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Postponements of boxing matches due to the Covid-19 pandemic continue worldwide continue, as the event scheduled in Thailand for April 4 headlined by two-time WBC super flyweight champion Thai Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (47-5-1, 41 knockouts) facing former champion Amnat Ruenroeng (20-3, 6 knockouts) has been provisionally postponed until May 2. The fight was supposed to take place behind closed doors, but the promoters decided to postpone it, as they don’t want to put at risk the boxers, fans and people involved with the promotion.

The Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame executive team, members and partners have postponed the highly anticipated 4th Annual Induction Weekend, in association with BoxingCon, to the Fall of 2020 due to the severity of the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19). The event was set to take place on the weekend of June 26-28. The new date will be announced later.

Inductees include Roy Jones, Riddick Bowe, Pernell Whitaker, Ernest Bing, Tony Thornton, Sr., Sergio Martinez, Calvin Grove, Al Cole, Percy Richardson, Tommy Parks, Earl Morton, Steve Weisfeld, Ron Katz, Murad Muhammad, Marc Abrams, Al Bernstein, and Laoma Byrd.

How to protect ourselves from COVID-19

This morning, the “WBC TALKS” episodes started. It`s a WBC University project that will be broadcast live over the next few weeks addressing health and boxing issues with the people who will be at home due to the COVID-19 quarantine.

On Monday, the panel of experts told us about the recommendations and care we should have in these contingency days and about all the activities we can do from home. Continue reading “WBC TALKS episode 1”

All of the Premier Boxing Champions events scheduled for May will be postponed to adhere to the recommendations for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic made by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

“We will reschedule the postponed events at a later date once it becomes safe to do so,” said Tom Brown, President of TGB Promotions, who handles the promotion for most PBC events. “Now is the time for everyone to do everything they can to stop the spread of the pandemic and take care of your loved ones and your neighbors.”

Looks like the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be postponed/canceled as a result of the global coronavirus outbreak. International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound unofficially told USA Today that the decision has been made and the Games will not start on July 24 as scheduled. Whether the Games will take place later this year or be pushed back to 2021 remains to be determined.

Officially, the International Olympic Committee admits it is exploring scenarios that relate to modifying existing operational plans for the Games and also for changes to the start date of the Games. Stay tuned…

Update: Muhammad Ali knocked out Evander Holyfield in round five of the opening match of the eWBSS heavyweight fantasy tournament.

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Tomorrow: Lennox Lewis vs. Joe Frazier
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The WBO has cancelled all fights for three months. A note on the WBO website reads: “Important Message: Amidst the current situation worldwide caused by Covid-19 the WBO has postponed all boxing events through June 2020. We will update accordingly.”
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Tonight ESPN will air the non-pay-per-view premier of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury’s masterpiece victory over Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder. The four-fight telecast begins at 8PM ET, and will be preceded by a special re-air presentation of Fury and Wilder’s disputed December 2018 draw at 7PM ET.

The World Boxing Super Series fantasy heavyweight quarterfinals are set.

Muhammad Ali vs Evander Holyfield
Lennox Lewis vs Joe Frazier
Mike Tyson vs Eric ‘Butterbean’ Esch
George Foreman vs David Haye

The ‘eWBSS Heavyweight Legends tournament’ will be simulated on EA Sports ‘Fight Night Champion’ and they will compete in the traditional World Boxing Super Series format to lift the eAli trophy. The entire ‘eWBSS Heavyweight Legends’ tournament will be live-streamed on the World Boxing Super Series Facebook page at 5pm (GMT) every day from Monday 23rd March until the final on Sunday 29th March.

Is it possible that Ali will not win the eAli trophy?

While the boxing world is on-hold waiting for the coronaviris pandemic to pass, the WBC is offering an opportunity for boxers, doctors, referees, judges, ring supervisors, trainers, promoters and others to learn more about our sport at the first University of Boxing. Online sessions begin Monday, March 23. You can register here.

Spanish Version at 1PM ET, 10AM PT
English Version at 3PM ET, noon PT

wbcuniversity.com

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum lashed back at rival promoter Eddie Hearn for speculating that WBC heavyweight Tyson Fury could face a suspension after a farmer made a claim in a British tabloid that he lied to UKAD (the British anti-doping agency) about selling “uncastrated wild boar” meat to Team Fury to explain why Fury and his cousin Hughie Fury both tested positive for nandrolone in 2015. Hearn opined that if Fury were suspended, his fighter WBC interim champion Dillian Whyte should become full WBC champion.

“We have to be cognizant of the participant’s feelings. The people’s feelings,” Arum told IFL. “We can’t start making projections based on ‘what if?’ That’s really harmful. So I would advise my friend Eddie Hearn to button his lip. Continue reading “Arum: Eddie Hearn should button his lip”

As boxing fans around the world look for distractions, World Boxing Super Series has decided to launch a special ‘eWBSS Heavyweight Legends’ tournament to provide some much-needed relief and entertainment for fight fans around the world.

The ‘eWBSS Heavyweight Legends’ tournament will be simulated on EA Sports ‘Fight Night Champion’ video game and feature 8 of the most recognizable heavyweights from history, including ‘The Greatest’ Muhammad Ali, and they will compete in the traditional WBSS format to lift the eAli Trophy. Continue reading “WBSS to launch fantasy heavyweight tourney”

In his his StarSport column, Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren responded to comments by rival promoter Eddie Hearn, who stated that his fighter Dillian Whyte could get the WBC heavyweight title if Tyson Fury has issues with the farmer situation.

“Dillian Whyte’s promoter might be thinking he can nick the WBC heavyweight title for his man. But let me tell you it won’t be happening,” wrote Warren “…I don’t expect UK Anti-Doping to take the matter any further. But what is Hearn’s game coming out with those comments? Is he trying to steal the title for Whyte? Continue reading “Warren: Is Hearn trying to steal the title?”

Looks like there is no live boxing anywhere in the world this weekend. 🙁
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Some World Boxing Super Series news is expected shortly. We’ve been told that Season 3 is already underway in the planning. Let’s see if it’s an announcement about that. The series has produced some sensational matchups and even produced an undisputed champion.
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Some boxers are able to continue to train privately in empty gyms during the shutdown. For those quarantined at home, the WBA has suggestions for exercises you can do anywhere.
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Anthony Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn continues to needle Tyson Fury promoter Frank Warren by talking up a possible Joshua-Tyson Fury fight.
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When asked by Sky Sports if he’d rather fight Joshua or Fury, Oleksander Usyk said, “I want to fight both.” Good answer.
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Don’t let anyone tell you trash talk doesn’t sell. Who doesn’t want to see “Kingry” Garcia versus Gervonta Davis after their ongoing Twitter beef?

Every week, the World Boxing Council and its President Mauricio Sulaimán holds a weekly “Coffee Tuesday” with the boxing journalists of Mexico City. Starting this week, joining the international measures to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, “Coffee Tuesday” will be held online via Facebook. “Martes de Café” is conducted in Spanish, but Sulaiman is planning to also do an English version for the international community.

This was a pretty good under-the-radar fight between cruiserweights Damian Chambers (10-1, 6 KOs) and Jay Farrell (9-1, 5 KOs) from last Saturday at the Olympia in Liverpool, England. Worth a watch.

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Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy, has issued the following statement in response to World Boxing Organization’s decision to reinstate Franchon Crews-Dezurn as its super middleweight world champion:

“Justice has been served. The WBO has made the correct decision by reinstating ‘The Heavy-Hitting Diva’ as its super middleweight world champion. Although these things take time, it is always great to see justice in action, especially in the sport that I love the most. We hope that others follow suit in recognizing her as the champion, and we look forward to her ring return in the near future.”

Crews-Dezurn lost her WBC and WBO belts by split decision to Alejandra Jimenez in January, however, the result was changed a no decision by the Texas Commission after Jimenez tested positive for a banned substance. As reported yesterday, the WBC is still investigating the matter.

Former multi-division world champion Floyd Mayweather will likely not be fighting in 2020 after the recent deaths of his ex-girlfriend and mother of his children Josie Harris and his uncle and former trainer Roger Mayweather plus all the disruption to the sport due to the coronavirus. According to TMZ, the 43-year-old Floyd was planning on TWO fights this year, but with two family members passing within one week, the last thing on his mind is fighting.

The New York State Boxing Hall of Fame (NYSBHOF) announced today that its ninth annual induction dinner has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic from April 19th to September 20th at Russo’s On The Bay in Howard Beach, New York. Money already collected for tickets and journal ads may be used for the Sept. 20th event or returned in full upon request at point of purchase.

Promoter Eddie Hearn expects three major heavyweight fight cards he has on the schedule could be delayed by the coronavirus, which is disrupting the boxing at least until May.

The fights are:
May 2: Dillian Whyte vs. Alexander Povetkin
May 23: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Dereck Chisora
June 20: Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev

Hearn says he has contingencies in place to move Whyte-Povetkin to the middle of June, Usyk-Chisora to the end of June or early July and, Joshua-Pulev to late July, if necessary.

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

Australian heavyweight Paul Gallen (9-0-1, 5 KOs) is in negotiations to clash with UFC star Mark Hunt in what is predicted to be a record pay-per-view contest in Sydney, Australia. Gallen, who retired as a rugby league football star last year, already featured in the biggest televised Australian bout in 2019 when he boxed a six round draw with AFL football star Barry Hall that did record pay-per-view sales.

“I’ve just got a message for my old mate Mark Hunt,” Gallen said. “Mate, you signed your contract today and you’ve released it and made it public. How long did it take you to sign that contract? Three to four weeks, and you’ve made it public today that you’ve signed it and you expect me to make a decision today? Continue reading “Paul Gallen in negotiation to clash with UFC star”

By Karl Freitag

The vast majority of boxing photographers use Canon equipment, but here’s a review of the latest Nikon pro sports camera. Will it make Canon shooters switch? Probably not because they’d have to buy all new lenses also. The new D6 will set you back $6,496.95.

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Zanfer Promotions in coordination with Box Azteca has suspended all live boxing events until further notice. The weekly Saturday night boxing show on Mexico’s Azteca 7 network will rerun old fights during the health emergency. Zanfer and Box Azteca will maintain full and close cooperation with federal and local authorities in a national effort to face the coronavirus.

WBC Statement:

On September 18, 2018, Franchon Crews-Dezurn conquered the WBC Female Super Middleweight World Championship, which she successfully defended on September 19, 2019. On January 11, 2019, Alejandra Jimenez defeated then World Champion Crews-Dezurn and conquered the WBC Female Super Middleweight World Championship.

On January 24, 2020, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association notified the WBC that the contents of an out-of-competition urine “A” sample container that VADA collected from Alejandra Jimenez on January 10, 2020, as part of the WBC Clean Boxing Program, yielded an adverse finding for Stanozolol. Stanozolol is a synthetic steroid and derivative of testosterone, which has anabolic and androgenic qualities. Stanozolol is included in VADA’s and the WBC’s Clean Boxing Program list of banned substances. On February 19, 2020, the contents of the “B” sample container confirmed the adverse finding. Ms. Jimenez is disputing the adverse finding.

On February 10, 2020, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation suspended Alejandra Jimenez for 90 days and declared the bout a “ No Decision.” Ms. Jimenez is appealing that ruling. Continue reading “WBC female super middleweight status”

By Mauricio Sulaiman
Son of Jose Sulaiman / WBC President

I’m definitely not going to write anything about coronavirus, as you will find that in every channel, column, chat in what’s app, memes and general conversations with almost everyone.

Today we are going to talk about the phenomenon that two all-time Mexican Greats have achieved:

Julio César Chávez and Jorge Travieso Arce have given us two amazing exhibitions, going up to the ring to fight, with headgear and 16 oz gloves for three scintillating rounds. The first was on November 23, 2019, in Tijuana, and took place due to the great, caring and generous humanity of both, as their goal was to raise funds to support former world champion José Luis Castillo with the medical expenses derived from the accident of ring that his son had during a sparring session. Continue reading “Two “Greats” clashed in the ring”