Jose Ramirez – Page 12 – Syndication Server

Josh Taylor on boxing’s new waiting game: ‘It’s really frustrating’

A frustrated Josh Taylor, whose career was soaring, must now wait with his boxing brethren for the opportunity to get back into the ring.

The titles are new. The contract is new. The trainer is new. It’s a brand new life for Josh Taylor, but it’ll have to wait a while. Coronavirus has put the world on hold, including the one that Taylor hopes to unify.

Taylor’s first title defense has fallen into a familiar category. His junior welterweight bout against challenger Apinun Khonsong, scheduled for May 2 in Glasgow, Scotland, has been postponed. But don’t make any plans. There’s no new date and there’s no idea when there might be one. Taylor must feel like he has a winning ticket, yet the lottery offices are closed and nobody knows when they’ll re-open.

“That’s the way it goes,’’ Taylor told his hometown newspaper, the Evening News in Edinburgh. “It’s completely out of my control, so it’s something you’ve just got to accept. Everything happens for a reason. So it might work out for the better when I fight him at a later date.’’

Taylor has been training in Las Vegas for his first fight since he added a second 140-pound belt with a decision over Regis Prograis on Oct. 26 in London. He signed with Top Rank after the dramatic victory. He left promoter Barry McGuigan and trainer Shane McGuigan in a controversial move. Then he hired Ben Davison, Tyson Fury’s former trainer.

It looked as if all the moves had been made. The table was set for an eventual bout against Jose Ramirez for all the pieces to the world’s 140-pound title. But the eventual end of coronavirus is nowhere in sight.

“We’ve never experienced this kind of situation before, so we’ve just got to sit tight and follow the guidelines,’’ Taylor said. “I’d been sitting watching all the boxing shows scheduled for the next month or two being postponed. So it wasn’t too much of a surprise when the call finally came through to tell me it was off.’’

Taylor, who got the news Tuesday, is hoping for a new date in July. Then again, so are a lot of other fighters.

“I’ve spent a lot of money on this training camp coming out to Vegas,’’ Taylor said. “… So it’s really frustrating. I’ve been in camp for quite a few weeks now, and although there is no alternative date yet, I would hope the fight could maybe be rescheduled for July or something like that.

“I’ll keep training in the gym and hopefully it’s not too long before I’m back in the ring.”

Only the waiting will get old.

Shakur Stevenson-Miguel Marriaga card will have no spectators

The card featuring Shakur Stevenson vs. Miguel Marriaga on Saturday in New York City will be conducted without fans in the stands.

The spread of coronavirus is having an increasingly significant effect on boxing.

The card featuring Shakur Stevenson’s featherweight title defense against Miguel Marriaga on Saturday will be conducted without fans in the stands at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, according to The Athletic.

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said the event “goes on without the public.”
Arum said a second card, featuring featherweight prospect Michael Conlan on Tuesday at Hulu Theater, also will not have spectators.

Multiple boxing cards have been canceled in Europe and Canada, according to reports. An Olympic qualifier involving American boxers was called off. And Top Rank already moved a card featuring 140-pound titleholder Jose Ramirez vs. Viktor Postol from China – where the virus originated – to Fresno, Ramirez’s hometown.

Of course, the pandemic has affected other sports worldwide. In the U.S., the NBA suspended it’s season “until further notice” after one player, Rudy Gobert, tested positive for coronavirus. And the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will be played without spectators.

Matchroom Boxing cancels second card in Italy over coronavirus

Matchroom canceled a card this week in Italy, the second cancellation in a country that has been hit hard by coronavirus.

The spreading coronavirus threat continues to impact boxing.

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn canceled a card this week in Italy, the second cancellation in a country that has been especially hit hard by the respiratory virus.

A March 27 card featuring European light-heavyweight champion Francesco Patera of Belgium against Italian Devis Boschero in Verona, in northern Italy, has been cancelled by Matchroom.

Last month, Matchroom canceled a card scheduled for Feb. 28 in Milan.

Matchroom said in a statement that it will try to re-schedule both cards, but it wasn’t clear whether it could.

“Given the unprecedented nature of this now global issue, we are unable to offer more clarity on new dates,” Matchroom said in a statement.

All sporting events have been banned in Italy until April 3. Boxing has been banned in Japan throughout March.

Top Rank formally announced Monday that the Jose Ramirez-Viktor Postol fight will happen May 9 in Fresno, California, Ramirez’s hometown. The junior welterweight title fight had been scheduled for Feb. 1 in China, where the virus originated. But it was cancelled about a week before the fight and subsequently moved.

Follow Norm Frauenheim on Twitter @FrauenheimNorm

Bob Arum: ‘I’m not interested in promoting a fight with Mikey Garcia’

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum has little enthusiasm for promoting Mikey Garcia, according to a recent interview…

Bob Arum likes Mikey Garcia the boxer. Not so much the businessman.

Garcia, fresh off of a victory over Jessie Vargas in a welterweight fight last Saturday, floated the idea of moving back down to 140 pounds, where alluring fights with the likes of titleholders Jose Ramirez and Josh Taylor might be made.

One problem: Arum, CEO of Top Rank, which promotes both Ramirez and Taylor, shot down the possibility of working with Garcia.

“I’m not interested in promoting a fight with Mikey Garcia,” Arum told FightHubTV. “It’s not that he isn’t a good fighter and it’s not that he isn’t a nice fellow. He is a nice fellow, but his financial demands are ludicrous.”

Arum used to promote Garcia, a four-division titleholder, before the two split over, well, money issues. A lengthy court battle ensued that prevented Garcia from entering the ring for 2½ years. Eventually, Garcia earned his release and linked up with Matchroom Boxing.

Arum has insisted that bygones are bygones with his former client. The two posed for pictures at a fight ringside not too long ago. But when it comes to doing business, it’s a nonstarter in Arum’s view.

“As far as I’m concerned Mikey Garcia should forget about [facing Top Rank’s 140-pounders], because the money Mikey Garcia wants is obscene, and he’s not worth it,” Arum said. “He can’t draw anything. Let him stay with Eddie Hearn, who will squander a ton of money on him.”

Hearn, the well-heeled British promoter who has an exclusive deal with the streaming service DAZN, promoted the Garcia-Vargas bout. DAZN’s priority is to establish a large subscriber base, and in order to do that, it has given Hearn the green light to pay more than all competitors for the rights to the top fighters. That’s fine, says Arum, but don’t expect the same commitment from him.

“I know what a fight can bring in,” Arum said. “I’m not in the position nor do I want to be in the position as Eddie Hearn was with DAZN squandering other people’s money, accomplishing nothing. That’s not my business.”

Josh Taylor vs. Apinum Khongsong set for May 2 in Scotland

Josh Taylor will defend his junior welterweight titles against Apinum Khongsong on May 2 at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland on ESPN+

The next chapter in Josh Taylor’s career will begin at home.

Taylor’s mandatory title defense against Apinum Khongsong will take place in Scotland on May 2 in his first bout since his surprising jump to Top Rank in early January, about 2½ months after his dramatic majority-decision victory over Regis Prograis for two pieces of the junior welterweight title.

Top Rank announced Thursday that Taylor (16-0, 12 KOs) will face Khongsong (16-0, 13 KOs), of Thailand, in at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow on ESPN+.

Taylor, who is from Edinburgh, will be fighting at the arena for a fifth time.

“I am super excited to kick-start the new year with a fresh start and with a new team,” said Taylor (16-0, 12 KOs), who won his first 140-pound belt in Glasgow by a unanimous decision over Ivan Baranchyk on May 18.

The Taylor announcement came on the same day that Prograis’ next bout against Maurice Hooker on April 17 was formally announced at a news conference. It might have been coincidence, but Taylor and Progais appear to be on track for a rematch in the busy junior welterweight division.

Jose Ramirez, who also holds two belts, faces Viktor Postol in a rescheduled bout on May 9 in Fresno, California, Ramirez’s hometown.

It’s still not clear who will train Taylor, who has been working with former Tyson Fury trainer Ben Davison and Adam Booth. Taylor split with Shane McGuigan when he left Barry McGuigan and Cyclone Promotions for Top Rank.

Japanese authorities cancel all boxing in March because of coronavirus

Japanese authorities have canceled all boxing cards through at least April 1 because of the coronavirus threat.

There will be no boxing in March in Japan because of the coronavirus threat.

The day after a card was postponed in northern Italy because of the spreading threat of a pandemic, the Japanese Boxing Commission and Japanese Professional Boxing Association announced in a joint statement Wednesday that they are “suspending all boxing during a one-month period, nationwide.’’

A card at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on Thursday will be the last boxing in Japan until at least April 1.

Fifteen cards were scheduled for March in Japan – nine in Tokyo, one in Osaka, one in Okayama, one in Fukuoka, one in Okinawa and two in Kariya in Aichi Prefecture.

The boxing decision came a day after International Olympic Committee Vice President Richard Pound sparked fears that the virus, a respiratory infection, could threaten the Tokyo Olympics.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Pound said that a decision would have to be made “two to three months” before opening ceremonies on July 24.

“You could certainly go to two months out if you had to,” Pound said. “By and large, you’re looking at a cancellation. This is the new war, and you have to face it. In and around there, folks are going to have to say: ‘Is this under sufficient control that we can be confident of going to Tokyo or not?’”

However, on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Japanese government said the IOC and those organizing the Games plan to stage them as planned. He said Pound can express his opinion but that it’s not the official view of the IOC.

On Tuesday, Matchroom Boxing announced that a card featuring a super-middleweight fight between Daniele Scardina (18-0, 14 KOs) and Andrew Francillette (21-2-1, 5 KOS) in Milan would be re-scheduled because of the virus.

Multiple deaths in Italy prompted authorities to place restrictions on public events in various regions, including Lombardy, where Milan is located. The Italian restrictions, which have forced postponements of soccer and rugby events, will last until March 1.

On Jan. 23, junior welterweight Jose Ramirez’s title defense against Viktor Postol on Feb.1 in Haikou, China, was canceled and then rescheduled for May 9 in Fresno, California, Ramirez’ hometown.

Regis Prograis to fight Maurice Hooker on April 17: report

Former junior welterweight titleholders Regis Prograis and Maurice Hooker will meet on April 17 in Oxon Hill, Maryland on DAZN.

The rebuilding process for Regis Prograis and Maurice Hooker reportedly will begin against one another.

The former junior welterweight titleholders, who lost their belts and the zeroes in their loss columns last year, will meet on April 17 at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on DAZN, according to BoxingScene.com.

Also on the card, Luke Campbell will face Javier Fortuna for a vacant lightweight title.

Prograis (24-1, 20 KOs) lost a close majority decision and his title to Josh Taylor on Oct. 26 in London. The New Orleans native was knocking on the door of pound-for-pound recognition going into that fight.

Hooker (27-1-3, 18 KOs) was less effective against Jose Ramirez on July 27 in Arlington, Texas, losing his title by a sixth-round TKO. The Dallas product rebounded with a first-round knockout of Uriel Perez in December.

Campbell (20-3, 16 KOs) is coming off a one-sided decision loss to lightweight titleholder and pound-for-pound king Vassiliy Lomachenko on Aug. 31 in London. He is from Hull, in northern England.

Fortuna (35-2-1, 24 KOs) has beaten Sharif Bogere (UD 10) and Jesus Cuellar (TKO 2) since he lost a split decision to then-lightweight titleholder Robert Easter in January 2018. Forunta is Dominican.

Matchroom card in Italy postponed because of coronavirus

A Matchroom Boxing card scheduled for Friday in Italy has been postponed, the second postponement within the last six weeks.

The coronavirus threat continues to impact boxing.

A Matchroom Boxing card scheduled for Friday in Italy has been postponed, the second postponement within the last six weeks.

Matchroom announced that a card featuring super middleweight Daniele Scardina (18-0, 14 KOs) in a defense of a secondary title against Frenchmen Andrew Francillette (21-2-1, 5 KOS) in Milan would be re-scheduled because of the virus, a respiratory infection.

The spreading virus has resulted in 11 deaths in Italy as of Tuesday evening, prompting Italian health authorities to place restrictions on public events in various regions. That includes Lombardy, where Milan is located. The Italian restrictions, which have forced postponements of soccer and rugby events, will last until March 1.

Junior welterweight Jose Ramirez’s title defense against Viktor Postol was scheduled for Feb.1 in Haikou, China, the country where the virus started. It was postponed on Jan. 23 and subsequently rescheduled for May 9 in Fresno, California, Ramirez’s hometown.

Jose Ramirez’s junior welterweight title defense against Viktor Postol has been rescheduled for May 9 in Fresno, ESPN reported Monday.

Jose Ramirez’s junior welterweight title defense against Viktor Postol has been rescheduled for May 9 in Fresno, California, ESPN reported Monday.

The fight had been scheduled for Feb. 1 in Haikou, China. But Top Rank was forced to move the bout out of China because of coronavirus, a respiratory infection that has led to 1,018 deaths, according to latest news reports.

Ramirez (25-0, 17 KOs) was scheduled to leave for China on Jan. 23, the day it was decided that the bout against Postol (31-2, 12 KOs), a challenger from the Ukraine, would have to be re-scheduled.

The mandatory bout for two of Ramirez’s 140-pound belts is now scheduled for the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Ramirez’s hometown, according to ESPN, which will televise the fight.

Josh Taylor: ‘I wasn’t happy’ with former handlers

Taylor said that he was simply doing what was best for his career when he decided to leave Cyclone Promotions and his trainer.

Junior welterweight titleholder Josh Taylor wants to move on from his from his former promoter and trainer, let bygones be bygones. But not before slipping in the final word.

The Scotsman recently signed a new pact with American outfit Top Rank, which didn’t go over well with longtime handlers Barry McGuigan of Cyclone Promotions and his son and trainer Shane. The elder McGuigan hinted at a possible lawsuit against his former client, while Taylor insists he was free to leave and that he was transparent.

Taylor (16-0 12 KOs) said in a recent interview that he regrets any hard feelings and that he was simply doing what was best for his career. With Top Rank, Taylor now has a major promotional force behind him and a clear line toward unifying junior welterweight titles against Jose Ramirez later this year. Also waiting in the wings at welterweight is a shot at Top Rank-promoted titleholder Terence Crawford.

At the same time, Taylor was quick to point out that he “just wasn’t happy” with Team McGuigan.

“There were a lot things behind the scenes that was going on that I wasn’t happy with for a long time,” Taylor told Boxing Social. “So I took it in my hands. I’m going to move management and promoter. … I’ve done that all the right way.”

Shane McGuigan recently expressed his disappointment in Taylor, saying “I’m annoyed that I’ve invested 4½ years of my time and energy in someone who just doesn’t deserve it.”

Taylor responded to his ex-trainer’s comments.

“I’m getting a lot of stick that I dumped Shane and all that,” Taylor continued. “He said he’s put in the time and the effort, and he has, but he’s been paid for that time and paid for that effort. It’s not as if he’s done that out of the goodness of his heart.

“[Shane McGuigan said] ‘You want loyalty? Buy a dog?’ I thought that comment was unfair. The whole time I was with him, I showed nothing but loyalty and commitment to them.”

Taylor added that he was particularly displeased with the way Shane McGuigan would leave him out of the loop when it came to training camps that involved the trainer’s other fighters, such as British lightweight contender Luke Campbell.

“They ran away to Miami before the (Ivan) Baranchyk fight, the whole team,” Taylor said. “They never asked me to go. You know, I’d love to have been over there. … Before the [Regis] Prograis fight, Luke had the fight in Philly and again they all went to Philly and never even asked me. Again, It was maybe 12 weeks out, but I could’ve been there in the background, staying out of everyone else’s way … and never even got to go. And they didn’t even have the decency to get me a gym key to get in — the (McGuigan) gym in London — so I had to go to other gyms to train. I just thought that was unfair.”

Still, Taylor expressed gratitude toward his former team.

“I just want to say thank you to them,” he said. “They got me great matches. Of course, I was thankful to them. I’d be an idiot or a spoiled brat if I wasn’t.”

Taylor is scheduled to face mandatory challenger Apinum Khongsong, in a bout that will be promoted by Khongsong’s promoter Sampson Lewkowicz. The date and place have yet to be determined.

Follow Sean Nam on Twitter at @seanpasbon

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