Euro News: Merhy vs. Makabu in September, Austin Trout, More

One of the sport’s most promising young stars will return to a familiar site in his quest to become a two-division titlist. The upcoming vacant WBO flyweight title fight between Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez and Mexico’s Cristian Gonzalez is set to take place April 8 on DAZN from Tech Port Arena in Rodriguez’s hometown of San Antonio. The venue was confirmed by Matchroom Boxing on Monday as part of its full schedule reveal through mid-May.

NEW YORK – Jordan Maldonado didn’t downplay the obvious. Amanda Serrano’s trainer and manager admitted early Sunday morning that “there’s concern” about how Serrano’s rematch with Ireland’s Katie Taylor will be judged May 20 in Dublin. The crowd for their second lightweight championship unification fight will be overwhelmingly pro-Taylor, which could influence even the most competent judges.

Former two-time unified heavyweight champion of the world Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) fights at The O2 in London for the first time since 2016 as he begins life under the tutelage of new head trainer Derrick James. ‘AJ’ returns to the scene of his first World Title win over Charles Martin to face another American contender in Jermaine Franklin (21-1, 14 KOs). Saginaw’s ‘989 Assassin’ pushed Dillian Whyte all the way in a close points loss at Wembley’s OVO Arena last November and is relishing his shot against one of the biggest names in the sport.

NEW YORK – Dmitry Bivol isn’t obligated to fight Canelo Alvarez again in the light heavyweight division, let alone at the super middleweight limit of 168 pounds. Alvarez nevertheless hopes Bivol is open to moving down from the light heavyweight maximum of 175 pounds to 168, the division in which the Mexican icon is the undisputed champion. Promoter Eddie Hearn, who works with Alvarez, made it clear during a recent interview with BoxingScene.com, however, that Alvarez hasn’t issued any sort of ultimatum regarding the weight limit for a rematch Alvarez wants to take place in September.

NEW YORK – Alycia Baumgardner’s promoter mentioned four potential opponents for the fully unified 130-pound champion early Sunday morning before Mikaela Mayer’s name came up during a post-fight press conference. Eddie Hearn discussed Baumgardner boxing Hyun Mi Choi (20-0-1, 5 KOs), the WBA’s super featherweight champion in...

Famed NASCAR driver Kyle Busch has been sentenced to three-and-half-years in prison for gun possession without a license in Mexico, authorities there said late last week. It is not clear how, or if, that sentence will be assessed. According to a press release by Mexico’s Attorney General of the Republic...

Unlike most fighters who have found comfort in one particular weight class, Gervonta Davis is seemingly at home no matter where he fights. Initially, after stopping Jose Pedraza dead in his tracks in 2017 to claim the IBF super featherweight title, Davis (28-0, 26 KOs) has gone on to handle business at 135 pounds. But, on a whim, Davis made the bold move to 140 pounds in 2021, serving up a knockout victory against Mario Barrios while relieving him of his WBA "Regular" super lightweight title.

A lineup of talented fighters, including a former titleholder, Olympic bronze medalist, Pan American gold medalist and a highly touted prospect in his pro debut, will highlight a four-bout streaming presentation on the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Showtime Boxing Facebook page this Saturday, February 11 in a Premier Boxing Champions event from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

Dan Azeez is hoping his rearranged European title shot will land on the March 11 card headlined by his former opponent Lawrence Okolie. The British light-heavyweight champion was initially scheduled to face Frenchman Thomas Faure for the EBU belt on February 11 in London but a bout of flu scuppered those plans.

As previously reported, undefeated Australian star Tim Tszyu will take on former world champion Tony Harrison in a 12-round WBO interim-super welterweight world title fight, Sunday, March 12, at Qudos Bank Arena in his hometown of Sydney, Australia. Support from the NSW Government has enabled the high-profile return to Sydney...

UNBEATEN LIGHTWEIGHT BANGER Mark Chamberlain hopes that a shot at the British title could be on the cards by the end of the year. The 11-0 man from Waterlooville won the IBF European title last time out with a resounding points success over Marc Vidal at Wembley Arena last July and now, after recovering from a shoulder injury, he is set to go again when he co-headlines at York Hall on Friday February 17 with a defence against Vairo Lenti.

On March 11, The WBC’s No.1 ranked Light-Heavyweight contender Callum Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) returns home to face undefeated Pole Pawel Stepien (18-0-1, 12 KOs) at the M&S Bank Arena as he looks to secure a showdown with unified WBC, WBO and IBF ruler Artur Beterbiev later in the year.

Undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney is all-in on next facing Vasiliy Lomachenko, but he’s already sending preemptive strikes toward another opponent in a new division. Haney and Lomachenko should meet sometime this spring, and if Haney defends his 135-pound titles, he could move up to 140 pounds immediately after.

Lawrence ‘The Sauce’ Okolie has delivered a confident prediction ahead of his WBO world cruiserweight title defence against David Light on Saturday, March 25th at the AO Arena. The date and venue has officially been switched from what was previously advertised as Liverpool and now confirmed in Manchester...

Junior welterweight prospect Ernesto Mercado dropped Jose Angulo twice en route to a seventh round knockout victory Saturday night at the LumColor Center in Ontario, California. Mercado, who resides in nearby Pomona, improves to 9-0, 9 knockouts. The fight was fought at a tactical pace from the opening round as...

The super fight between Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis has been months in the making, but the final terms of their deal still have not been finalized. Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, who represents Garcia, and Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions, who represents Davis, are the power players behind the scenes brokering the Showtime pay-per-view event and 136-pound catchweight bout.

Two of Top Rank’s brightest young talents—lightweight prospect Emiliano Fernando Vargas and undefeated Dominican Olympian Rohan Polanco—are set to return on Saturday, April 1, at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa. Vargas, who is coming off a unanimous decision win against Francisco Duque last week, will face...

Ivana Habazin pulled off the first upset well ahead of her next title challenge. Charles Muniz, Habazin’s manager, secured control of his fighter’s WBC-ordered welterweight title fight versus lineal and unified champion Jessica McCaskill. A purse bid hearing held Tuesday by the WBC was won by Muniz’s privately owned Piranha 1 LLC company, who bid $201,000 to outpace Matchroom Boxing ($91,000) as the session’s only other participant.

IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk is urging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban Russia from the Olympic Games in Paris. Most recently, Usyk's countryman - Wladimir Klitschko - also stood firm on his position that the IOC preclude Russia from participating in the upcoming Olympics. Russian...

Martin Bakole has his sights set on huge heavyweight nights after he put pen to paper on a new long-term fight deal. Ranked at the top by the World Boxing Association (WBA), the 29-year-old heavyweight (18-1-0, 13 KOs)- who resides in Scotland - will fight exclusively for BOXXER on Sky Sports.