Pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford has vowed to make a statement against John Molina as he looks to be crowned the 2016 ‘Fighter of the Year’.
29-year-old Crawford clashes with the teak tough Molina this Saturday night, exclusively live on BoxNation, at the CenturyLink Center in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.
Unbeaten New Zealander has not yet fought Andy Ruiz Jnr, but the Kiwi’s promoter Dean Lonergan is already looking at what might come after the December 10 bout that will contest the vacant WBO heavyweight title. Speaking with Sky Sports, Lonergan said that while he expects Ruiz Jnr, also undefeated, to give his fighter “a pretty tough fight,” he fully believes Parker will “blast through David Haye in two or three rounds.”
Why is Lonergan thinking and talking about Haye – because the former WBA heavyweight champ is in line to have first crack at the winner of the Parker-Ruiz Jnr fight. Haye recently saw how a WBO ruling called for the Parker-Ruiz winner to make their first defence against him within 120 days of winning the belt. Lonergan says that as far as he is concerned, the Parker-Ruiz winner will fight Haye next.
“Ruiz has the fastest hands since Ali,” Hughie Fury ready to “take all these champions,” Scott is “a Bentley who can outbox Ortiz”
Today’s heavyweight division may be plenty muddled as far as the man on the street knowing who the world champion is goes (we could soon have as many as six champs, all of them holding a belt of some kind) – but there is no shortage of action.
It has been confirmed how the WBO has ordered unbeaten heavyweight contenders Andy Ruiz Jnr and Joseph Parker to fight for the vacant title, with the fight expected to be officially announced for New Zealand on December 10. This news came from Puerto Rico, where the WBO are currently holding their convention.
Top Rank boss Bob Arum says a deal is very close for his fighter, unbeaten Mexican/American Andy Ruiz Jr, to face unbeaten New Zealander Joseph Parker, for the soon to be vacant WBO heavyweight title. Arum, speaking on Radio Live, said there are a couple of things still to be worked out – the date, for example, with Arum preferring a January date over a December date – but he added he is “optimistic” the fight will get made.
“It’s gonna take place,” Arum stated. “We’re going to make a deal, I’m sure. The WBO, everybody’s agreed, will sign completely neutral officials. Hopefully we’ll have an announcement shortly. It makes sense – Parker and Ruiz are two top contenders and the WBO will have a great champion.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngs4cxJDvNA
Undefeated heavyweight Joseph Parker (21-0, 18 KOs) put on a punching display tonight in beating Ukrainian Alexander Dimitrenko (38-3, 25 KOs) by a 3rd round KO on Saturday night in front of a large crowd of boxing fans at the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau, New Zealand. Parker put the 34-year-old Dimitrenko down four times in the fight.
Joseph Parker (20-0–0) V Alexander Dimitrenko (40-38-2) round by round
Dimintrenko born in Crimea but domiciled in Germany is going to struggle to hear the spattering of his fans that have arrived at the Vodafone Events Centre to support him. Parker fighting a stones throw from his family home is supported accordingly, the place brimming with pro-Parker fans.
The heavyweight boxing landscape took a huge shift with the news that world champ Tyson Fury would be unable to fight for the foreseeable future due to mental health issues, and with Fury likely to be stripped of the belts he currently holds: the WBA and WBO titles, rival fighters are looking at getting their hands on them.
The latest news – subject to change, of course – tells us this: IBF champ Anthony Joshua will box in November; either against mandatory challenger Joseph Parker or former king Wladimir Klitschko. The WBO belt is expected to be declared vacant in the next ten days. The WBA will look into Fury’s position and make a decision forthwith.
Former British heavyweight champ David Price will continue his comeback under new trainer Dave Coldwell out in Germany, when the 33-year-old will box a six-rounder against a TBA on the Juergen Braehmer-Nathan Cleverly card on Saturday, October 1. After that, Price will appear on the under-card of Anthony Joshua’s November 26 IBF title defence (which could see AJ fight Wladimir Klitschko in what would of course be a huge fight).
The plan, Coldwell said in speaking with Sky Sports today, is for Price to get the tune-up done and dusted and then face unbeaten New Zealander, current IBF mandatory challenger Joseph Parker on the Joshua bill – with the aim being to beat Parker to earn a shot at AJ.
Neither fans of the heavyweight division, nor most of the fighting big men themselves, have had too much to get excited about this year. With world ruler Tyson Fury’s well documented problems having seen to it that he has not boxed at all in 2016 (and will not do so until 2017 at the earliest, if even then) it has fallen on the other heavyweight belt holders to entertain the fans.
But between them, WBC champ Deontay Wilder, “interim” WBA ruler Luis Ortiz and Lucas Browne, a brief holder of yet another version of the WBA belt, have had a less than great year themselves.