1. Canelo Eyes Move To Light Heavyweight
Canelo Alvarez won’t be fighting Caleb Plant this September if his plans to face Gennadiy Golovkin in a trilogy fight fall through, it seems he is interested in another division to conquer.
Alvarez, who had a goal of unifying the middleweight division in 2019, seems to be abandoning that plan, as Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix is reporting that Alvarez wants to move up to light heavyweight and fight WBO champion Sergey Kovalev on September 14th.
This would mark the first time that Alvarez would fight over 165 pounds, fighting at the super middleweight limit in December with a knockout of Rocky Fielding inside Madison Square Garden.
While many, including DAZN chairman John Skipper would like to see or are angling for a Canelo-GGG III, Callum Smith has been in the mix for a fight at super middleweight in 2020, and Canelo’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya listed Kovalev as a possibility in the last few weeks in the aftermath of Alvarez’ unanimous decision win over Daniel Jacobs.
2. Usman Blames Colby’s Gambling Debts For No Title Fight
Kamaru Usman had one thought when he found out that Colby Covington decided to fight Robbie Lawler on August 3rd at the Prudential Center, instead of waiting to fight the welterweight champion upon his return…
“I literally smacked my head like this kid f**ks it up again, again. I said from the start, this was going to be his fight to mess up and that is exactly (why) he did what he just did. Those gambling debts might have caught up to him, you never know the backstory of what is going on,” Kamaru Usman said to TMZ.
“Debts might have caught up to him, he hasn’t fought for a long time trying to sit out and be a pest to not just to me but to Woodley at some point and also to Dana White at some point.”
3. Fury-Miller Could Happen This Fall
With Tyson Fury with an open hole in his schedule, Frank Warren, Fury’s promoter has no problem with booking his star boxer against former title contender Jarrell Miller.
Miller, who had a chance to become the unified world heavyweight champion before testing positive for EPO, HGH, and a fat burning supplement, was ringside for Fury’s emphatic KO win over Tom Schwarz earlier this month.
“The objective is to build up to him fighting Deontay Wilder again after their highly controversial first meeting which obviously should have resulted in a victory for Tyson. Hopefully, we get him in there with an American later this year and I am open to the prospect of Jarrell Miller being Tyson’s next opponent,” Warren told Talk Sport.
“It’s looking likely he will head to Madison Square Garden in New York, with the fight taking place in late September or early October. I’m hoping it will be finalized fairly soon and we’ll be in a position to make an official announcement.
“Miller’s failed drugs tests cost him a shot at Anthony Joshua in June and a six-month suspension,” Warren continued. I’m really anti-drugs and I think there should be some seriously, seriously strict penalties for it. I don’t police the sport, that is up to the governing bodies, and they’re letting everyone down by handing these pathetic little bans out.
4. Loma-Campbell Close To A Reality
Vasyl Lomachenko’s next step to unify the lightweight division seems to have been set, as the WBC has announced a date for his fight for the vacant WBC lightweight title.
Per WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, representatives for both Lomachenko and top challenger, Luke Campbell have agreed to fight for the title on August 31st.
Sulaiman stated that a deal between Top Rank (Lomachenko) and Matchroom (Campbell) was made on Tuesday, one day before a purse bid for the fight, which will take place in London and airing on ESPN and Sky Sports.
Lomachenko looks to add to his collection, which already features the WBA and WBO world titles, with the green belt up for grabs after Mikey Garcia decided to move up in weight class.
5. Nunes Wants Cyborg Rematch Due To Lack of Division Depth
At UFC 239, Amanda Nunes defends her bantamweight title against Holly Holm, and while many are excited to see what will happen on July 6th, Nunes wanted something else.
Nunes shocked the MMA world on December 29th, dropping then UFC featherweight champion, Cris Cyborg, in under a minute in the UFC 232 co-main event.
“I think this is the fight to make,” Nunes told MMA Junkie at Monday’s UFC 239 media day.
“145 is bad right now – nobody in that division. Cyborg is always the most dominating woman on the planet if (she didn’t lose to me). That’s how it was, and she think she wants to prove something, but she knows she’s going to lose again. But I feel like she should make (the rematch).”