Itauma-Hrgovic: A Vacant World Championship As The Transition Of The Heavyweight Division Continues

 Following longtime World Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk’s victory over Rico Verhoeven in May of this year, he chose to relinquish the various versions of world titles he held as he appears to be nearing retirement after one more fight against a yet unnamed opponent. This has led to a change and shuffling in the Heavyweight division. Next among the bouts to occur in an attempt to fill vacancies in the division will come on Saturday, August 29th where the vacant International Boxing Federation World Heavyweight championship will be on the line when undefeated hot rising contender Moses Itauma and top contender Filip Hrgovic will meet at the O2 Arena in London, England. A twelve round bout that will determine the next world champion in the division that can be seen worldwide on DAZN Pay-Per-View or included as part of a DAZN Ultimate subscription. 

This encounter was already made prior to the decision by Usyk to relinquish his titles before facing a yet unnamed opponent before retirement, and was to be another test for the hot rising Itauma towards eventually challenging for a world title. In a sense, the politics that be in the sport, along with the decision of the previous unified world champion of the division has opened several opportunities for contenders who were in the pipeline to challenge Usyk to fight for world titles or be named champion if they were in mandatory challenger positions. Among those fighters are Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic. While Usyk’s decision has accelerated an opportunity for Itauma that seemed as though it might have been nearing, perhaps in 2027, it does not make the test that he is likely to get from the more experienced Hrgovic. 

Much like Itauma, who will enter the fight unbeaten in fourteen professional fights with twelve of those wins coming via knockout, Filip Hrgovic began his career in a similar way, scoring several quick knockouts against opposition that ranged from overmatched to fairly experienced. As his level of competition increased, however, Hrgovic saw his momentum stall and he has suffered a setback along the way. That setback, which came to future two-time World Heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois, the current holder of the WBO world championship in the division, did not hurt Hrgovic’s standing as a top contender as he was stopped due to a severe cut in eight rounds. Entering this fight with a record of 20-1, with 15 Knockouts, Hrgovic has rebounded to win his last three fights since that bout against Dubois in June 2024.

Stylistically, this fight could be a short, but explosive encounter. This is due to both fighters having come forward pressure styles and each being more than willing to engage with their opponents. While this makes for an exciting contest for the viewer, this could be the test that some have been looking for, for Itauma at this stage in his career. It is important to keep in mind that as devastating as Itauma has been in registering a career knockout percentage of nearly 86%, including former world title challenger Dillian Whyte and top contender Jermaine Franklin among his victims, he has been pushed rather quickly up the ladder of contention and it can at times be easy to overlook that he has only had fourteen professional fights and has yet to be put in a situation where he has had to take a significant punch, and as such, he has not been able to show that he is able to withstand punching power from an opponent and can recover from being stunned, hurt, or even knocked down. 

Although this can not at this moment be viewed as a potential red flag for Itauma because it concerns questions of what happens if he is put in those type of situations because the answers are unknown at this point, it is a scenario that many fighters who are labeled “Knockout Artists” as Itauma has been. Whether or not the answers to those questions come in this fight remains to be seen. For his part Filip Hrgovic can say that his one loss came as a result of a cut and he was able to withstand what Daniel Dubois, another fighter noted for his punching power, was able to dish out. Hrgovic has also never been knocked down and does have a two inch height and three inch reach advantage over Itauma. What will also be interesting is to see if Hrgovic can withstand punches from Itauma that have dropped and knocked out previous opponents, how the twenty-one year old Itauma will respond.There will eventually come a point where no matter what Itauma is able to land, an opponent will be able to withstand it and continue fighting. Whether that comes in this fight is obviously yet to be determined.

As has been the case with bouts that have been held involving the WBA and WBO recently where previous mandatory challengers, who were named champion defended their portions of the World Heavyweight championship and in the case of the WBO, led to Daniel Dubois becoming a two-time world champion, the Heavyweight division will remain in a period that we can call approaching transition due to Usyk having yet to hang up his gloves after an illustrious career. As such, we will see whether Itauma or Hrgovic can make a convincing argument as potentially the division’s next potential central figure by becoming a world champion.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”   

Itauma vs. Hrgovic takes place on Saturday, August 29th at the 02 Arena in London, England. The fight as well as its full undercard can be seen on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN either as a standalone pay-per-view purchase for $59.99 or included as part of a DAZN Ultimate subscription for $44.99 per month. The card will begin at 11AM ET/8PM PT with preliminary bouts, which will be followed by the main card beginning at 2PM ET/11AM PT.

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Gassiev-Kadiru: The Beginning Of A New Era For The Heavyweight Division

Recent times in Boxing’s Heavyweight division have seen the division inch closer and closer to a period of transition. Some might recall earlier this year when the World Boxing Organization (WBO) named its top contender Fabio Wardley world champion following the previous two-time Undisputed champion of the division Olekaandr Usyk, choosing to step into the ring with legendary World Heavyweight Kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven, rather than make a mandatory defense of the WBO title, which was due to be fulfilled. This led to a thrilling encounter where Wardley was stopped by former IBF World Heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois, making Dubois a two-time World Heavyweight champion.

 As for Usuk, in a truly unique event, the still unified world champion of the Heavyweight division survived a significant scare in his bout against Verhoeven at the Pyramids in Egypt in rallying to stop the novice boxer in the final round of a surprising competitive fight given the experience disparity between the two in terms of Boxing experience. It was perhaps that fight in which Usyk, a fighter that has dominated both the Cruiserweight and Heavyweight divisions in his career, did not look anything like a man who fully unified the Heavyweight division twice, that led to him choosing to relinquish his remaining world championships in the division, in this case, the WBC, WBA, IBF, and IBO world championships, saying he wanted the next generation of Heavyweights to vie for the crown while seeking one last fight before retirement against a yet unarmed opponent.

Thus, begins the period of transition fully in the Heavyweight division. While the various sanctioning organizations that Usuk vacated their respective versions of the World Heavyweight championship began naming their respective top contenders as world champion in accordance with each’s respective rules, the first world championship fight in the post-Oleksandr Usyk era will take place on July 11th in Moscow, Russia where recently named WBA world champion Murat Gassiev will make the first defense of his title against veteran contender Peter Kadiru at the VTB Arena in a scheduled twelve round world title bout that can be seen worldwide on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN. 

Often when a period of transition like this begins, fighters in Gassiev’s position are treated unfairly by both fans and commentators due to their being named champion rather than winning the title they now hold inside the ring. Although the circumstances that put fighters in such position tend to vary on a case by case basis, this puts the new champion in almost a no win situation, despite being the previous number one contender and being named champion when the previous champion was either stripped of their title or in this case chose to vacate as Usuk did because it brings about questions regarding the legitimacy of the title, particularly amongst fans who either do not know or simply turn a blind eye to each respective organization's policies that often calls for the current number one contender/Interim/Regular champion in the case of the WBA, to be named world champion in the event of a circumstance such as this.

If the prospect of being in a no win situation isn't stressful enough for a fighter, in Gassiev’s case, he also has to deal with a change in opponent for his first title defense after previously named opponent Tony Yoka withdrew from the fight due to a back injury. This opens the door for Peter Kadiru to step in on short notice to challenge for a world title for the first time in his career.

Although Peter Kadiru is currently unranked by the WBA in the Heavyweight division, he does have a respectable record of 24-1, with 13 Knockouts. The potential red flag here is Kadiru has not fought any noteworthy opposition that could be viewed as a world contender and is now tasked with taking a significant step up in class to challenge the former unified World Cruiserweight champion Gassiev in the champion's first title defense as a World Heavyweight champion. 

Murat Gassiev has a significant edge here in terms of overall experience as well as facing a higher caliber of competition including against Usyk when the two met as Cruiserweights in July 2018. As a Heavyweight, Gassiev has only been defeated once when he dropped a twelve round split decision to top contender Otto Wallin in September 2023. Since that setback,  Gassiev has won his previous three fights including defeating longtime Heavyweight contender and former multi-time world title challenger Kubrat Pulev in his last fight in December of last year.  Gassiev does have a near 80% career knockout percentage, having stopped twenty-six opponents inside the distance in his thirty-three career wins.

This would suggest that he might be looking to make a statement in his first title defense. A word of caution, however, not just for  Gassiev, but also for fans who may see this as a far gone conclusion, Peter Kadiru has won regional titles in both the WBA and IBF previously in his career, and despite not currently being ranked in the top fifteen by the WBA currently, sometimes a fighter only needs an opportunity and though he is frankly facing steep odds not only in facing someone of  Gassiev’s caliber, but doing so on a little more than a week’s notice, he should not be dismissed.

Regardless of what happens in this fight, the foreseeable future in the Heavyweight division will continue to have the recurring theme of transition and fighters both those who are now being moved into positions as world champion and contenders all looking to make their claim as the division's next central figure. Often the process of transition in Boxing tends to be messy regardless of division with no shortage of red tape and disgruntlements amongst fighters, promoters, and sanctioning organizations, and now the prospect of the upstart Zuffa Boxing promotion that appears intent on bringing the promotional based model of the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) to Boxing by refusing to work within the existing structure of working with existing sanctioning organizations and determining their own world champions, all of the above looking for legitimacy as recognized world champions and world championships. No matter the outcome in this fight, this is step one in a much wider picture that is for better or worse, part of an emerging era. 

“And That's The Boxing Truth.

Gassiev vs. Kadiru takes place on Saturday, July 11th at the VTB Arena in Moscow, Russia. The fight can be seen worldwide on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN available to both base and ultimate subscribers beginning at 2:30PM ET/11:30AM PT.

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Did Mark Lyson Rob Rico Verhoeven Of History?

Credit: DAZN 

The fight between future Hall of Famer and current unified World Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and former Kickboxing World Heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven on May 23rd at the Pyramids of Giza in Giza, Egypt was one that had controversy surrounding it from the moment it was announced. Controversy rooted in the World Boxing Council (WBC) opting to sanction the bout for its version of the World Heavyweight championship, which Usyk currently holds, despite the challenger only having one professional fight prior to the encounter in the sport of Boxing. Though Verhoeven emerged victorious in that one outing over a decade ago, he was not in a position where one could claim that he had earned a shot at a world title in the sport, despite his vast credentials in the sport of Kickboxing where he is a future Hall of Famer.

Controversy going into the fight aside, it was nevertheless a curiosity as it always tends to be when two top fighters from different combat sports disciplines square off against each other with one often leaving their sport to challenge the other in theirs. Despite a not so stellar record of fighters from other sports succeeding in the Boxing ring, there were as this observer pointed out in previewing this encounter, a few exceptions and as such Verhoeven’s chances could not be outright dismissed simply based on the difference of experience between himself and Usyk when it came to Boxing. After covering combat sports with Boxing as my primary for over three decades and being as well-versed as anyone in the sport when it comes to offering an educated guess based on my experience, even I could not have predicted what took place when the two fighters met in the truly unique location in front of the Pyramids of Giza and will felt admit, even I was a little surprised.

As I stated in previewing this fight, the onus was on Rico Verhoeven to show that he could combat Usyk’s hand speed, ability to use angles, and deceptive punching power. To the surprise of many, including this observer, Verhoeven was the one dictating the pace of the fight from the outset. By using his 6’5 frame and near 259lb. weight, it was the novice boxer that was consistently backing up the former two-division undisputed world champion, landing hooks and having surprising success in landing his right hand. An aspect of Verhoeven’s approach that I found particularly effective was he constantly moved both his arms up and down in virtually every round. A strategy I have seen implemented on occasion particularly in lower weight divisions where it serves two purposes. First as a way to deflect incoming punches, as well as to attempt to limit an opponent's offensive output.

For most of this fight, Verhoeven, round after round, succeeded in limiting Usyk’s output to such a degree that the champion and master boxer was unable to get into anything resembling a consistent rhythm, as whenever Usyk would appear to land cleanly, Verhoeven would immediately return offense. It was this strategy that as surprising as it was, this observer felt carried Verhoeven to win seven of the first eight rounds on my scorecard. As the fight entered the late rounds, however, Usyk did start to make up some ground, and despite putting forth a remarkable performance that no one could have logically expected, Verhoeven did show some signs of fatigue, which was certainly understandable given the high pace he put forth throughout the contest as well as the fact that this was only his second professional fight in the sport of Boxing.

This leads us to what proved to be the climatic round of the fight, round eleven. As Usyk seemed to be picking up momentum, but also seemingly at a stage where many observers, including this one, felt he would need a knockout to retain his title, he connected with a short right uppercut to the head that knocked Verhoeven down to the canvas in his own corner. Verhoeven was able to beat the count and seemed to withstand the follow-up barrage of blows by the champion until Referee Mark Lyson inexplicably stepped in as the bell was sounding to end the round. At first, it seemed to me in a situation I have seen and covered countless times where two fighters were in the midst of a heated battle, with the crowd in attendance loudly enjoying the action, that the referee stepped in to signal the end of the round. Within seconds, however, it was in actuality Lyson stepping in and stopping the fight and awarding a TKO victory to Oleksandr Usyk.

As is often the case in present day, I shared my thoughts on the stoppage in real time on X (Formerly Twitter) calling the stoppage incompetent as well as sharing thoughts on another element of controversy that emerged throughout the fight. Though an initiative that has not been universally adapted, but one that has been used by the WBC for many years in world title bouts, this fight had the element of open scoring and after eight rounds, despite what was going on in the ring to the vantage point of any unbiased observer two official judges had Usyk ahead slightly. At the time of the stoppage, two of the three official judges were deadlocked and had the fight scored evenly.

While one would assume given that Verhoeven was knocked when in the latter stages of round eleven, had the round gone to completion and thus had been scored, Usyk would have been up by two points on those judges respective scorecards and the third judge, who had Verhoeven ahead by two points, would have ended up with an even score going into what would have been the twelfth and final round had the fight been allowed to continue. Although I have certainly covered plenty of fights over the course of the last three decades where similar scorecards were given at the end of the day following a controversial stoppage, at minimum it would probably give an appearance to a casual viewer that potential bias may have played a role.

The idea of bias in the eyes of some would likely stem from the perception of protecting the Boxing world champion from an unlikely, but probable defeat given what took place in the ring to an undefeated novice boxer, who was primarily known for his accomplishments in the sport of Kickboxing and who was a decade removed from his last professional fight as a boxer. Although I am by no means pointing fingers and have been around long enough to know the difference between stating an opinion and stating an accusation supported by evidence, at minimum, it does not paint the best picture both of Lyson, who has served as a referee for over 1,158 bouts, many being world title bouts throughout his career, or the three official judges, who are all vastly experienced when it comes to questions surrounding objectivity. Particularly, when one considers that Rico Verhoeven was on the verge of making Boxing history by potentially winning a World Heavyweight championship in only his second professional fight. An accomplishment no fighter has achieved.When one also considers that the last time there was a major crossover bout featuring stars of two different combat sports when Tyson Fury met Francis Ngannou in October 2023, many were left with a similar bad taste in their mouths as Fury, who was unbeaten and the WBC world champion in the Heavyweight division at the time, was declared the winner of the non-title ten round bout via controversial decision, despite being knocked down over the course of the bout and clearly having a lackadaisical mindset through the fight that many felt, including yours truly that Ngannou deserved the decision.

What happens now will obviously be open to debate. Clearly, Rico Verhoeven deserves another opportunity at Oleksandr Usyk, and it will be interesting to see if the WBC will mandate a rematch. Perhaps a bigger issue, however, for the sport of Boxing moving forward is a perception that while crossover fights between boxers and stars of other combat sports will always have an appeal, some may question whether a fighter known primarily outside of Boxing will be able to get a fair shake when they do step into a Boxing ring to face off against one of the sport’s stars. Without addressing the elephant in the room, it may be harder for not just fans, but for other fighters throughout combat sports to be open to competing in Boxing or from a fan’s point of view, embrace such encounters by tuning in.

“And That's The Boxing Truth.”

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12 Rounds In A Phone Booth: Miller Outlasts Pero

Initially, this column was intended to be a post-feature covering two Heavyweight bouts taking place on April 25th taking place in two different countries. As some might know, however, the scheduled bout between former WBO World Cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie and Tony Yoka, which was to take place in Paris, France, was cancelled in the days prior to the bout due to Okolie having been found to have tested positive for what was described as an “Adverse Finding" in randomized prefight testing conducted by the Voluntary Anti-doping Agency (VADA). 

With that fight being cancelled the focus shifted to Las Vegas, NV where Heavyweight contender Jarrell Miller met undefeated contender Lenier Pero in a twelve round WBA Heavyweight elimination bout at the Fontainebleau Hotel and Casino. It can be viewed as the most unintentional of coincidences that one fight that depending on one's perspective, which would have gotten significant attention, was cancelled due to a fighter testing positive for an adverse finding, and the focus shifted to Jarrell Miller, a fighter who has seen his own career negatively impacted over the years due to the subject of testing positive for banned substances, resulting in a lengthy hiatus from active competition, and has seen his career stall in the years since his return in 2022. 

In his previous outing prior to his encounter with Pero, Miller literally lost his toupee in the midst of battle in his fight with Kingsley Ibeh in January of this year. While some may view it as something that one would not want exposed publicly, particularly in Madison Square Garden and it turned into what is known today as a viral moment, Miller boldly threw the out into the crowd and pounded his way to a hard fought ten round split decision.

In making the most of that unique circumstance, Miller now proudly showing a bald head entered this fight with the unbeaten Pero looking to continue building momentum. It seemed as though it would be a difficult task in going against the former highly decorated amateur, who had scored knockouts in eight of his thirteen professional wins.

The perception that Pero would create a difficult task for Miller to overcome seemed to be gradually manifesting in the first two rounds as Pero consistently beat Miller to the punch and seemed to get the better of the combat. It was in round three that things started to tip in Miller's favor as he started to gradually use his over 300lb. frame to walk Paro backwards and force the fight to be fought in close. With the tempo of the combat shifting towards Miller, it set up the definition of a *Fight In A Phone Booth.” By definition, a fight fought exclusively in close where there was not much room to move.

Although this set up obviously created a narrow space, it resulted in a grueling battle that Miller got the better of for the remainder of the scheduled twelve round bout, resulting in him earning a convincing twelve round unanimous decision. In some ways, this fight resembled Miller's previous outing against Kingsley Ibeh in that it was a grueling encounter where Miller had to grind tooth and nail to get a victory. While this bout was void of knockdowns and the type of highlights that would turn heads, it was a competitive give and take battle and Miller’s victory here did serve in continuing to build momentum.

As for what's next for Jarrell Miller, what was billed as a WBA Heavyweight elimination bout will not likely result in him getting a world title shot in the immediate future due to current Unified World Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk being scheduled to defend the WBC portion of his unified crown against former Kickboxing World Heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven in May. Despite the WBA world title, which Usyk also holds not being on the line in that upcoming title defense, the logical route for Miller in the short-term would seem to be to remain active and try to continue building momentum towards the eventual goal of fighting for a world title. The circumstances, which led to Miller losing his opportunity to fight for a world title when he was in line to fight then unified world champion Anthony Joshua in the summer of 2019, the lengthy absence that followed, and some stumbles along the way since his return, could very well turn into one of the best redemption stories the sport of Boxing has seen in recent times. A story that will obviously continue to evolve with time.

“And That's The Boxing Truth.”

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Fury Works Off Rust

April 11, 2026 marked the beginning of a new chapter for former two-time World Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Following another in a series of sabbaticals away from the sport of Boxing, this one following suffering his only two career defeats in consecutive fights to Oleksandr Usyk, this chapter at the age of thirty-seven was the start of a comeback. Fury’s opponent for his first fight in nearly two years was contender Arslanbek Makhmudov in London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

 Makhmudov, a veteran of twenty-three professional fights coming into this encounter, had the size and punching power that on paper appeared as though he may have been able to pose a legitimate challenge to Fury, and was not a soft touch for a “Comeback Fight.” Initially, Makhmudov seemed as though he would provide just that by frequently and aggressively pushing Fury back against the ropes and frailing wide, looping punches. Although it needs to be pointed out that Tyson Fury has not been known as a traditionally fast starter in fights, at minimum, it seemed like he would have trouble finding a rhythm, primarily due to Makhmudov’s aggression.

From the second round, however, Fury, showing his skillset and ability to make adjustments, took control of the fight. While the contest often resembled a grappling match due to Fury frequently tying up Makhmudov on the inside and frequent jockeying for position between the two massive Heavyweights who weighed a combined 533lbs. While often ugly and not the most entertaining fight to watch, particularly for the over 50,000 spectators in attendance, gradually as Fury took over the tempo of the combat, he would showcase his hand speed and frequently caught Makhmudov with combinations as he came forward. This would be the pattern for the majority of the scheduled twelve round bout. Makhmudov continued to press forward, but was unable to land anything significant to change the tempo or hurt Fury.

While as the fight progressed it seemed like Fury could have pressed the issue any time he wanted and possibly could have gotten a stoppage of an opponent in Makhmudov, who was exhausted by the middle and late rounds, the former world champion opted to use the majority of the rounds to work off the “Ring Rust” on his way to winning a wide twelve round unanimous decision.

Put simply, there is not much analysis one could offer beyond saying that Fury took a round to find his footing after a long layoff, and put forth a workmanlike performance in a lopsided, and at times, ugly outing. What stood out to this observer, however, was a more serious approach by Fury as this fight just saw a fighter going about his business and did not feature some of the showboating tactics that he has been known for throughout his career. Perhaps this chapter of Fury’s career will be highlighted by a more serious approach as he continues his career with an aim towards trying to secure an opportunity to become a three-time World Heavyweight champion.

As refreshing as it was to see a fighter in Fury adopt a more serious temperament as he does not need showboating tactics and never did, there was the moment after the fight where Fury joined in the ring by H.E. Turki Al-Sheikh, chairman of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, the man who has been primarily responsible for a significant majority of major fights having taken place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the recent history of the sport and the owner of Ring Magazine, called out former two-time World Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn, who were seated at ringside for a fight perhaps later this year in London. 

A fight between Fury and Joshua has been one of many potential fights throughout the history of Boxing that at times has been in negotiations on and off, particularly during the period where the two British Heavyweights were the two world champions in the division, which would have been perhaps the biggest Heavyweight fight to be held in England in Boxing history, perhaps only rivaled by the October 1993 World Heavyweight championship fight between then WBC world champion Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno, which took place at National Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, that marked at that point in time the first time that two British fighters had met in the ring for a version of the World Heavyweight championship in nearly one hundred years.

Although Lewis-Bruno, which took place on a rainy night in Cardiff, Wales and was in danger of being postponed because of weather conditions, will always hold a special place in Boxing history for its significance and for being one of the best Heavyweight fights of the 1990’s, some would claim that a potential fight between Fury and Joshua would be bigger. Yours truly will not get into that debate as one who has always held British Boxing in high regard and respect, but what I will say is perhaps this fight, if it finally does happen, would have been bigger if it were made when the Fury and Joshua had the opportunity to meet for what would have been the Undisputed Heavyweight championship of the world. For a variety of reasons, all having to do with the business side of the sport, the fight did not happen.

Now with H.E. Turki Al-Sheikh being actively involved in the sport as a power broker and significant investor, perhaps a Fury-Joshua fight might finally get over the finish line, but whether or not Al-Sheikh succeeds, the potential for it being a scenario where buyers remorse may ultimately be the feeling both he and Boxing fans worldwide are left with is there. Unfortunately, while it will no doubt still be a significant event, particularly throughout the United Kingdom, Boxing and particularly those promoters and networks who were involved several years back when the opportunity was there to stage a fight for all the marbles in the Heavyweight division, which would have been more significant than merely a big event between two star Heavyweights and future Hall of Famers. For that, the business of the sport is to blame.

“And That's The Boxing Truth.”

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Tyson Fury's Next Chapter

 Following his second loss to World Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024, former two-time World Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury chose to close the book on his Boxing career. While it was not the first time Fury had announced a retirement from competition as he has been open with his struggles with mental health throughout his career and notably took a lengthy retirement after defeating Wladimir Klitschko for his first world championship in 2015, this retirement seemed to have a little more validity in the sense that it was not something that even the most cynical of Boxing fan or those of us who cover the sport could say that Fury would be back.

After all, not only had a decade nearly passed from when he previously stepped away from the sport, but since he returned in 2018, he had taken part in several grueling battles over the years including three brutal fights with Deontay Wilder over the WBC version of the World Heavyweight championship. Boxers like the rest of us are human beings and from what a fighter's body goes through while in preparation for a fight, to what happens during the fights themselves, the accumulation of all that punishment along with age has to take a toll on one's body with time.

After being out boxed in the second bout against Usyk, this observer thought both age and the physical toll Fury had paid throughout his career really meant that his second loss to Usyk seemed to indicate that he was ready for the next chapter in his life away from the sport.

Although losing to a fighter of Oleksandr Usuk’s caliber is in no way a disgrace and Fury was not disgraced in either of his two encounters with him, sometimes fighters do not want to end their careers with a defeat in addition to the road of a crowd and the financial rewards that come with getting into a Boxing ring. It was therefore of little surprise to me to hear that there will be a third chapter in the story of Tyson Fury's career as he will return to the ring on Saturday, April 11th at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England to face veteran contender Arslanbek Makhmudov in a scheduled twelve round Heavyweight bout that can be seen worldwide on digital subscription general entertainment network Netflix.

While this fight will serve as the next event Netflix has chosen to invest significantly into the sport, the obvious subplot here is what Tyson Fury have left to give as a fighter at this point in his career. Although nearly a year and a half away from active competition has likely been beneficial in terms of allowing his body to recuperate from the numerous battles he has been through over the years. At thirty-seven years old, however, that question of what he has left will be asked likely with each fight from this point forward.

In Arslanbek Makhmudov, Fury will face a fighter with a respectable record of twenty-three professional fights with nineteen of his twenty-one wins coming by stoppage. At 6’5 ½, Makhmudov does have the size that would indicate that this may not be a straightforward “Comeback” or “Tune-up” fight for Fury, who stands 6’9. Although Makhmudov has been stopped in his two career defeats against Agit Kabayel and Guido Vianello, Makhmudov does have a career knockout percentage of over 90%, so this is a fighter that does carry punching power into the ring with him. While Fury has been knocked down numerous times in his career, he has always shown incredible ability to recover and has never been stopped in his career.

Despite always processing a good mix of overall Boxing skill, hand speed for a big man, and punching power in his own right, what some point to as a red flag with Fury is he tends to showboat in his fights rather than showing a serious approach that the upper level of the sport regardless of division often demands and at times even a lackadaisical approach, most notably against former UFC Heavyweight world champion Francis Ngannou, who was competing in his first professional fight as a boxer and managed to not only drop Fury in what was a non-title bout where Fury’s WBC world title at the time was not at stake, but managed to turn in a performance where several felt he deserved a decision against Fury, who seemed both in attitude prior to the bout and in body language throughout to have taken him lightly.

Now at this stage in his career, coming off back to back losses to Oleksandr Usyk and a second retirement/sabbatical from the sport, it will be interesting to see if Fury implements a more serious approach now against an opponent who no doubt will be looking to use the name recognition that Fury brings with him to springboard himself towards a world title shot should Makhmudov emerge victorious. There is a lot on the table for both fighters here and when it comes to Boxing, especially in the Heavyweight division, truly anything can happen.

“And That's The Boxing Truth.”

Fury vs. Makhmudov takes place on Saturday, April 11th at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. The fight can be seen worldwide on digital subscription general entertainment streaming network Netflix beginning at 2PM ET/11AM PT. (*North American Start Times Only.*) (*Card and Start Times Subject to Change.*) For more information about Netflix including capable streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, Local start times in your region of the world, and to subscribe please visit: www.Netflix.com. 

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UPDATE: WBC Statement On Decision To Sanction Usyk-Verhoeven

In a follow-up to the column that was released on the website on Sunday, March 1st, discussing the recently announced upcoming World Heavyweight championship bout between Olekaandr Usyk and former World Heavyweight Kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven, which will take place during the month of May in Egypt, the World Boxing Council (WBC) released an official statement on it's website and social media platforms regarding its decision to sanction the bout for it's version of the World Heavyweight championship, despite Verhoeven only having one professional fight as a professional boxer.

The statement can be read below:

Credit: World Boxing Council

We will have a preview of this World Heavyweight championship bout released here on The Boxing Truth® as we get closer to the event and will keep readers updated on further developments as they become available.

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Usyk vs. Verhoeven For WBC World Heavyweight Championship?

Credit: DAZN

In the summer of last year, future Hall of Famer Oleksandr Usyk further cemented his legacy by becoming the first man in Boxing history to have fully unified the Undisputed World Heavyweight championship twice, adding a third undisputed crown to his extensive list of accomplishments following previously unifying the Cruiserweight division before setting his sights on the Heavyweight division. As record-setting and ground breaking as Usyk’s second unification of the World Heavyweight championship was, it came as a result of the politics that be in the sport of Boxing ensuring a short first reign by not allowing him to maintain the undisputed crown while fulfilling his contractually mandated obligation to give Tyson Fury, the man he defeated for his first undisputed crown at Heavyweight, an immediate rematch.

Unfortunately for Usyk, his second undisputed championship at Heavyweight would have a similar outcome as the first as shortly after he reclaimed the IBF world championship by scoring a knockout of Daniel Dubois in their rematch, the WBO stripped him off their world championship for not fulfilling his mandatory defense obligations, which ultimately resulted in Fabio Wardley eventually being crowned WBO World Heavyweight champion. As frustrating as the politics of Boxing can frustrate and bewilder both fan and Boxing scribes alike, for better or worse, each individual sanctioning organization has their own policies and procedures and at least in theory, try to ensure that fighters deemed mandatory challengers get their title shots in a timely manner. 

While the aforementioned statement is factual, this observer will concede that it probably does sound like a good public relations spin to the Boxing fan that each respective sanctioning organization likely would like to use from time to time. When such policies and procedures alienate fans and fighters as well, however, there are times where fighters will look for an alternative rather than trying to rectify whatever grievance they may have with a given sanctioning organization.

In all truth and honesty with the reader, after Usyk’s victory over Dubois last summer, his second knockout win over the hard hitting former IBF world champion in two fights, I frankly felt he had nothing more to prove after successfully fully unifying the Heavyweight to division twice and having three undisputed world championships to his name overall, all while remaining undefeated his entire career. It was therefore a surprise to yours truly to hear the announcement that Usyk will step into the ring in May in defense of the WBC portion of the World Heavyweight championship.

Why would a noted Boxing journalist and historian with over three decades of covering Combat Sports, with Boxing as his primary be surprised? It did not have anything to do with my aforementioned stance that I felt Usyk had accomplished everything he set out to do and did not have anything left to prove that would somehow add to nor diminish his legacy, but rather who the chosen opposition would be for this title defense, which will take place in Egypt that will play host to its first World Heavyweight championship fight in history.

Usyk’s choice was not a notable contender or a former world champion such as Deontay Wilder, who had long been rumored to be in the short running of potential opponents, nor was it undefeated current WBC number one contender Agit Kabayel, but instead will come in the form of legendary Kickboxing World Heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven. Before I go any further, I feel it important to state for the reader that this column is not a preview of the aforementioned upcoming bout, but rather centers on my reaction to this announcement of the bout that will take place on May 23rd.

My reaction was one of curiosity. While there is no disputing that Rico Verhoeven is a Hall of Famer in the sport of Kickboxing and one of the top pound for pound fighters in that sport, he has had only one professional fight as a boxer and though he won that fight via knockout, that outing came twelve years from when this fight will take place. The question is obvious, how can the WBC see it's way clear to give a title shot to a great fighter from a different sport, but one with a limited background in Boxing?

Obviously, this observer cannot answer that question, but it is one that the WBC should answer. In light of some controversial decisions the organization has made in recent times and with upstart promotional entities like Zuffa Boxing, who seem intent on breaking established norms including legislation with the intent to freeze out independent sanctioning organizations in favor of a promotional based model, the WBC does owe an explanation. While the curiosity is certainly there and I look forward to delving deeper on the subject as we get closer to the bout, most would say that there are fighters currently in the WBC’s Heavyweight ratings with more Boxing experience that would be more qualified in this combat realm for a title shot. For that, the WBC needs to elaborate on their position.

“And That's The Boxing Truth.”

Photo Courtesy of: DAZN Used with permission.

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Jack-Mikaeljan: The Rematch

In May of this year on the undercard of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez successfully becoming an Undisputed Super-Middleweight world champion for a second time with a convincing twelve round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten IBF world champion William Scull in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, two-division world champion Badou Jack did battle with  WBC World Cruiserweight world champion Norair Mikaeljan with the WBC Cruiserweight crown at stake. A close and competitive fight throughout where the champion Mikaeljan was the busier of the two fighters, but Jack in the view of most observers landed the harder punches. Despite a wide advantage for the champion in terms of CompuBox statistics in out landing Jack in total landed punches 153 to 122 over the course of the twelve round world title bout, it would be Jack who would emerge victorious via a razor-thin majority decision, making him a two-time holder of the WBC World Cruiserweight championship after briefly holding it only to vacate it in 2023. Mikaeljan, the fighter who succeeded Jack as WBC champion, appealed to the sanctioning organization in the aftermath of the bout in May and was granted an immediate rematch.

A rematch that will take place on Saturday, December 13th at the Ace Mission Studios in Los Angeles, CA, that will headline a pay-per-view card that will be available on a variety of cable/satellite, and streaming platforms. In some respects, though seeing a former world champion being granted a rematch is not unusual and rare in the sport of Boxing, this is somewhat of a rarity.

After all, the Cruiserweight division, also known as the Jr. Heavyweight division as it sits between the Light-Heavyweight and Heavyweight divisions amongst Boxing’s seventeen weight classes, has almost always been void of the type of publicity and mainstream exposure that are often afforded to other divisions. One has to go almost forty years to when a young future legend and Hall of Famer Evander Holyfield engaged in a fifteen round war with the recently deceased two-division world champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi to win the WBA Jr, Heavyweight world championship in July 1986 to find a time and a fighter that brought consistent exposure to the division. Holyfield’s first world title would ultimately serve as a launching pad as he quickly unified the Cruiserweight division becoming its first undisputed world champion before embarking on the Heavyweight division, ultimately becoming the only fighter in Boxing history to have won a World Heavyweight championship on four separate occasions. As great as Holyfield proved to be as a fighter, a legitimate argument can be made that when he exited the Cruiserweight division having quickly cleaned the division out by 1988, he took whatever spotlight the division was benefiting from with him. It is also true that the last man to hold the undisputed title in the division, Oleksandr Usyk, immediately did what Holyfield had done decades earlier by vacating the title and ultimately becoming the first fighter in Boxing history to fully unify the Heavyweight division twice. 

Perhaps a more cynical point of view is that the most consistent attention the division receives in the present day in the sport comes from the aspiring boxer and promoter Jake Paul, who still faces questions regarding his legitimacy as a fighter having never faced an opponent that would be considered a fringe prospect or contender to this point in his career. When one takes all of the above into consideration, the fact that the Jack-Mikaeljan rematch has generated the buzz it has, should be viewed as a positive both for the Cruiserweight division and the fighters themselves.

The premise of this return encounter in the eyes of this observer will come down to whether Mikaeljan will be able to not only duplicate his performance from the first fight seven months ago, but to do so in a more convincing fashion where the judges will give him the benefit of the doubt. While I personally felt he did enough to retain his title back in May, what is often misunderstood is punch statistics though often serving as an illustration of what goes on in a fight, is not a part of official scoring criteria and as such if one fighter is able to give an impression that they are landing harder punches, though not being as consistent in output as their opponent, that perception of doing more damage with their offense can result in a judge scoring rounds for that fighter and ignoring the aspect of overall activity. Mikaeljan, who will enter this rematch with a record of 27-3, with 12 Knockouts, must find a way to be more convincing as to not allow the judges room to sway their opinions, particularly if Jack is able to land solidly as he did in the first fight.

The champion meanwhile, who comes into his first title defense of his second reign as WBC World Cruiserweight champion, with a record of 29-3-3, with 17 Knockouts, needs to find a way to be busier throughout this fight. Neither fighter is known for their punching power and though one can never discount the possibility of a knockout, the more probable scenario here is this fight, like its predecessor, will go the twelve round distance. What makes that potentially crucial is Badou Jack has shown a tendency to be periodically sluggish in his fights and, despite getting the nod from two official judges in the first fight by a seven rounds to five margin or 115-113 in points, he cannot allow himself to fall into any kind of hole here in terms of scoring this time around, especially with the view of many that the first fight should have went in favor of Mikaeljan.

It is also very much within the realm of possibility here that if Norair Mikaeljan can turn the tables and win this fight that we could see a third encounter. For a division that seems to always be in a state of both obscurity and flux in terms of who is at or near the top of it, that would probably be welcomed as it will keep a spotlight on the division. If such a spotlight and subsequent discussion that will follow is for positive reasons, it will be a win for the sport. Before we get ahead of ourselves, Badou Jack and Norair Mikaeljan have business to tend to and it remains to be seen if this is a conclusion or merely the next chapter in what could be a rivalry.

“And That's The Boxing Truth.”

Jack vs. Mikaeljan takes place on Saturday, December 13th at Ace Mission Studios in Los Angeles, CA. The fight can be seen on a pay-per-view basis on a variety of cable/satellite providers and streaming platforms including Prime Video, PPV.com, and Triller TV and their respective streaming apps available on mobile, tablet, and connected streaming devices and Smart TVs. for $29.95 beginning at 9PM ET/6PM PT. (*North American Times Only*) (*Card Subject To Change*) contact your Pay-TV provider or click the highlighted links above for ordering information, how to download the respective app of your choice on your streaming device of choice, and for availability internationally.

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