From mouth watering match-ups to the return of fight fans ringside, here’s your round up of five of the week’s boxing stories that you might have missed...
Canelo Sets Sights On Smith In September And Golovkin Trilogy Fight In 2021
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is in line to face Liverpool’s Callum Smith in September, before moving onto a much-anticipated third fight with Gennady Golovkin which is expected to land on Cinco De Mayo in 2021.
The Mexican superstar’s scheduled bout with another Briton, Billy Joe Saunders, was recently KO’d by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic but the 30-year-old has remained active in the gym and fight fans certainly won’t complain with the possibility of either the Smith or Golovkin fights.
Smith, unbeaten and the WBA super-middleweight champion, is believed to have been offered around £4m for the bout, according to The Athletic and it’s reportedly hoped that the fight could launch DAZN’s streaming service in the UK, and not appear on Sky Sports PPV.
Waiting in the wings is Kazakhstan’s Golovkin whom Canelo shared two middleweight classics with in 2017 and 2018, Canelo drawing their first bout before winning the return match. Canelo is reportedly in line for a £35m payday, while GGG, 39, is set to pocket £23.5m.
Mike Tyson Turns Down $20M Offer From Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship To Take On Roy Jones Jr
Speaking of big pay days, former heavyweight world champion and ‘the Baddest Man on the Planet’ Mike Tyson turned down a mighty $20m to compete in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, according to its president David Feldman. It was a “generous offer” Feldman told The Ring: “We offered Tyson $20 million and some additional benefits, but he turned it down."
Tyson, 54, has instead returned to boxing, with a planned eight round exhibition fight on September 12th against Roy Jones Jr.
Mike's last fight was back in 2005 when he was stopped by Kevin McBride (Tyson sat on his stool and refused to come back out for the sixth round). Jones Jr by contrast may be a similar age to Tyson (he's 51) but was fighting as recently as 2018, when he beat Scott Sigmon at the Penscalo Bay Center, Florida, before retiring.
Welcome back champs, just be careful please.
Wilder vs Fury III Will Happen This Year, Says Wilder’s Promoter
Deontay Wilder’s team have dismissed any doubts that his third fight with Tyson Fury will go ahead this year, following claims from Eddie Hearn that Fury could face his WBC mandatory, Dillian Whyte, should a third fight with ‘the Bronze Bomber’ not happen in 2020.
"We want Dillian Whyte to fight Tyson Fury as soon as possible, and if Wilder is not available for any reason then Dillian should step in and take that," Hearn told Sky Sports.
However, Wilder’s co-manager Shelly Finkel confirmed that his fighter will have a chance to win back the title he lost against Fury in February, reiterating to Sky Sports: "Deontay will fight Fury this year."
Macau, Australia and Las Vegas have all been mooted as potential locations for the potential third fight between the two heavyweights.
Gervonta Davis And Leo Santa Cruz Agree On Mouth Watering Title Fight
Two world champions from separate weight-classes, with just one defeat between them in 62 professional fights - oh yes, Gervonta Davis vs Leo Santa Cruz has potential!
Baltimore’s Davis, 24, holds the WBA lightweight title, whilst Mexico’s Santa Cruz is the owner of the WBA super-featherweight strap and the two are set to meet on October 24 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, with the fight believed to be held at 130lbs, where Davis campaigned and won IBF and WBA (Super) titles between 2017 and 2019.
This will be both fighters’ first bout in 2020 and it will be Santa Cruz’s second fight at super-featherweight having campaigned at featherweight for four years.
Joshua Buatsi To Headline Card In September According To Hearn
Promoter Eddie Hearn is hoping that September 12 will be UK boxing’s first test event, with fans returning ringside following the pandemic and he says that Olympic bronze medallist Joshua Buatsi could headline the show.
“I'd like to think that could be boxing's test event,” Hearn said. “I think it's the right kind of time to try, whether it's 100, 200, 400 (people), those kind of numbers, and start the process.”
“We're now assessing and putting forward the models for social distancing within arenas... we were lucky enough to be one of the test events for the government with the world snooker and it's been an arduous process.
“So our next step within Matchroom Sport, because it's going to be around 400 people with the snooker, is: can we get that same kind of amount in the O2, York Hall, Crystal Palace Leisure Centre - wherever we choose to go with Buatsi in September.”
