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4 days ago | 
badlefthook.com | Patrick L. Stumberg
Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images FinalizeTurki Alalshikh tells The Ringthat his team is “close to finalizing” a December 27th showdown between undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue and WBC mandatory challenger Alan Picasso, which would headline a card themed around Japanese fighters facing Mexican/Mexican-American foes. There are obviously still a few hurdles left to clear.
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1 week ago | 
badlefthook.com | Patrick L. Stumberg
Most Valuable Promotions announced today that flyweights Yankiel Rivera and Angelino Cordova will meet for the incredibly superfluous interim WBA title in the main event of an August 23rd card in Orlando. Rivera (7-0, 3 KO) served as Puerto Rico’s lone boxer at the Tokyo Olympics, falling in the opening round to eventual silver medalist Saken Bibossinov.
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1 week ago | 
badlefthook.com | Patrick L. Stumberg
Photo by Alex Menendez/Getty Images Adam Booth, trainer of IBF no. 3 super welterweight Josh Kelly, recently told Sky Sports that he’d had “a couple of conversations” with promoter Kathy Duva about pitting Kelly against reigning champion Bakhram Murtazaliev. Now, Lance Pugmire reports that the bout could join Canelo Alvarez’s September 13th clash with Terence Crawford in Las Vegas.
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1 week ago | 
badlefthook.com | Patrick L. Stumberg
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images Three weeks after the post-fight drug test for his rematch victory over Bruno Surace revealed traces of exogenous testosterone, Jaime Munguia’s B-sample likewise came back positive, teeing him up for punishment from the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC). Munguia’s (45-2, 35 KO) team maintains his innocence, blaming the result on accidental ingestion.
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2 weeks ago | 
badlefthook.com | Patrick L. Stumberg
Photo by Peter Kneffel/picture alliance via Getty Images The WBC posted its monthly “Champions Status” report yesterday, laying out its slate of upcoming title bouts. Among the new tidbits:Whoever wins the July 27th interim super middleweight title bout between Christian Mbilli and Maciej Sulecki must make “two mandatory defenses,” one of them ostensibly against the winner of Hamzah Sheeraz vs Edgar Berlanga. Canelo, the actual champion, apparently does not.
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2 weeks ago | 
sports.yahoo.com | Patrick L. Stumberg
The WBC posted its monthly “Champions Status” report yesterday, laying out its slate of upcoming title bouts. Among the new tidbits:Whoever wins the July 27th interim super middleweight title bout between Christian Mbilli and Maciej Sulecki must make “two mandatory defenses,” one of them ostensibly against the winner of Hamzah Sheeraz vs Edgar Berlanga. Canelo, the actual champion, apparently does not.
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2 weeks ago | 
badlefthook.com | Patrick L. Stumberg
As revealed over the weekend, Moses Itauma will face Dillian Whyte in the main event of an August 16th Riyadh show that accompanies the Esports World Cup. Itauma (12-0, 10 KO) is the heavyweight division’s top prospect at just 20 years of age, demolishing his last eight opponents in under two rounds apiece.
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2 weeks ago | 
badlefthook.com | Patrick L. Stumberg
Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images As expected, the WBO has officially ordered top-ranked lightweight contenders Sam Noakes and Abdullah Mason to meet for their vacant lightweight title, which Keyshawn Davis lost on the scales ahead of last weekend’s ultimately canceled defense against Edwin De Los Santos. The two have 20 days to negotiate and avoid a purse bid, which is doable on paper.
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2 weeks ago | 
sports.yahoo.com | Patrick L. Stumberg
As expected, the WBO has officially ordered top-ranked lightweight contenders Sam Noakes and Abdullah Mason to meet for their vacant lightweight title, which Keyshawn Davis lost on the scales ahead of last weekend’s ultimately canceled defense against Edwin De Los Santos. The two have 20 days to negotiate and avoid a purse bid, which is doable on paper. Queensberry and Top Rank are regular collaborators, so it really just boils down to whether they’re willing to risk their prize prospects.
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2 weeks ago | 
badlefthook.com | Patrick L. Stumberg
WBA interim super featherweight champion Albert Batyrgaziev will defend his title against veteran Jazza Dickens in the main event of a July 2nd IBA show in Istanbul, which will most likely air on the IBA’s YouTube page. This is a situation that does actually merit an interim bout, as full champion Lamont Roach Jr is slated to rematch Gervonta “Tank” Davis later this summer.
