Floyd Mayweather is having a scrap with the grandson of one of the most notorious gangsters in American history, Liam Smith and Chris Eubank Jr are set to do battle again while one fighter’s vile comments have shamed the entire boxing world.
Here are five stories you might have missed this week.
Liam Smith vs Chris Eubank Jr II Confirmed For June 17th
Liam Smith and Chris Eubank Jr will go head-to-head at the AO Arena in Manchester once again with a rematch, dubbed ‘Repeat Or Revenge’, scheduled for June 17th.
Smith, 33-3-1 (20), sensationally stopped his British rival in four rounds in the first meeting in January, but Eubank Jr, 32-3 (23), insists he is “determined” to come back stronger.
"I enjoyed it. I imagine you've been in the sport your entire career and something new happens to you, it's exciting," he said.
"A lot of guys can't come back after a big loss. It breaks them. It breaks their spirit, it breaks their confidence, it breaks their rhythm.
"For me, it just makes me more determined to improve, to figure why things went wrong and fix those mistakes.
"And that's exactly what's going to happen in the rematch."
In the co-main event, Savannah Marshall will face undisputed super-middleweight champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn.
Floyd Mayweather To Fight John Gotti III In An Exhibition
In the most bizarre story of the week, it was announced that Floyd Mayweather will resume his exhibition boxing career against John Gotti III, grandson of infamous American mobster John Gotti, otherwise known as the ‘Teflon Don.’
The bout is set to take place in Sunrise, Florida on June 11th. Gotti, 30, has experience in both the cage and the ring, having amassed a 5-1 record in MMA and gone 2-0 in boxing, scoring a first round knockout in his last fight.
This will be Mayweather’s seventh exhibition bout since calling time on his 50-0 professional career in 2017, having fought Tenshin Nasukawa, Mikuru Asakura, Deji Olatunji, Logan Paul, Don Moore and Aaron Chalmers.
Sunny Edwards To Defend Flyweight World Title Vs Andres Campos
IBF flyweight world champion Sunny Edwards will defend his title against Andres Campos at Wembley Arena on June 10th.
The undefeated Brit, 19-0 (4), will be fighting under the Matchroom banner for the first time, having signed for the promotional company in March.
"Campos has been calling for a fight with me for a couple years now since I've been champion, which is strange to me," said Edwards.
"So, now I'm gonna cook him like sweet chilli and send him back packing with his tail between his legs."
Campos, 15-0 (4), is seventh in the IBF rankings and stopped Carlos Ruben Dario Ruiz in four rounds in his last outing in January.
Shakur Stevenson Ready For Gervonta Davis Showdown
The 136lb catchweight super fight between Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia captured the attention of the entire boxing world last weekend, but top lightweight contender Shakur Stevenson was probably a more keen observer than most.
The undefeated American, 20-0 (10), widely considered one of the hottest talents in the sport today, has thrown his hat in the ring to fight the victor of Saturday's bout in Las Vegas, Gervonta Davis, next.
"I would love that fight. I think that's the biggest and best fight in the sport of boxing," Stevenson said.
"You got like a Michael Jordan that came around in his era. Then you got a LeBron [James] that came around in his era but they wasn't in the same era so we never got to see them go against each other. With me and Tank, you got two special fighters that been special our whole careers and our whole lives. When it comes down to it, it's going to be the biggest and best fight in boxing.
"I can't wait. I feel like I'm a bad motherf***** when it comes to this boxing stuff. The people who really know boxing going to tell you that's the big fight and I agree with them. I think that that's the biggest fight."
Vile Teofimo Lopez Interview Comments Spark Controversy
Former unified lightweight world champion Teofimo Lopez found himself in hot water this week after making several shocking comments in a recent interview.
The American, 18-1 (13), set to face Josh Taylor at Madison Square Garden on June 10th, told Punsh Drunk Boxing: “One thing I love about my sport, I can kill a guy and get away with it, so it’s cool.”
‘The Takeover’, who shocked the world by beating Vasyl Lomachenko in 2020 before being stunned himself against George Kambosos Jr a year later, went on to say: “Commentators are the ones that convince everybody if someone else is winning.
“Watch the George Kambosos Jr fight without the commentators, watch my last fight [vs Sandor Martin] without the commentators and you will see the results.
“At the fighter meeting I dissed [ESPN analysts] Andre Ward and Timothy Bradley in front of ESPN’s production and all of them, for all their affiliation and corruption that they do.
“And what happened? I put more weight on my back.
“When I slipped with the first knockdown they called, what did Bradley say right away? ‘He’s hurt, he’s hurt.’
“So I don’t sugarcoat s***. All these motherf***ers d***ride and suck d***, sorry for my language but that is the problem, I don’t ride off that.
“And just to put it more on this fight, this is my last fight on ESPN. This is why this fight means everything.
“If they want the black fighters, they can keep them.”
The comments, particularly regarding killing and his reference to “black fighters”, interpreted by many fans as a dig at undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney, has caused an outcry on social media, although, at the time of writing, it is unlikely he will be punished.
*18+ | BeGambleAware
