBride in 2005. As the fight date edges closer, Paul’s promotional outfit ‘Most Valuable Promotions’ have officially revealed the remainder of the main card on their social media.WORLDWIDE ON NETFLIX

Live and free for all 270 million Netflix subscribers (over 550 million homes) globally – from AT&T Stadium, Texas

🥊 Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson 🥊 Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano 🥊 Mario Barrios vs Abel Ramos 🥊 Neeraj Goyat vs Whindersson Nunes… pic.twitter.com/oVwGNS3G3W

— Most Valuable Promotions (@MostVpromotions) September 17, 2024

“WORLDWIDE ON NETFLIXJosh Warrington To Miss Out On World Title Regardless Of Anthony Cacace Fight Outcome

Live and free for all 270 million Netflix subscribers (over 55 million homes) globally – from AT&T Stadium, TexasJake Paul vs Mike TysonKatie Taylor vs Amanda SerranoMario Barrios vs Abel RamosNeeraj Goyat vs Whindersson Nunes”

India’s Neeraj Goyat (18-4-2) had previously been linked to a showdown with Paul himself after the pair had an altercation earlier this year, only for Gorat to eventually sign with Most Valuable Promotions. This will be Goyat’s first bout since signing with Paul’s promotion and he will take on Brazilian YouTuber and professional boxing debutant Whindersson Nunes, who fought on the undercard of Tommy Fury’s Misfits victory over KSI last October, losing out to My Mate Nate.

Yet, the highlight of the bill for the boxing purists has got to be the rematch between Katie Taylor (23-1) and Amanda Serrano (47-2-1), as they battle it out in a record-breaking encounter for the coveted undisputed super-lightweight title, two-and-a-half years after their legendary meeting at Madison Square Garden.

Additionally, Texas’ own Mario Barrios (29-2) will attempt to make a first defence of his WBC welterweight title in front of a hometown crowd as he meets unlikely challenger Abel Ramos (28-6-2), who is presented with a maiden world title opportunity despite losing in three of his last five fights.

As stated by Most Valuable Promotions, the event will take place at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on November 15th, with the full card being available to watch for free live on Netflix as Mike Tyson makes boxing history and Paul seeks to worsen the professional record of one of the sports’ highest profile figures of all-time.

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The lightweights Joshua James Pagan and Trevor Thonson will fight at the Coca Cola Music Hall in San Juan, Puerto Rico on October 18.

They will fight over 10 rounds, after the 10-round light-heavyweight contest between Juan Carillo and Lenin Castillo. 

“This is something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid watching fights on Showtime and HBO,” said Pagan, 24 and of Puerto Rican descent. “I am beyond blessed and excited for the opportunity to headline my first fight card and to do so in Puerto Rico is even more special. 

“I am deep in training now and I will be ready to put on a show for my family back home. I couldn’t do any of this without God, my dad, and the support of my whole family.

“Thonson is a tough fighter. Also undefeated and very skilful. I am preparing for the very best Trevor Thonson and I am going to be the very best version of myself on October 18. You don’t want to miss the Double J Pagan show.”

“Headlining on a DAZN card will be an amazing experience,” said the 32-year-old Thonson. “But it’s only the first of many. 

"My opponent, Joshua Pagan, is a hungry, undefeated fighter who has had a good start in his career. He will definitely bring his best, and so will I. Pagan is a test that I need to pass but, respectfully, everyone is a stepping-stone until I secure a world title.” 

Dmitriy Salita’s Salita Promotions will oversee Pagan-Thonson.

Willy Hutchinson is a naturally self-assured character but only he will know whether the outrageous levels of confidence he displayed before his excellent victory over Craig Richards in June was real or a front intended to throw Richards. Whichever it was, it worked.

Richards appeared baffled by the talented Scot’s behaviour before the fight and then seemed to try too hard to keep his cool and composure while it unfolded. He was never allowed to get a foothold, and the fight had slipped through his fingers by the time he threw caution to the wind in the later rounds. 

It could be argued that Hutchinson, 18-1 (13 KOs), beat Richards in a more impressive fashion than Joshua Buatsi managed when he outpointed his fellow Londoner in 2022, and there is little doubt that the 26 year old’s self-belief has been bolstered by the victory.

Despite what he said publicly, Hutchinson must have gone into the fight with Richards with doubts – aware that he needed to prove himself – but today he has real evidence to base his claims on and he thinks that he will improve on his performance against Richards and stop Buatsi, 18-0 (13 KOs), when they fight for the interim WBO light-heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

“I believe he’s an easier fight than Craig Richards,” he told DAZN during a head-to-head face off with Buatsi. “I said that all the last time, about the last man. He was smiling in my face. He was laughing. Just like he [Buatsi] is doing right now

“Exactly what I said, I done. The only thing I didn’t do with him is knock him out but, however he stayed up, I do not know. He’s an easier fight than Craig Richards – one thousand, million percent.

“Stylistically, for me, I’ll get him a lot easier than I got the other one. The other one half didn’t know what he was doing but he does know what he’s doing and he’ll fall right into something.”

We don’t get a true impression of a fighter’s ability until they are matched with somebody who instills an element of fear in them beforehand and who then tries to beat them. Hutchinson was a world youth champion as an amateur but, after a 13-fight apprenticeship, he failed his first test in 2021 when he was stopped in five rounds by Lennox Clarke after an ill-advised drop down to super middleweight.

Against Richards he passed his first real test at 175lbs with flying colours, and he insists that Buatsi will draw a similar performance out of him. 

“I’ve had 19 fights,” Hutchinson said. “Eighteen of them weren’t worth two rolls. Not worth a shilling. The only one what was half worth something was Craig Richards and now this man

“[Lennox Clarke] wasn’t worth a shilling. I’m telling you now. There’s only one half-decent man that I’ve fought and it was that man [Richards] and that man's a harder fight than him [Buatsi]. 

“When I knock him out, what does that make him? They’re only gonna say he was exactly what I’m saying.”

John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79

Daniel Dubois will be the final man to speak at every media event all week. He will walk to the ring second on Saturday night and, when he gets there, he will be announced as the IBF heavyweight champion of the world.

Dubois, 21-2 (20 KOs), will pay little attention to the pre-fight pageantry. The 27 year old may be defending a title but he knows he can gain much, much more by taking Anthony Joshua’s prized scalp when the Londoners meet at Wembley Stadium. 

“I think he’s the main man up there – the main guy who’s holding all the keys,” Dubois told DAZN. “He’s got the crown and the keys to everything you could ever imagine so I need to go out there and take it from him. 

“Turn him into an old man in the ring and just go out there and rip it from him. That big win – that massive win for greatness.”

Beating Joshua, 28-3 (25 KOs), looks a much stiffer task than it would have been 12 months ago. After a rocky period that culminated in a pair of defeats by Oleksandr Usyk, the 34-year-old two-time unified champion looks to have had his confidence restored by a string of four successive wins – and his brutal demolition of the mixed martial artist Francis Ngannou was his most destructive performance for years. 

Dubois is in his best ever physical and mental form. After submitting to inside the distance defeats by Joe Joyce and Usyk, he proved himself to be a top-level heavyweight by stopping Filip Hrgovic in June. He has the firepower and ambition to truly test Joshua’s rediscovered confidence.

“I don’t think he can be that same guy,” Dubois said. “I think he’s still a good fighter though. People are easily swayed in this game. He fought an MMA guy and he fought [Otto] Wallin.

“Going past all that anyway, I believe this is the right moment. This is all about timing this sport. Now is my time and I need to make it my time; make it my era.”

Dubois possesses a damaging jab and a concussive straight right hand but he has always fought with a seek-and-destroy mentality and commits fully to his combinations when he has an opponent hurt. 

Although he has shared the ring with Joyce, Usyk and Hrgovic, he hasn’t stepped forwards and into range to engage with somebody with Joshua’s explosiveness and power. If Dubois stays true to himself amid the most intense atmosphere he has ever experienced, things could get very interesting, very quickly. 

“I aim to knock him out,” he said before revealing his mindset going into the fight. “I aim to knock out anyone I get in the ring with. Just go out and not put too many words out there. Don’t make a fool of myself by saying what I’m gonna do. I don’t wanna be a fool like that. I wanna make a fool out of him by knocking him out. This is the game. This is the sport. This is where it tests you as a person and as a man.”

John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79

Daniel Dubois has proved doubters of old wrong by showing tremendous grit to fight through the fire and defeat both Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic within the last twelve months. However, there is one man who proved to be an even harder-fought win for ‘Triple D’ and he has now offered his prediction for Dubois’ showdown with Anthony Joshua.

Dubois collided with Kevin Lerena on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s much-criticized trilogy fight against Derek Chisora back in December 2022, where Dubois was expected to make first defence of his WBA (Regular) heavyweight title with relative ease and score yet another early knockout win.

Whilst the official result of a third-round stoppage victory for the Brit would imply that all went to plan, those who witnessed the scrap will know that such a statement could not be further from the truth.

After purposefully taking a knee against Joe Joyce, Dubois unintentionally hit the canvas for the first time of his career in the opening round of his battle with the South-African, before taking a knee on two more occasions within the first three minutes, citing a knee injury as the reason but still managing to stay within the contest.

Showing the true spirit of a future champion and a glimpse of what was still to come, Dubois was able to recover in the second-round and dismantle Lerena in the third to score a much-needed victory in his most dramatic encounter, securing what turned out to be an unsuccessful shot at Oleksandr Usyk’s unified titles.

Speaking with , Kevin Lerena looked ahead to next weekend’s all-British heavyweight title affair but admitted that he could not pick a winner.

“It is a 50/50 fight.”Edgar Berlanga Insane Fight Night Weight Gain Reported Against Canelo Alvarez

“You have got two big punchers; it is the heavyweight division. A good chin in the heavyweight division is one that doesn’t get hit, both guys can’t afford to take each other’s power punches.”

“My only thing is, leading into this fight, I believe that Daniel has had better fight preparation in the sense of Jarrell Miller, then Hrgovic and also Usyk, whilst ‘AJ’ has had Usyk, Jermaine Franklin, [Robert Helenius,] Otto Wallin and Ngannou. I wouldn’t say that the opponents have been better but I believe that “the matching in Daniel Dubois’ corner has been better preparation [than Joshua’s].”

“I think that it could be a fight of two halves in the sense of both guys going down, both guys can punch, I have never

“The one thing I can say is that the one who wins this fight is the chin that doesn’t get chinned the most.”

Joshua-Dubois will take place at Wembley Stadium on September 21st, topping a blockbuster card that features a host of top-quality British talent.

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Moses Itauma is looking forward to a competitive, exciting fight when the IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois defends his title against the "switched on" Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night. 

The 19 year old heavyweight prodigy should return to the ring in November, by which point the landscape of his weight division could look markedly different.

On October 12, Itauma, 10-0 (8 KOs), will be an interested spectator when Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke renew hostilities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and engage in a rematch for the British titles, but this weekend he will focus on events in London when the Dubois makes the first defence of his belt against Joshua.

“I watched the Dubois thing that TNT made – I didn’t clock how big Dubois was at 19 years, I was like, ‘Shit – I thought I was big’,” Itauma told Queensberry Promotions when asked what he thinks will happen.

“I thought it was very one-sided at first. I still kind of do feel like it’s one sided towards ‘AJ’ but not as much as I thought. I feel like Dubois’ got a good chin and he’s got a good jab. Anthony Joshua is obviously very powerful but Dubois’ got that lights out power as well, so this could be a bit sticky. I feel like AJ is going to be a bit too seasoned for him.”

Itauma has been mixing with the country’s top fighters since he was still in school, and although he has sparred both, he has shared many more rounds with Dubois. 

“His jab is so underrated,” he said. “He’s got a good jab. Good chin. He’s quite fit; he has got the gas tank and he’s quite quick. He’s underrated quick.”

Although he trains in the same gym as Joshua, Itauma is on his own schedule and hasn’t been privy to Joshua’s sparring ahead of the all-British showdown, but as the first bell draws nearer, the two-time unified heavyweight champion’s aura has started to seep through the Ben Davison Performance Centre.

When he cuts loose, Joshua remains the most explosive presence in the heavyweight division, and, given the way Dubois goes about his business, all signs point towards an intense, violent encounter. Itauma has seen the tell-tale signs that Joshua is starting to prepare himself for a brutal battle. 

“I haven’t seen no sparring,” Itauma said. “I haven’t sparred him since I was 16 and I only did one or two rounds so I can’t really judge anything on that. 

“I can definitely see the mentality. He’s switched on. I walked into the gym yesterday. I say ‘Hello’ to everyone when I get to the gym. I gave him a fist bump and said, ‘Are you ready?’. He was like, ‘I’m fucking ready’, and he looked at me. 

“I walked off. I was like, ‘OK, he’s ready for a tear up. He’s ready to hurt someone.’”

John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79

Kevin Lerena still wants the title fight he earned against the WBC bridgerweight titlist Lawrence Okolie.

“I’m mandated to fight Lawrence Okolie, me being the WBC interim bridgerweight champion and him being the full champion,” Lerena (30-3, 14 KOs) recently told Boxing Social. 

But the forward momentum towards Okolie-Lerena has come to a halt – at least temporarily. They had agreed to fight, but their match-up was sent back to a purse bid that is scheduled to be held this Friday, according to The Ring. 

Lerena says he’s heard that Okolie instead wants to defend his title against Richard Riakporhe – a cruiserweight contender who suffered his first loss in June, via unanimous decision to Chris Billam-Smith.

“You can make the fight with whoever you want to, but I’m mandatory,” Lerena said. “So if you’re gonna wanna make fights with other guys in the weight division where I’m mandated to fight you, then his team needs to come up with a very good step-aside fee, because I want the fight with Lawrence Okolie. 

“It’s nothing personal. It’s business. It’s not a hard fight to make. If we’re all reasonable and everybody gets their worth, we can make the fight happen.”

Lerena’s preference is to get paid for stepping into the ring, not for stepping aside.

“I'm not interested in the step-aside fee,” he said. “I want the fight.”

Lerena spent much of his career at cruiserweight, but has occasionally fought at heavyweight. In 2022 he fought three times at heavyweight, knocking out Bogdan Dinu, widely outpointing Mariusz Wach, and then getting stopped in three rounds by Daniel Dubois in a bout in which Dubois hurt his leg and hit the canvas thrice in the opening three minutes.

The WBC is still trying to create a division between cruiserweight and heavyweight – one that limits its competitors to being heavier than 200lbs but lighter than 224lbs. The WBA has recently followed suit.

In 2023 Lerena won an elimination contest with Ryad Merhy, and then the WBC interim title by beating Senad Gashi. In March 2024 he moved to heavyweight once more and lost a unanimous decision to Justis Huni.

Okolie moved up from the cruiserweight division after a majority decision defeat in 2023 by Billam-Smith. He returned in May, when he demolished Lukasz Rozanski in 175 seconds.

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2 and @UnitedBoxingPod . He is the co-host of the United Boxing Podcast . David’s book, “ Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing ,” is available on Amazon.

Is Caleb Plant inching toward Hall of Fame status? Maybe not, but he's starting to look like more than just a former titleholder. 

On Saturday night, Caleb Plant stopped Trevor McCumby (28-1, 21 KOs) with just one second left in the ninth round at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, solidifying his status as more than just another name on the card. After appearing hurt in the second round and being dropped in the fourth, Plant rallied back, not just to win, but to secure an emphatic stoppage.

Let’s rewind. Back in 2017-2018, Plant (23-2, 14 KOs) was a regular on FS1 cards, vibing to Don Trip’s music in the gym, flying under the radar, or worse, being laughed at for his unshakable confidence. Fast forward to today, and it seems like Plant, 32, is getting the last laugh.

“They’re all satisfying when you get your hand raised,” Plant said after dispatching McCumby. “I was putting on a show, but my dad and Bread [trainer Stephen Edwards] got on my ass to stay focused and stop fucking around. It’s hard because I’m a showman, and this is something I enjoy.”

Plant is the quintessential “cool fighter” right now. He’s got the swagger, the clothing line, the whole vibe. He’s not just a boxer; he’s a brand. Fans respect his grit, but they love his attitude even more. Remember when he slapped Jermall Charlo? The video went viral faster than you can say “Beetlejuice” three times and in LA, when another fighter tried to stir the pot, fans had Plant’s back. The guy who used to be dismissed as boring? Yeah, he’s anything but that now.

Plant is becoming the story. His knockout of McCumby could steal "Fight of the Year" from Usyk-Fury, which was the biggest heavyweight fight since Lennox Lewis was champ.

Here’s the thing about Hall of Fame status: It’s not just a word or a place in history. You’ve got to have that fan connection, that peer respect. Plant’s checking both boxes. He earned Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s respect in defeat, and after that venomous buildup with David Benavidez, they’ve been nothing but cool to each other post-fight. He might not have Arturo Gatti's brawler style, but Plant’s resilience and charisma have won over his own set of diehards. He’s one of those guys whose attitude bleeds through the screen, and fight fans can’t get enough.

These days, it’s all about "main character energy.” If that term was invented for anyone, it’s Caleb Plant. The guy’s living like the star of his own movie — and in boxing, where self-belief is half the game, Plant’s storyline is the most authentic form of “main character energy” we’ve got. He never wavered from his destiny of becoming a champ. Now he’s setting his sights higher— he might just become a boxing icon of the modern era. 

“Hopefully, I see y’all soon in a big fight,” Plant said before stepping off stage, and with a performance like this last one, he has to be in a big fight next, right? 

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.

Two-time featherweight champion Josh Warrington thought he was stepping up in weight to challenge for Anthony Cacace’s IBF super-featherweight world title on the Joshua-Dubois undercard this Saturday night. However, the challenger will be unable to claim the Ulsterman’s title, even if he was to come out on top this weekend.

Warrington edged out a split-decision victory to dethrone Lee Selby at Elland Road back in 2018 and would go on to make impressive title defences against Carl Frampton and Kid Galahad to cap off a trio of high-octane domestic dustups. Instead, ‘The Leeds Warrior’ opted to vacate the belt after frustrations that a unification contest against WBA champion Xu Can would not be sanctioned, before suffering a shock knockout defeat to then-unknown Mexican Mauricio Lara.

After his rematch with Lara was cut short by a head clash, the Yorkshireman would return to the featherweight throne the following year, scoring a knockout win in a rematch with Spain’s Kiko Martinez, who had stopped Galahad a few months prior to claim the belt.

Yet, Warrington has lost in back-to-back title bouts since, first losing his world title to Luis Alberto Lopez before an unsuccessful challenge for Leigh Wood’s WBA strap last year.

After one win in five contests and moving up in weight, the announcement that Warrington would have a shot at Cacace’s 130lb world title was understandably met with raised eyebrows. Although, the fans have not been the only ones critiquing the proposed world title contest and the IBF have refused to approve Warrington as a challenger, The Daily Star reports.

“The Leeds Warrior – who has twice reigned as IBF featherweight champion – is stepping up a division to take on the Irishman next weekend at Wembley Stadium. But the IBF have so far refused to ratify Warrington as a challenger because he has not fought in the 9st 4lb division in over a decade and has never been ranked.

“The card – which is headlined by Daniel Dubois defending the IBF heavyweight title against Anthony Joshua – is being backed by Saudi-funded Riyadh Season. Those involved are still petitioning the IBF to sanction the bout as a first defence for Cacace, who beat Joe Cordina to claim the title in May.“Canelo Alvarez Names Next Target After Defeating Edgar Berlanga

It has now been confirmed that the IBF will not sanction the bout, as explained by Jake Donovan.

“IBF has offered clarity on Cacace Warrington. Bout is NON-TITLE fight, approved optional fight for Cacace in lieu of mandatory vs Nunez.

“Cacace will be stripped of title if he loses this weekend. With a win, he MUST face Nunez within 180 days. This is his one-time exception.”

Turki Al-Alshikh had been hoping that the IBF allow Warrington to challenge for the belt to maintain the strength of the Joshua-Dubois undercard, particularly after he was forced to find a replacement for Liam Smith in what many deemed to be the highlight of the bill aside from the main-event.

Joshua-Dubois takes place on Saturday night (21st September) at Wembley Stadium, London as ‘AJ’ aims to become the fifth three-time heavyweight champion of all-time, whilst a plethora of Great Britain’s greatest talents hope to steal the show on a stellar undercard at the record-breaking event.

Do you have your own top 10 list of the best heavyweights in boxing today? Here’s our take on the top heavyweights who are defining the sport right now:

1. Oleksandr Usyk - The former cruiserweight king who unified the heavyweight titles, Usyk's skill and resilience have redefined what it means to be a modern heavyweight.

2. Tyson Fury - Known as "The Gypsy King," Fury's ability to dethrone Wladimir Klitschko and his thrilling trilogy with Deontay Wilder mark him as one of the best.

3. Anthony Joshua - A two-time unified champion who has faced the best in the division, Joshua remains a top player despite recent challenges.

4. Joseph Parker - Former WBO champion Parker has proven his mettle with notable victories and remains a key figure in the heavyweight landscape.

5. Zhilei Zhang - Zhang’s impressive knockouts and recent performances have made him a rising star in the heavyweight division.

6. Daniel Dubois - The current IBF heavyweight champion, Dubois has shown significant promise and is poised to make a big impact in the division.

7. Dereck Chisora - Known for his rugged style and resilience, Chisora has been a challenging opponent for many of the division's top fighters.

8. Deontay Wilder - Renowned for his explosive power, Wilder's knockout ability keeps him in the upper echelons of the heavyweight division.

9. Joe Joyce - The "Juggernaut," Joyce’s relentless style and impressive victories have made him a serious player in the heavyweight scene.

10. Dillian Whyte - A formidable contender known for his aggression and knockout power, Whyte has consistently been a top contender.

Think your top 10 would look different? Share your rankings and join the conversation on who truly defines the heavyweight landscape of the 21st century!

#TysonFury #OleksandrUysk #AnthonyJoshua #DanielDubois #heavyweight #boxing #boxingfans 

Once again, Gary Russell Jr is calling for a fight with Gervonta “Tank” Davis. 

“I would love to get back in the game,” Russell said in a recent interview with The Boxing Source. “I hear ‘Tank’ don’t got an opponent yet. What’s up, Tank? They say he don’t got no opponent yet. I’m open to it.”

Russell is more than open to it, given that he’s mentioned Davis’ name for years. 

In December 2020, Russell promised he would “spank that ass”. 

In February 2021, he said he represented too much of a risk for Davis. 

In July 2021, Russell said that a fight with Davis would sell more pay-per-views than Tank’s then-most recent fight, against Mario Barrios.

In January 2022, just days ahead of Russell’s last appearance in the ring, against Mark Magsayo, the DC-area native called for a fight with Davis — who hails from nearby Baltimore — and a rematch with Vasiliy Lomachenko.

“It’s never been personal or anything like that,” Russell told The Boxing Source. “I just think the sport – it’s been too small for both of us to co-exist and not at least come together to see what’d happen. For some weird reason he strayed away from it – him or his team.”

Russell has had more interviews talking about Davis in recent years than the former featherweight titleholder has had appearances in the ring.

Often criticized for taking just one fight per year — from 2015 into the pandemic-altered schedule of 2020 — Russell then spent nearly two years out of action between his win in February 2020 over Tugstsogt Nyambayar and then losing his WBC belt to Magsayo via majority decision in January 2022 (Russell’s father passed away in May 2022. One of Russell’s brothers passed away in 2022, and Gary Jr has helped raise that brother’s children).

Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) hasn’t been a featherweight since 2014 – very early in his career – though he could conceivably move up given that he’s been at 126lbs since turning professional in 2009. 

Davis is a former junior-lightweight titleholder and holds the WBA title at 135lbs. Davis is also one of the biggest superstars in the United States, so it’s little surprise that Russell has even more reason to call out Tank.

Davis last fought in June, when he stopped Frank Martin. He is expected to headline another pay-per-view before the end of 2024, though his opponent is yet to be announced. 

Negotiations with Lomachenko didn’t produce an agreement; Lomachenko’s team said the Ukrainian is taking off the remainder of the year. Davis and Shakur Stevenson went in separate directions; a rematch with Isaac Cruz became less appealing once Cruz lost his title to Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela in August.

“Y’all need somebody to fight,” Russell said. “I’m open to it.”

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2 and @UnitedBoxingPod . He is the co-host of the United Boxing Podcast . David’s book, “ Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing ,” is available on Amazon.

Amir Khan has ruled out a comeback in the conventional sense of the word but is yet to completely give up hope of one day sharing the ring with Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao, the two fighters who eluded him during his career – despite much chasing from the Englishman.

Khan, 37, announced his retirement in May 2022, one month after he was informed that he’d tested positive for banned substance ostarine on the night of his last fight, a February 2022 stoppage loss to Kell Brook. Khan was subsequently banned for two years until April 2024.

Khan, 34-6 (21 KOs), was linked to both Mayweather and Pacquiao at various times during his career, most notably in 2014-15 when he looked set to fight “Money” only for the superstar to choose bouts with Marcos Maidana and Andre Berto instead. Negotiations for a Pacquiao showdown reached an advanced stage in 2018 but they too fell through. 

Mayweather and Pacquiao fought each other in 2015 and both are now retired but currently active on the exhibition circuit with the latter struggling to impress against novice Rukiya Anpo in July. Khan, who says any exhibitions need to happen within 12 months otherwise he will close the door completely, isn’t holding his breath for his old gymmate and friend to entertain a contest against him.

“Manny looked shit in his last fight, really bad,” Khan told Action Network . “Manny won’t want to fight me, and I like him. We speak on WhatsApp. They’re looking for a big paycheck from Saudi, Qatar or Dubai but it’s going to be hard because obviously Saudi and Turki Alalshikh will never do an exhibition fight. If it happens and I’m ever going to consider doing an exhibition, then it will have to be in the next 12 months otherwise I am done from the sport. I’m 90 per cent done from the sport anyways, I don’t have the love for boxing anymore. To motivate myself it would only have to be Manny or Floyd Mayweather.”

Khan, who won major belts at junior welterweight when at his pomp, all but ruled out coming back to the professional ranks after finding peace away from the ring.

“No, I don’t think I will unless a Floyd Mayweather fight was there. The only two fighters I would make a comeback for is Floyd or Manny Pacquiao,” he said. “Other than that, no I’m not interested at all. I won't fight KSI. The thing is I’ve done it at the highest level and don’t have the fire in my belly anymore. God has been kind, I’m financially strong, going into other things like property and am living half of my time in Dubai and the UK as well as going the states a lot. I’m keeping busy with lots of things.”

It was not an easy fight for Stephen Fulton in a return from his first career loss and his debut at 126 pounds, but he at least managed to steal a narrow win over Carlos Castro on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Philadelphia’s Fulton, 30, secured a dubious split decision win over Mexico’s 30-year-old Castro on the undercard of a Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga main event at T-Mobile Arena. Judges scored the bout 95-94 for Castro and 93-96 and 94-95 in favor of Fulton.

In a post-fight interview, Fulton (22-1, 8 KOs) said he was proud of his performance after a long layoff.

“I feel stronger,” he said. “I feel better, but this is my first fight back in 14 months. Ring rust is out of the way, and I feel like I did an amazing job.”

A former unified junior featherweight titlist, Fulton has been out of the ring since losing his two 122-pound belts to pound-for-pound great Naoya Inoue in July last year.

Against Castro (30-3, 14 KOs), Fulton moved up to 126 pounds and wound up slugging it out with a hearty veteran. Although Fulton enjoyed his share of bright spots throughout the fight, Castro fought him evenly and dropped him in Round 5 on a sharp counterpunch.

Fulton believes he was able to overcome the knockdown with a great performance in subsequent rounds.

“I feel like it was a tough round, but I came back and I overturned things,” he said. “I kept digging deep, and I kept fighting. My coaches told me to keep the right hand up. That's all he was looking for – to come back over top. And I made that mistake by not keeping that right hand up. 

“When I came back to fight, I felt like I did good. Shout out to Carlos Castro. He's a great fighter, a great Mexican warrior.”

Castro, whose recent winning streak ended at three, landed a number of clean shots on Fulton, who was visibly bigger and possibly a tick slower at 126. When asked how much he was affected by ring rust, Fulton said, “I mean, a lot, man. … It’s never like sparring. And sparring is the easy part. But when you get in there with the mace on, no headgear, no nothing.

“You're under pressure – that's when it counts. So I think the ring rust played a major part, but I'm back and I'm better.”

Last year was not a good year for Demond Nicholson, not with his unanimous decision loss to Demetrius Andrade, and especially not with the second straight defeat that followed, a fourth-round knockout at the hands of Christian Mbilli.

Some 13 months after the Mbilli fight, Nicholson (26-6-1, 22 KOs) is returning to the ring. The Maryland fighter will be fighting on October 12 at Bowie State University, not too far from his hometown of Laurel. BoxRec lists his opponent as Daniel Aduku (15-6-1, 11 KOs), a Ghanaian boxer now living in Columbus, Ohio.

Nicholson says he’ll be fighting at light heavyweight. Almost all of his career was at middleweight and super middleweight. 

“I had to take a break, get my health in order,” Nicholson said in an announcement posted on social media . “Fighting liver failure, kidney failure, autoimmune disease. It really took a lot out of me. Now that I had the break, I had the time to find myself, become one with myself financially, spiritually, physically and mentally.

“I think I’m going to be the strongest I’ve ever been,” he said. “I know I will.”

Nicholson turned pro in 2013 as a middleweight. He suffered his first loss in 2014 but continued to develop. Nicholson fought Immanuwel Aleem to a draw in 2016, only to lose a split decision to Steve Rolls one fight later. He then moved up to super middleweight. Nicholson took his third defeat in 2018, stopped by Jesse Hart. He then put together five straight wins from 2018 to 2020, though he also was hospitalized in May 2019 with a kidney condition . 

“After my kidney failure, the doctor said I wouldn’t be ready [for] 12 months after recovery,” Nicholson tweeted a couple of years ago . “I didn’t want to hear [that. My] kidneys started functioning again. Five months after, I was right back fighting, beating my body down, not realizing I still had the problems.”

Nicholson was dropped multiple times in a decision loss to Edgar Berlanga in April 2021 — the first time that Berlanga didn’t win a fight via first-round knockout.

“When I fought Berlanga, that Monday before the fight I had the same symptoms, just no kidney failure,” Nicholson posted a couple years ago . “I still went out and fought regardless. It’s just who I am. I’m 100% now taking care of my body, physically and mentally. No man can beat me.”

Nicholson won three fights in 2021 and 2022 before the losses to Andrade and Mbilli.

Aduku will be the smaller man against Nicholson. He’s spent most of his career at junior middleweight and middleweight. Aduku has lost four in a row dating back to April 2023, stopped by 18-1 Chordale Booker in four rounds at junior middleweight, put away in four rounds by 8-0 Darrelle Valsaint at middleweight, taken out in five rounds by the aforementioned Hart at light heavyweight, and outpointed by 24-5-1 Brandon Quarles in early August at super middleweight.

Boxing trainer Bobby Benton praised his fighter, Miguel Flores, for his unanimous decision victory over the 26-year-old Ohioan Michael Chaise Nelson (21-3-1, 8 KOs) at the Bayou Event Center in Houston on Sept. 7. 

Flores won with scores of 98-90, 99-89, and 97-91. Benton believes Flores (26-5-1, 12 KOs) can make a significant impact at featherweight.

The win marks the second half of Flores’ veteran career. The 32-year-old Houston native Flores is now targeting one last major fight, or so it seems. The victory heled Flores bounce back from a loss to Sam Goodman in October in Australia and shake off some ring rust. It was not all smooth sailing; however, an issue arose.

"Our opponent missed weight by four pounds, but Miguel boxed beautifully," Benton said. "He dropped him in the third and ninth rounds. He was using really smart defense, and it was just what the doctor ordered. He needed a fight like that — probably needs one more, just to stay active, and he’ll get sharper."

Benton also noted the confidence boost for Flores, especially given Nelson's heavier weight.

"It was a performance against a bigger guy, and Miguel put him down,” Benton said. “If the kid had made weight, I think Mikey probably would have stopped him, but you could see the size difference. Mikey's a small featherweight.”

Cutman Aaron Navarro highlighted the personal significance of the fight, noting, “Being with the kid since he was eight years old, and with him through all the ups and some really bad lows over these 25 years, it was really great seeing him get back there — and he hadn’t fought at home for probably three years.”

His previous featherweight bout was against Eduardo Ramirez in 2020, and while the Goodman fight was at featherweight, Goodman was a junior featherweight title contender, and Flores had been competing a tad lighter prior. Flores also fought Abner Mares to a draw at lightweight and Leo Santa Cruz in 2019 at junior lightweight.

“In the last 24 months, he fought twice,” Navarro said. “He fought Abner then 13 months later, he fought Goodman halfway across the world in Australia. Those were both top-notch fighters on big stages. So, we are looking to keep him in the ring every three or four months.”

Benton confirmed Flores’ commitment to featherweight and his ability to make the weight easily. When discussing the featherweight division, Benton acknowledged its competitiveness but also noted that several titleholders have lost before, making it a division where Flores could get another big chance, especially given his track record against big name fighters. 

“There are champions with losses, so it’s a division you can break into,” Benton said.

After watching Rolando “Rolly” Romero easily outpoint Manuel Jaimes in a junior welterweight bout Saturday on the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga undercard at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Danny Jacobs said he wants to see Romero take on lightweight titleholder Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

Jacobs, a recently retired former middleweight titlist, provided ringside guest commentary on Amazon’s Prime Video streaming broadcast.

“I think it's a very interesting fight,” Jacobs said of a potential Davis-Romero clash, which would mark a rematch of their May 2022 fight. In that meeting, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Davis dropped Romero and went on to a sixth-round stoppage.

On Saturday, Romero (16-2, 13 KOs) beat Jaimes (16-2-1, 11 KOs) in dominant fashion, winning almost every round (99-91 on all three judges’ scorecards) in a performance that Jacobs believes merits his earning another shot at facing Davis.

“I like his style,” Jacobs said of Romero. “I like how explosive he was, and he was smooth like water – like Bruce Lee is – tonight. Right here, what I think Rolly did is, he dominated with the body shots right there – big left hook. In the first half of the fight, he was loading up.”

Romero, 28, lost his 140-pound title in March to hard-hitting Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz via an explosive eighth-round stoppage. The Las Vegas native needed a win over Jaimes to retain his status as a contender in the division.

When asked about Romero’s good moments in the fight, Jacobs said, “In the second half, I felt like he kinda settled in and started doing body blows. Good body shot right there with that left hook to deliver.”

Meanwhile, Jaimes, a 24-year-old native of San Jose, California, saw his four-fight winning streak come to an end.

Ishmael Davis will replace Liam Smith as the opponent for Josh Kelly at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

A virus forced Smith to withdraw from the appealing middleweight contest on the undercard of the IBF heavyweight title fight between Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua, leading to the 29-year-old Davis being recruited to fight Kelly instead. 

In his past fight Davis earned a unanimous decision over Troy Williamson – who in 2022 the 30-year-old Kelly also defeated in perhaps his most impressive win.

“Very thankful for the fast replacement,” wrote Kelly’s promoter, Kalle Sauerland of Wasserman Boxing, on social media after Smith’s late-notice withdrawal had cast doubt over Kelly’s participation. “Can’t wait to see Josh Kelly at Wembley Stadium for a huge show on Saturday.”

On September 14, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez won a lopsided unanimous decision over Edgar Berlanga at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Canelo did what he was supposed to do against a game but overmatched opponent. But the event had far-reaching implications because of larger issues that were involved.

First the fight…

For the past decade, Alvarez has been boxing's most reliable and bankable star. He began boxing professionally aged 15 and has fashioned a 62-2-2 (39 KOs) ring record over 19 years. During one 11-bout stretch, he fought Gennady Golovkin three times, Danny Jacobs, Sergey Kovalev, Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders, Caleb Plant, and Dmitry Bivol with less challenging outings against Rocky Fielding and Avni Yildirim included in that mix. The Fielding and Yildirim fights were necessary because no fighter can win and retain all four major sanctioning body belts – in Canelo's case, at 168lbs – without fighting some paper champions and undeserving mandatory challengers along the way.

Alvarez emerged from those 11 fights with nine wins, one loss, and a draw. 

Canelo-Berlanga was a fight that few people who didn't have a financial interest in Edgar wanted to see. 

Berlanga began his career with 16 consecutive first-round knockouts against carefully-chosen opponents. Then the level of opposition rose and he went the distance in his next five outings against opponents who have been knocked out by other fighters 11 times. In his most recent fight, he stopped the lightly-regarded Padraig McCrory in six rounds. Nothing on his resume indicated that he would be competitive against Canelo. 

Eric Raskin offered his take on the matter, noting that in recent bouts Alvarez had pivoted to fighting less formidable opposition than before and writing: " If you’re not a little old, a little undersized, made to order with a one-dimensional style, or all of the above, you’re probably not fit for what Canelo wants to do."

Berlanga, of course, had a different view. At the kick-off press conference, he advanced the delusional narrative that he'd received the nod as Canelo's opponent because he has "superstar status" and David Benavidez – often mentioned as a more challenging opponent for Canelo – doesn't. Later, Edgar added: "I'm a star. I have everything. I can fight. I look good. I'm appealing. I'm Puerto Rican with an island behind me. I have the whole package, which is what you need in the sport of boxing to become a star."

Actually, Berlanga was born and raised in Brooklyn, although his parents are from Puerto Rico. 

Edgar also sought to create controversy when he said of Canelo: “I didn't like it when he smiled at me at the press conference. I felt like he was taking me as a joke. I'm from the hood in New York. If you're smiling at my face, that's disrespectful.”

As for how he could beat Canelo, Berlanga, a 14-to-1 underdog, predicted a knockout and advised the media: " I'm training for IQ, intelligence, and being smart."

Later, Edgar added: "Canelo is overlooking me. He's 100 per cent doubting my fighting IQ and experience. He thinks it's a cakewalk for him. He thinks it's a walkthrough, but he's going to walk into a brick wall. I’m a knockout artist. Sixth-round knockout; that’s what we’re going for."

"It’s easy to say you’ll knock me out," Canelo countered. "But it’s much more difficult to do it. Saturday night is gonna be very difficult for him, for sure."

Jim Lampley – who provided live commentary on the fight for PPV.com – spoke for many when he assessed the presumably one-sided nature of the bout and acknowledged: "To most ringside reporters, this feels perfunctory. It’s up to Canelo to deliver an outcome exciting enough to reinforce his credentials as boxing’s biggest dollar-for-dollar star. He needs to win in spectacular fashion to make this choice worthwhile."

Canelo-Berlanga headlined the fourth Premier Boxing Champions pay-per-view card for which Amazon was the primary platform. In December, PBC and Amazon announced that Prime Video would distribute PBC pay-per-view events on a non-exclusive basis. The deal gave PBC a huge platform to build on. But to date, Amazon has provided little in the way of marketing support. And Showtime-PPV's marketing machine has been sorely missed.

The first three PBC pay-per-view shows on Prime Video – Tim Tszyu-Sebastian Fundora, Canelo-Jaime Munguia, and Gervonta Davis-Frank Martin – fell short of anticipated pay-per-view buys. And a promised series of "free"  PBC Championship Boxing fight cards to be shown in the United States exclusively on Amazon Prime has been slow to materialize.

Canelo was guaranteed a reported $35 million to fight Berlanga. Edgar's purse was in the high seven figures. If the pay-per-view tanked, it would be a financial disaster for PBC. Unlike Turki Alalshikh – the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority – PBC impresario Al Haymon is loath to lose millions of dollars on a show.

Questions about Haymon were a subplot to Canelo-Berlanga. He likes to be his own boss. How long would he be able to maintain his independence in the face of the Saudi tide? And where was Haymon? In recent months, he has been even more inaccessible than before.

The announced sell-out crowd of 20,312 on fight night was a tribute to Canelo's drawing power. Two of the undercard fights warrant comment.

Trevor McCumby gave Caleb Plant more of a fight than most people thought he would. Or maybe Plant was less prepared than he should have been. Either way, McCumby dropped Plant in round four and was half of an entertaining slugfest that continued until Trevor, still on his feet, was stopped at the bell ending round nine.

At the other end of the spectrum, the "co-main event" matching Erislandy Lara with Danny Garcia was dreadful.  

Lara is a 41-year-old Cuban expatriate whose last significant victory was against Austin Trout in 2013. Garcia, aged 36, had one win in the previous 55 months – against Jose Benavidez, who in turn has had one win in the past six years. Somehow, this qualified Garcia – who had never fought at middleweight – to fight Lara for the WBA middleweight championship.

Garcia embarrassed himself. He fought like he was there to pick up a paycheck and nothing more. Danny landed a total of 33 punches in nine rounds. Discard round eight – which Lara took off – and that number drops to 23 punches landed over eight stanzas. The crowd started booing, whistling, and jeering midway through round one. Garcia fought so passively that Angel Garcia – his father and chief second – repeatedly asked, "Are you okay?". Finally, in round nine, Danny was dropped by what the commentator Joe Goossen called "a little dinker left hand" (or maybe he took a knee) and Angel called a halt to the proceedings.

Then came the main event.

There has been talk that Canelo is slipping; that 66 fights over 19 years have taken a toll. His past six fights have gone the distance. But he's still a formidable force.

Think of watching a great actor in a play. Not every play that Laurence Olivier starred in was written by William Shakespeare. But Olivier was always worth watching to see a great craftsman at work.

Canelo-Berlanga matched an all-time great – a skilled defensive fighter with fast hands who can whack and might have the best chin in boxing – against a straight-ahead puncher who had never fought a world-class opponent.

Berlanga fought cautiously for most of the fight while Canelo stalked, never giving Edgar time to rest, and breaking him down with hard thudding blows. Berlanga fought credibly. He was dropped by a left hook in round three, took a beating, and didn't fold. At times he turned chippy. Often, he was in survival mode. He just wasn't good enough. The 118-109, 118-109, 117-111 scorecards in Canelo's favor were charitable to Edgar.

Through it all, the shadow of Turki Alalshikh loomed over the proceedings. That calls for comment on a supervening issue.

The General Entertainment Authority has the deepest pockets in the history of boxing. As Tris Dixon observed: "Money the likes of which boxing has never seen before is sloshing through the sport."

The scene is evocative of a billionaire on a shopping spree at high-end stores on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Shops are opened after hours for his pleasure. His taste is praised by obsequious sellers no matter what he buys.

It's hard to compete with or say no to someone who has unlimited resources, is willing to spend them, and doesn't have to balance a budget. And the Saudis keep spending to enlarge their influence in boxing. One informed source says that Riyadh Season recently agreed to pay $2,000,000 to the World Boxing Council and $1,500,000 to the World Boxing Association as sponsorship fees.

Meanwhile, Turki Alalshikh is beginning to sound more authoritarian in his quest to become the dominant player in boxing; more heavy-handed in his pronouncements; more openly adversarial towards those who don't adhere to his wishes.

Articles and video content have been altered or pulled down in their entirety from boxing websites because of a concern that Saudi interests might be or were offended. There have been suggestions that offending journalists might be denied credentials for future Riyadh Season fight cards and other fight-related events.

When John Sheppard declined to sell BoxRec.com to Saudi interests earlier this year, he was hit by a wave of hostile activity that is still being sorted out. 

Turki Alalshikh is also said to be on the verge of acquiring The Ring , which would give him control over the magazine's championship belts and rankings.

Donald McRae – one of the most respected boxing writers in the world – recently declared: "I think that he [Turki Alalshikh] has some good ideas. But already, his desire for control and his ego are threatening to undercut these positive aspects. He clearly does not like it when people say 'No' to him, whether that be Canelo Alvarez or John Sheppard. That seems ominous to me.”

And McRae added: "I can’t get past the fact that Saudi Arabia is using boxing – just as it is using football and golf – to try and portray an image of the country that glosses over the reality of the oppression that still disfigures large parts of the country."

Attorney Kurt Emhoff is in accord, and noted: "There is now little mention of sportswashing in boxing. The Saudi Arabian involvement under the Riyadh Season banner has been normalized rather than scrutinized in many quarters, and those not part of the merrymaking are seen as bitter dissenters and party-poopers rather than impartial judges."

Turki Alalshikh seems to enjoy the spotlight. Riyadh Season boxing telecasts show him entering arenas and embracing virtually every celebrity who comes his way. His name is spoken with reverence by television commentators. On August 7, he posted an image of himself on X beside the legend "The Face of Boxing".

And it's hard to forget a moment that occurred during the August 3 telecast of Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov when Rich Marotta, who founded the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame, announced in the ring that His Excellency had been selected for honorary induction into the NBHOF. To date, His Excellency has never been involved with a boxing match in Nevada. 

Moreover, Turki Alalshikh has become increasingly outspoken with regard to fighters who don't bend to his will. Canelo Alvarez is a case in point.

In May, Canelo said: " I can fight with any fighter and win my good money. I can do whatever I want at this time. I deserve it because I did everything in my career and I deserve to be in this position."

Turki Alalshikh viewed things differently. He wanted Canelo to commit to fighting Crawford under the Riyadh Season banner in February 2025. On August 3, he declared: "I give him the offer. If he is smart, he will accept it."

Canelo didn't accept it. Three days later he responded, saying: “I respect everybody but I don't like the way he [Alalshikh] talks. It's his problem, not my problem. I didn't ask for a fight. They wanted to meet with me and see about the fight with Crawford in February. I said, ‘Look, I’m not interested in talking about another fight. After September 14 [when I fight Edgar Berlanga], we can talk. But not right now’."

That earned a harsh rejoinder from Alalshikh, who responded on X: “I heard what Canelo said, that he respects me but doesn’t like the way we do business. As for him respecting me, it doesn’t matter to me if he does or not. As for the way I do business, I know why he doesn’t like it because I only target big fights at fair prices, so of course anyone who likes easy fights won’t like that. And I know how he feels after losing to Bivol, so he’s been looking for easier fights ever since. Also, I’m not the one who’s afraid of fighting Benavidez or Crawford. Therefore, I knew he was wasting our time and making excuses. So I’m continuing my way to make big fights that serve the boxing world, and he’s on his way to making easy show-only fights.”

Later, when asked about the possibility of fighting under the Riyadh Season banner, Canelo answered: "I never say never. We’ll see. Who knows? Maybe in the future. I’m not begging anyone, and I’m in no hurry.”

Meanwhile, Saudi financial support enabled the UFC to hold a competing Riyadh Season event in The Sphere in Las Vegas on the same night as Canelo-Berlanga. As the tension between Canelo and Alalshikh escalated, His Excellency uncharitably said of Canelo: "We will eat him." Alalshikh sat next to Crawford at the UFC event.

Turki Alalshikh also voiced displeasure with Tim Tszyu, who turned down the opportunity to fight Vergil Ortiz in order to pursue a match against Bakhram Murtazaliev for the IBF 154lbs title on October 19 under the auspices of PBC on Amazon Prime.

“I will not work with Tim Tszyu," His Excellency said. "Let him do his way. He doesn’t understand.”

Referencing that history, Elliot Worsell wrote: "Dissenters run the risk of isolating themselves and becoming outcasts. Tim Tszyu, for example, was recently given the Alalshikh cold shoulder, on camera no less, presumably for not agreeing to hold hands and instead wanting to maintain some autonomy in his career. Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez has felt the wrath of 'His Excellency' for playing hard ball with Terence Crawford, Alalshikh’s favorite new toy. That was the wrong answer, it turned out, and now Alvarez has made himself an enemy and in so doing revealed a side of Alalshikh previously concealed from the public. More outspoken now and more bullish, Alalshikh clearly doesn’t like being told 'No' and was, before hearing it said, firmly of the belief that his crusade in boxing would go unopposed."

Turki Alalshikh, with his money and methods, has done things that hitherto seemed impossible. One of these things has been to get Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn to work cooperatively in the pursuit of big fights. Another has been to turn Al Haymon and PBC into sympathetic underdogs. Some PBC fighters have appeared on Riyadh Season fight cards. But PBC on Amazon has become a sanctuary for fighters like Alvarez and Tszyu, who want to chart their own course and have the power to do so.

Looking ahead; Saturday's fight between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in London is expected to be Riyadh Season's most successful boxing venture to date. There will be an enormous enthusiastic crowd, solid pay-per-view numbers, and the possibility that the fight will pay for itself rather than run millions of dollars in the red. Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol, October 12, and the rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, December 21, will follow. The latter two bouts are expected to be good fights that lose millions – if not tens of millions – of dollars.

The much-talked-about Saudi-backed boxing league seems stalled for now. And managers are reporting that the purses the General Entertainment Authority is paying for most undercard fights have dropped significantly in recent months.

Surveying the scene, one promoter observes: "There will always be another gold rush in boxing. The mother lode in this one is richer than most. But in the end, it will be mined out and we'll all go looking for the next one."

Meanwhile, this is boxing. So Canelo Alvarez and Turki Alalshikh may well do business together in the future. But Canelo has earned the right to fight on his own terms and has the clout to assert his independence. If he were running around telling everyone that he's the greatest fighter of all time, the opponents he's choosing now would merit more critical scrutiny. But Canelo isn't doing that. He has consistently said that he's building his legacy as he chooses and it will be for other people to judge his place in history. There's nothing wrong with that. His body of work speaks for itself. 

It would be nice if the new "Face of Boxing" were a little more respectful toward a man who has given his life to the fight game, spent decades in the gym, and actually been punched in the face.