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The evolution that brought Canelo to Madison Square Garden

Canelo Alvarez will fight on the East Coast for the first time in 10 years. He will be at Madison Square Garden -- "The World's Most Famous Arena" -- on Saturday to take another step toward the apex of Mexican boxing.

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Predictions for Fielding-Canelo: Who will win?

Canelo Alvarez goes up in weight to face super middleweight titlist Rocky Fielding on Saturday night in New York. Who will win? Our experts make their picks.

Boxing's rich history at Madison Square Garden

Ahead of Canelo Alvarez vs. Rocky Fielding, Claudia Trejos recounts the long and deep history of boxing at Madison Square Garden.

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Boxing

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Weights from Corpus Christi, Texas, for Friday night’sTop Rank Boxing on ESPN+ card: Gilberto Ramirez 167.25 pounds, Jesse Hart 167.5 (rematch for Ramirez’s super middleweight world title); Arnold Barboza Jr. 139.25, Manuel Lopez 139.5; Gabriel Flores Jr. 132.5, Edward Kakembo 131; Joshua Greer Jr. 117.75, Daniel Lozano 117.75; Mikaela Mayer 129.5, Calixta Silgado 127.75; Jamel Herring 132, Adeilson Dos Santos 132; Ruben Vega 117.5, Oscar Mojica 117; Jesus Arechiga 122.25, David Martino 121.5; Roberto Duran Jr. 145.75, Leonardo Pena 144.25

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer3h ago

Anthony Joshua

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Joshua calls out Wilder, Fury: I mean business

Anthony Joshua responded to Deontay Wilder's claim that Joshua did not want to fight him and also called out Tyson Fury in an impassioned appearance on ESPN's First Take.

Anthony Joshua: 'I'm willing to fight Deontay Wilder'

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Boxing

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Dana White on De La Hoya: He's a liar and an idiot

Dana White calls out Oscar De La Hoya after he made comments that UFC athletes are complaining about the money they make.

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Rocky vs. Canelo

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Is Canelo one of the top 10 Mexican boxers?

Unified middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez has accomplished a few things at the age of 28. But is he among the best in Mexican boxing history? Some fighters on that prestigious list share their opinion.

Fielding is writing his own 'Rocky' story

Rocky Fielding is not even the most famous boxer in his home city of Liverpool, England, but on Saturday he faces arguably the most famous boxer in the world in Canelo Alvarez. Is he up to the challenge? Fielding has a big motivation: his kids.

Alvarez, Fielding arrive in New York ahead of title fight

Rocky Fielding claimed he is the true champion of the Super-middleweight division as both he and Canelo Alvarez arrived in New York City ahead of their fight in MSC.

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Ramirez-Hart II

Fri., 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+

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'Zurdo' Ramirez aims for bigger fights in 2019

Super middleweight world titlist Gilberto Ramirez has a goal in mind: Unify the division. First, he needs to take care of business when he meets Jesse Hart in a rematch Friday night in Texas.

'Matar o morir,' the ballad of 'Zurdo' Ramirez

Growing up in Sinaloa, Mexico, was tough for Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez. But a much-needed change paved the way for the 26-year-old to become the first Mexican fighter to win a world title in the 168-pound division -- and perhaps even saved his life.

Photo provided by Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Top Rank Boxing

Fri., 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+

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Hart vows to be better in rematch with 'Zurdo' Ramirez

Since the minute Jesse Hart left the ring following his decision loss to super middleweight world titlist Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez in 2017, he has had one thing on his mind: a rematch. Now he has it and aims to make the most of the opportunity.

Hart wants to show his greatness in rematch vs. Ramirez

Jesse Hart sits down with Mark Kriegel to preview his rematch against Gilberto Ramirez on Friday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

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Ramirez-Hart rematch on ESPN+: How to watch

Looking to watch the super middleweight title fight between Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez vs. Jesse Hart on ESPN+ on Friday? Here's how to do it.

Rocky-Canelo

News Conference

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A closer look at the cut under Canelo's eye during Thursday's news conference ahead of his bout against super middleweight "regular" titlist Rocky Fielding on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Arash Markazi, ESPN Senior Writer15h ago

Will Canelo or Rocky go home this title on Saturday?

Arash Markazi, ESPN Senior Writer15h ago

Oscar De La Hoya says Madison Square Garden will be sold out for Saturday's Canelo-Rocky fight.

Arash Markazi, ESPN Senior Writer15h ago

Boxing

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ESPN+ will provide live coverage of Masayuki Ito's (24-1-1, 12 KOs) first defense of his WBO junior lightweight title against Evgeny Chuprakov (20-0, 10 KOs) from Japan on December 30. The broadcast will start at 4 a.m. ET. Also on this telecast will be the WBC junior flyweight title bout between Ken Shiro (14-0, 8 KOs) and Saul "Baby" Juarez (24-8-2, 13 KOs) and the match-up between Tauma Inoue (12-0, 3 KOs) and Petch Sor Chitpattana (48-0, 33 KOs) for the interim WBC bantamweight belt.

Steve Kim, ESPN14h ago

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Despite rumors, the WBSS seems to be on its way to the semifinals. Richard Shaefer, that represents bantamweight participant Nonito Donaire in the tournament, told ESPN that the World Boxing Super Series I “well-funded and they are as excited as they were on day one about moving forward. As a matter of fact, the conversations are on-going, that hopefully within the next few weeks we'll come out with the schedule and the locations and the dates for the semi-finals and there are already conversations going on as to where the three finals will be hosted.”

Steve Kim, ESPN15h ago

Boxing

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Heavyweight contender Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller (23-0-1, 20 KOs), 30, and interim titlist Trevor Bryan (20-0, 14 KOs), 29, are in talks to meet Jan. 18 (DAZN) at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. Greg Cohen, who co-promotes Miller with Dmitry Salita, told ESPN he's negotiating with Bryan promoter Don King for the fight, which would appear on Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn’s DAZN card. Miller’s last four fights have been on Hearn cards. Miller would be fighting for third time in four months if he fights on the card that is also expected to include middleweight world titlist Demetrius Andrade’s first defense. “We absolutely are trying to make the fight,” Cohen said. “It’s the interim champion against the highest-rated contender and they’re both from New York. It’s a natural.” Bryan claimed a vacant interim title by fourth-round knockout of B.J. Flores on Aug. 11.

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer1d ago

Rocky Fielding

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Meet Rocky Fielding, who struck boxing gold and a fight with Canelo Alvarez

Rocky Fielding, seemingly from a previous era of boxing, struck gold when Canelo Alvarez and New York's legendary Madison Square Garden came calling.

A Rocky story in waiting?

Liverpool-born boxer faces the fight of his life this weekend at Madison Square Garden against Canelo.

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Fielding learned of Canelo fight while putting daughter to bed

Rocky Fielding has revealed to ESPN that he found out about his fight with world middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez while he was putting his one-month-old daughter to bed.

Mayweather-Khabib

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Mayweather wants the bout in Russia, claims Khabib's father

Khabib Nurmagomedov's father confirmed a fight against Floyd Mayweather is among their plans in the near future.

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42 to 1

30-for-30

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Buster Douglas recounts the biggest upset in boxing history

James "Buster" Douglas is quick to point out he's not just a one-hit wonder. But Douglas will always be most remembered for what took place in Tokyo against Mike Tyson in 1990.

The Undefeated

Buster Douglas: I wasn't impressed with the success Mike Tyson was having

When Douglas knocked out Tyson, he was fighting for more than just a win.

The road to Tyson-Douglas

The ESPN Films 30 for 30 presentation of "42 to 1" maps out the events leading up to Buster Douglas' historic upset of Mike Tyson in 1990.

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30 for 30: 42 to 1 - Trailer

ESPN Films revisits Buster Douglas' monumental upset of heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. 30 for 30 "42 to 1" premieres Tuesday, December 11th at 9p ET on ESPN.

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30 for 30: 42 to 1 - Creatively Inspired

Former heavyweight champ Buster Douglas trains and inspires young boxers in Columbus, Ohio. "42 to 1" premieres December 11 at 9pm ET on ESPN.

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Mike Tyson says he's 'a cold, business-like killer'

The ESPN Films 30 for 30 presentation of "42 to 1" highlights the rollercoaster ride of boxing legend Mike Tyson.

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30 for 30: 42 to 1 - Simply Confident

John Johnson Jr. shares an intimate moment with his friend Buster Douglas before his fight against Mike Tyson.

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30 for 30: 42 to 1 - Director's Cut

ESPN's Jeremy Schaap and Ben Houser discuss their film "42 to 1" and how it's about more than just the greatest upset in sports. The film premieres Dec. 11 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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More boxing news

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As chairman of the IBF’s championship committee, Lindsey Tucker was one of the most significant figures in boxing behind the scenes when it came to sorting out IBF world title bouts and eliminators. A few weeks ago he resigned his position for undisclosed reasons. On Tuesday, IBF president Daryl Peoples appointed longtime IBF member Carlos Ortiz Jr. to replace Tucker. Ortiz has been a member of the IBF for 10 years and is also licensed as a ringside judge by the New York State Athletic Commission. He has judged more than 400 professional bouts including numerous world title bouts.

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer1d ago

The first ShoBox telecast of 2019 has been set for January 11, undefeated lightweight prospect, Devin Haney (20-0, 13 KOs), will face Xolisani Ndongeni (25-0, 13 KOs) in a 10-round bout. Also featherweight, Ruben Villa (14-0, 5 KOs) takes on Carlos Vidal (14-0, 13 KOs) in a scheduled eight-round contest. There will be a third bout on this telecast on Showtime, that has yet to be finalized.

Steve Kim, ESPN1d ago

Boxing

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Junior welterweight world titleholder Jose Ramirez (23-0, 16 KOs), 26, of Fresno, California, will make his second defense in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card on Feb. 10 -- a Sunday night -- Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti told ESPN on Tuesday. The site is not set yet but the aim is to have the fight in Fresno, where is a popular ticket seller, Moretti said. Ramirez won a vacant 140-pound title by lopsided decision over Amir Imam in March in New York and made his first defense in an action-packed but lopsided decision win against Antonio Orozco on Sept. 14 in Fresno.

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer2d ago

Boxing

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HBO’s final boxing telecast, Saturday night’s “Boxing After Dark” tripleheader of mismatches, including two women’s bouts, from the StubHub Center in Carson, California, went out with perhaps the lowest viewership in the history of the once-great series. The main event, undisputed women’s welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus’s near-shutout of Aleksandra Magdziak-Lopes, averaged a miniscule 276,000 viewers and peaked at 347,000, according to Nielsen Media Research. The main event even got clobbered by the opening two fights on the card, though they were also poorly viewed. The co-feature, Juan Francisco Estrada’s one-sided seventh-round stoppage of Victor Mendez in a junior featherweight fight, averaged 300,000 viewers (326,000 peak). The opener, unified women’s middleweight titlist Claressa Shields averaged 339,000 viewers (379,000 peak).

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer2d ago

Lomachenko wins

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Lomachenko decisions Pedraza to unify titles

Vasiliy Lomachenko was in control throughout Saturday, as he beat Jose Pedraza by unanimous decision in their lightweight world title unification bout.

Lomachenko outboxes Pedraza

Vasiliy Lomachenko scores two knockdowns in the 11th round and dominates Jose Pedraza to unify two lightweight world titles.

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Lomachenko eyes unification bout vs. Mikey Garcia

Vasiliy Lomachenko speaks after defeating Jose Pedraza by decision and expresses his desire to unify the lightweight belts.

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Boxing

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Junior welterweight Gary Antuanne Russell (7-0, 7 KOs), 22, a 2016 U.S. Olympian, and bantamweight Gary Antonio Russell (12-0, 10 KOs), 25, both of Capitol Heights, Maryland – and both the younger brothers of featherweight world titlist Gary Russell Jr. – were due to fight separate opponents on the Dec. 22 Premier Boxing Champions on Fox card at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but both have withdrawn from their bouts due to personal reasons. Interim middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo will defend his belt against Willie Monroe Jr. in the main event and Jermell Charlo will defend his junior middleweight world title against Tony Harrison in the co-feature.

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer3d ago

More boxing news

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Promoter Bob Arum is bullish on the future of lightweight prospect, 21 year old, Teofimo Lopez (11-0, 9 KO), who made quite the statement by crushing Mason Menard in one round on Saturday night. Moving forward into 2019, Arum says, "We're going to step him up, the plan is for him to go in early February and then just keep moving him. I think by the second half of the year, testing him with Jose Pedraza would be really interesting." Pedraza, this past weekend went the distance in losing to Vasiliy Lomachenko in their lightweight unification bout.

Steve Kim, ESPN3d ago

Brian Castano (15-0, 11 KOs), 29, of Argentina, will defend his secondary junior middleweight belt against former longtime titleholder Erislandy Lara (25-3-2, 14 KOs), 35, a Cuban defector fighting out of Houston, in early 2019 on a Premier Boxing Champions card to be determined, Lara manager Luis DeCubas Jr. told ESPN on Monday. “We made a deal for the fight and we’re waiting on the exact details on when and where the fight will occur but it will be in the first quarter of next year,” DeCubas said. Castano made his first defense by 12th-round knockout of Cedric Vitu on Vutu’s turf in France in March but has not fought since. Lara has not boxed since April when he lost a split decision in a title unification fight a leading fight of the year candidate to Jarrett Hurd.

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer3d ago

Diego Pacheco, a 17-year-old middleweight prospect and eight-time amateur national champion from Los Angeles, will make his professional debut in a four-rounder against an opponent to be determined on Zanfer Promotions’ Dec. 22 card in Tijuana, Mexico, manager Tim VanNewhouse told ESPN. The 6-foot-4 Pacheco has been sparring with super middleweight world titlist Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in preparation for his rematch with Jesse Hart on Friday. Although Pacheco signed with promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, VanNewhouse said he will also fight on some Zanfer cards due to their good relationship and the busy scheduled Pacheco intends to keep. It is also part of the effort to promote Pacheco in the U.S. and Mexico.

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer3d ago

Teofimo Lopez

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KO of the year? Lopez does the Heisman after one-punch KO

Teofimo Lopez knocks out Mason Menard with a brutal right hand then dons a Kyler Murray jersey and does the Heisman pose.

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Lopez after Menard KO: 'The takeover has begun'

Teofimo Lopez says he "wanted to test" Mason Menard early in the first round and expects to be wearing a world champion belt in 2019.

1:41

Teofimo Lopez celebrated his KO victory in Round 1 over Mason Menard with a back flip. Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank.

Andres Ferrari, ESPN Editor5d ago

Boxing

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Stephen A.: Pedraza 'was happy to survive' vs. Lomachenko

Stephen A. Smith says José Pedraza was the "inferior fighter" vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko but should have done more than try to survive.

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Boxing

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Braekhus cruises in defense as HBO signs off

The final bout in HBO's storied history with boxing saw Cecilia Braekhus easily decision Aleksandra Lopes in Los Angeles to keep her welterweight belt.

Juan Francisco Estrada (38-3, 26 KO) methodically broke down Victor Mendez (28-4-2, 20 KO) over 7 increasingly one-sided rounds at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. In what was technically a junior featherweight contest, Estrada, who weighed in at 120.4 pounds, just systematically broke down Mendez, who tipped the scales at 119.2 pounds. After round 7, Mendez's corner called for this bout to be stopped. Estrada, 28, now focuses on going back to junior bantamweight and a rematch with Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (47-4-1, 41 KO) who narrowly edged him back in February for the WBC 115-pound belt. .

Steve Kim, ESPN5d ago

Dan Rafael recalls the best of HBO boxing

Ahead of HBO's last boxing card on the network after 45 years in the business, Dan Rafael shares his list of the 45 best/biggest/most memorable/most important fights the network has aired.

Loamchenko-Pedraza

ESPN, 9 p.m. ET

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What it took for Lomachenko to get back in the ring after shoulder injury

Vasiliy Lomachenko tore the labrum in his right shoulder in May, underwent surgery and embarked on an intense rehab program. To appreciate Lomachenko's accomplishment in just six months, it is important to first understand what the injury involved.

Dogboe-Navarrete

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Navarrete upsets Dogboe, wins 122-pound title

Emanuel Navarrete scored the upset by defeating Isaac Dogboe to win the WBO junior featherweight belt Saturday night in New York.

Navarrete wins junior featherweight title

Emanuel Navarrete lands a lot of hard punches, swelling Isaac Dogboe's face and scores an upset unanimous decision to take his 122-pound world title.

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We go to the scorecards in Dogboe-Navarrete: 116-112, 116-112, 115-113 all for the new junior featherweight world titleholder Emanuel Navarrete!

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer5d ago

Lomachenko-Pedraza

Round-by-round

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We go to the scorecards for Lomachenko-Pedraza: 119-107, 117-109, 117-109 all for the winner and now the unified lightweight world champion Vaslily Lomachenko!

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer5d ago

Round 12: Loma 10-9. He will win handily. I have it 118-108 Loma

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer5d ago

Pedraza down twice in Round 11. What a performance by Lomachenko. We are in Round 12.

Andres Ferrari, ESPN Editor5d ago

Boxing

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Triple H is at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York to watch Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. José Pedraza. Photo by Anthony Causi/ESPN Images

Andres Ferrari, ESPN Editor5d ago

Boxing

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Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan is at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York for the Vasiliy Lomachenko-Jose Pedraza fight. Also, actor Said Taghmaoui of Wonder Woman fame is at ringside. He's a former boxer and is here to root for Lomachenko, a personal friend of his.

Andres Ferrari, ESPN Editor5d ago

Top Rank Boxing

Countdown to Lomachenko-Pedraza

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Ep. 1: Lomachenko under the knife

Ep. 2: Unifying the belts

Ep. 3: Fishing with Lomachenko

Ep. 4: Training the Lomachenko way

Boxing

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Atlas on Lomachenko: 'Best pound-for-pound fighter'

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Boxing

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Larry Merchant, who for years was part of the HBO Sports broadcast team, will be making a cameo tonight, in what will be their last boxing telecast from the StubHub Center in Carson, California. When asked for his favorite fights on the network, he said he doesn't have a particular ranking but one event stands out. April 22, 2001 in South Africa, when Hasim Rahman shocked the world by stopping Lennox Lewis in 5 rounds for the heavyweight title. But during that week, he got a chance to talk boxing with Nelson Mandela. "It doesn't get better than that," said Merchant.

Steve Kim, ESPN5d ago

Boxing

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Heavyweight world titlist Deontay Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs) and lineal champion Tyson Fury (27-0-1, 19 KOs) have both said repeatedly since their split draw in a terrific fight last Saturday in Los Angeles that they want a rematch and while the camps can certainly get together and hammer out deal, they are about to be mandated to make one. The WBC, which sanctions Wilder’s title, plans to order an immediate rematch, according to a source with knowledge of the sanctioning body’s plans. The WBC board of governors is in the process of voting on the proposal and ordering a direct rematch has near-unanimous support, according to the source.

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer7d ago

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Top heavyweight prospect Filip Hrgovic (6-0, 5 KOs), 26, a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist for Croatia, will face short-notice American journeyman Kevin Johnson on Saturday in his hometown fight in Zagreb. Hrgovic, who is on the fast track, was slated to face Ytalo Perea (11-3-2, 7 KOs), 25, of Ecuador, but Perea, who was due to arrive in Zagreb on Tuesday, did not make his scheduled connection from Bogota, Colombia. It later became apparent, according to promoter Team Sauerland, that despite previous assurances, he did not possess proper travel documents. Johnson (33-11-1, 17 KOs), 39, currently based in Germany, who won a fight last Saturday, was placed on standby and arrived in Zagreb on Thursday.

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer7d ago

A middleweight world title eliminator between Jack Culcay and Sergiy Derevyanchenko was ordered this week to determine the mandatory challenger for titlist Daniel Jacobs, who outpointed Derevyanchenko for a vacant title on Oct. 27. The IBF sent a letter to Z Promotions, representing Culcay, and Derevyanchenko promoter Lou DiBella notifying them of the order. Culcay has already agreed to participate while Derevyanchenko (12-1, 10 KOs), 33, a Ukraine native fighting out of Brooklyn, New York, has not yet as he may go in another direction. If he passes, the IBF will move on to the next available contender in its rankings and order him to face former interim junior middleweight titlist Culcay (25-3, 13 KOs), 33, of Germany.

Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer7d ago

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