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Jai Opetaia is two weeks removed from his latest assignment – another stoppage win – dismissing former sparring partner David Nyika in four rounds to retain his IBF/Ring Magazine titles after original opponent Huseyin Cinkara withdrew through injury. There was to be no fairytale story, though Opetaia still fancies unifying a cruiserweight division with movement aplenty at the top. Continue reading “Opetaia: Whether boxing or navigating politics, you’ve always got to adapt”
Tomorrow night should see Jai Opetaia make the third defence of his IBF world cruiserweight title. Instead, it’s for a vacant belt in a rematch against the man who inflicted a double jaw break against him, less than two full years ago. Having made light work of two Brits in-between, the Aussie is on a mission to unify the cruiserweight division – and disrespect has fuelled that intensity. Continue reading “Disrespected, denied but stronger for the experience: Jai Opetaia is going nowhere”
With less than 24 hours until the Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou card gets underway in Riyadh, multiple boxing personnel – from boxers on the card to promoters and invested spectators – spoke with me for exclusive interviews over the course of Friday’s festivities, from the afternoon weigh-in to an evening gala dinner hours later. Click below to see what they said, on multiple topics. Continue reading “Fury-Ngannou: Oleksandr Usyk, Badou Jack among several interviewed the night before Saudi showdown in Riyadh”
10 days after he shook off the cobwebs in a drab-but-dominant world title defence against mandatory challenger David Light, WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie was surveying the scene in a Marylebone hotel. Why? A quick turnaround awaits in a tough ask on enemy soil down the south Coast, against friend Chris Billam-Smith and former trainer Shane McGuigan.
Continue reading “Lawrence Okolie vs. Chris Billam-Smith: World champion enters the lion’s den – against a friend – on May 27”
Unbeaten mandatory challenger Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez will face WBA champion Dmitry Bivol next, so it seems. Joshua Buatsi, whose world title ambitions were solidified after beating Craig Richards, agreed to enter talks for a sanctioned IBF final eliminator against Jean Pascal for one of the three light-heavyweight titles currently owned by Bivol’s compatriot Artur Beterbiev.
Continue reading “Buatsi, Pascal agree IBF invitation to enter talks for final LHW title eliminator bout”
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