Tag: The PBC Podcast

Bob Arum: Deontay Wilder wasn’t offered $10 million to step aside

Bob Arum said that Deontay Wilder wasn’t offered $10 million to step aside so Tyson Fury could go directly into a fight with Anthony Joshua.

One lingering rumor says that Deontay Wilder was offered $10 million to step aside as Tyson Fury’s next opponent so Fury could go directly into a fight with Anthony Joshua.

Not so, promoter Bob Arum told Ringside Reporter.

“Directly the contrary,” said Arum, who co-promotes Fury. “The Wilder people, when they saw these stories, made it known to us and MTK that Wilder was not amendable to step aside, that he wanted to fight Fury again and gain revenge. So these stories about step-aside were fantasies.”

Fury stopped Wilder in February, after which Wilder exercised a clause in their contract that allowed for a third fight between them. It was set for July 18 but later postponed because of the coronavirus threat.

Wilder also said on The PBC Podcast that he injured his biceps in the Fury fight and needed surgery. However, Arum said he was told by Wilder’s handlers that he could fight Fury as soon as October.

“I’ve been informed by the Wilder people that the original October date was acceptable and he could make a fight as early as that date,” Arum said. “So certainly November, December would be a no-brainer.”

Joshua’s scheduled next opponent, Kubrat Pulev, also indicated that he is unwilling to step aside.

Anthony Dirrell wants another shot at David Benavidez

Anthony Dirrell has realized his goal — becoming a world champion after beating cancer — but he says he has more to give in the ring.

Anthony Dirrell has already realized his goals.

The super middleweight contender wanted to bounce back from cancer and win a world title. He won two belts. So what keeps him motivated to continue fighting at 35, an age when many fighters have already walked away?

“I still love the game. When you still got it, you still got it. That’s basically how it is,” he said on The PBC Podcast.

Dirrell has another source of motivation: The result of his last fight.

He lost his 168-pound title to Benavidez in September when his corner stopped the fight because of a deep gash above his right eye, the result of a punch. Benavidez technically won by a ninth-round knockout.

Benavidez, the strapping 23-year-old from Phoenix, was leading on all three cards when the fight was stopped but Dirrell thought he gave a strong performance and felt strong when the fight ended prematurely.

He’d like another shot at Benavidez.

“You know I want a rematch,” he said. “I don’t think he’ll give it to me. … Why? Because he knows I was beating him. Truthfully, he knows I was beating him. He couldn’t do to me what he did to other fighters. I think it was because of my experience.

“Is the guy good? Yeah, he’s a good fighter. Everybody knows that. But I think I was beating him until that cut. But we’ll never know. A cut happens. You take the wins with the losses. Hopefully I’ll get another shot before I go out and show the world that I’m a true champion.”

PBC fighters to share experiences during pandemic and more

Premier Boxing Champions has announced that its boxers will share their experiences during the coronavirus pandemic and more in the coming days. The PBC social media and digital team will provide five opportunities per week for fans to see, hear and …

Premier Boxing Champions has announced that its boxers will share their experiences during the coronavirus pandemic and more in the coming days.

The PBC social media and digital team will provide five opportunities per week for fans to see, hear and even engage with the fighters about social distancing, boxing, their plans once the crisis subsides and other topics.

On “Time Out with Ray Flores,” which appears Mondays, the ring announcer hosts a 30-45-minute live-stream interview with a different fighter each week on the PBC Instagram page. Errol Spence Jr. appeared with Flores today (April 6).

On The PBC Podcast, hosts Kenneth Bouhairie and Michael Rosenthal ask PBC boxers about their lives during these difficult times and their thoughts on what might be coming up for them. Former two-division titleholder Danny Garcia and former three-division champion Abner Mares will be interviewed this week.

The Podcast is available each Wednesday on the PBC website, iTunes, Spotify, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spreaker and other outlets.

In the “At Home With …” series, each Wednesday and Friday, one fighter will take over the PBC Facebook page to host live “hangouts” from their homes. Fighters will share something topical and answer questions in a casual format. Middleweight titleholder Jermall Charlo will appear on Wednesday (April 8) at 4 p.m. ET. Jermell Charlo, a junior middleweight champion, will be featured on Friday (April 10) at the same time.

Each Thursday on the PBC YouTube page, in “Going the Distance”, select PBC fighters will provide commentary on one of their fights. Super middleweight titleholder Caleb Plant will break down his title fight against Jose Uzcategui on Thursday (April 9) at 4 p.m. ET.

And, finally, every Saturday night on “PBC Replay”, entire classic cards from the PBC library will be aired on the PBC YouTube page. The epic battle between Errol Spence Jr. and Shawn Porter will replay this Saturday (April 11) at 8 p.m. ET.

Guillermo Rigondeaux wants to move down again, win title at 115

Guillermo Rigondeaux wants to move down to 115 pounds and win a title there, according to his trainer, Ronnie Shields.

Guillermo Rigondeaux has two immediate goals at 39 years old.

One, the two-time Olympic champion wants to unify 118-pound titles after he moved down from 122 to outpoint Liborio Solis and win a vacant title last month. And two, believe it or not, he wants to move down to 115 to win a belt in that division. He certainly has no problems making 118 even though he fought at 128½ in his loss to Vassiliy Lomachenko.

Call him the incredible shrinking man.

“I put him on the scale even before the last fight,” Ronnie Shields, Rigondeaux’s trainer, said on The PBC Podcast. “He comes into the gym at 121 pounds. So three pounds is nothing. He actually wants to go down to 115 just to win a belt there just to say he did it … and then go back up to 118.

“I told him, at 39 years old, he’s doing the opposite of what everyone else in boxing is doing. Everybody else is going up to fight in different divisions; he’s going down.”

Rigondeaux (20-1, 13 KOs) has won three consecutive fights since Lomachenko forced him to retire after six rounds in December 2017, two by knockout and a split decision over Solis that most people believe should’ve been unanimous.

Shields considers the Lomachenko setback a blip.

“He never should’ve [fought] Lomachenko,” Shields said. “He was just way to small for him. … To put him in that fight was really ridiculous. The powers that be did it and he paid the consequences. At the same time, he came back and now he feels good.

“Even at 39, he’s capable of beating a lot of people out there.”

Especially if he doesn’t try fight like a slugger.

Rigondeaux surprised everyone by trading punches in a wild slugfest against Julio Ceja last June, winning by eighth-round knockout. And then, against Solis, he came out with a similar mindset in the opening round.

That didn’t sit well with Shields, who set him straight after the round. Rigondeaux responded by boxing the rest of the way.

“I tell him, ‘Look, you’re a pure boxer,’” Shields said. “That’s what you have to be. You can punch but, at the same time, defense works for you. Offense takes over everything. So after the first round, he came out and he finally started boxing, started getting his rhythm.

“He took 31 punches in the first round and then he took 33 punches in the other 11 rounds. And that’s the way it should be for a guy like him. … That’s the Rigo who won two gold medals and was the unified champion in the 122-pound division.”

Keith Thurman: Healing, hungry but in no hurry

Keith Thurman said his surgically repaired left hand is healing and he’s look forward to having a “terrific comeback year.”

Keith Thurman’s hand is healing and he’s looking forward to a successful 2020 – and beyond.

Thurman had bone-fusion surgery to treat arthritis in the joints of his left hand in September and was recently cleared to get back into ring, although it will be while before he hits anything with the repaired paw. He expects to fight again in the spring.

“I just got an updated x-ray and the doctor said all seems good,” Thurman said on The PBC Podcast. “I’m going to start increasing strength work and pretty soon I’ll be back in the ring. I’m looking forward to have a great 2020.”

The decision to have the surgery was a gradual process for Thurman, who had missed time earlier because of other injuries.

He was advised to have surgery before his majority-decision victory over Josesito Lopez in January of last year but decided to rely on cortisone rather than the knife because he didn’t want to miss more time.

He also fought with a tender hand in his split-decision loss to Manny Pacquiao in July. A few days later, he aggravated the hand playing Top Golf. It was then that he realized that he had to have surgery.

“I don’t know what I was thinking,” he said, referring to his misadventure while hitting golf balls. “I realized if you can’t play Top Golf, you ain’t fighting nobody else. You need to go ahead and get surgery, relax and accept everything that’s happened to you this year.

“… I had two doctors confirm to me that [surgery] would prolong my career. It’s bone fusion. When the bone heals, it normally heals stronger. So I’m hoping to go back to the original Keith Thurman, ‘One Time’ Thurman.”

When will he be able to hit something with his left?

“I’m waiting for the green light,” he said. “I could be touching the bags as soon as March. All I have to do is strengthen it from here on out. The fusion looks pretty complete.”

Thurman also said two things will be different going forward. One, after enduring the hand problems, he’s not going to rush anything. And, two, he is going to do a better job of controlling his weight between fights.

“I got five more years in this sport,” he said. “I want to be the original problem that I once was in the welterweight division. … I’m making weight. But how did I go about making weight? I had 11-week training camps. For the Josesito Lopez fight, I lost 35 pounds before January. I blew up to 182 pounds and then had to lose 35 pounds in 11 weeks for the Manny Pacquiao fight.

“One thing I learned going into 2020 is for Keith Thurman to be the best he can be. I can’t be 35 pounds overweight. … I gotta take the Bernard Hopkins approach and be ready at all times.”

Thurman also discussed potential opponents. He’d love a rematch with Pacquiao. Same goes for Danny Garcia. And he would be thrilled to take on the No. 1 147-pounder, Errol Spence Jr.

That said, he seems to be more focused on being 100 percent ready when an opportunity presents itself.

“I’m looking forward to having a terrific comeback year,” he said. “I know I belong at the top as champion of the world. So I have to go grab somebody’s belt.”

Errol Spence’s trainer: Terence Crawford has ‘poor technique’

Derrick James, Errol Spence Jr.’s trainer, believes his fighter would knock out Terence Crawford if they were to fight.

Derrick James, the trainer of Errol Spence Jr., hopes his fighter will face Terence Crawford one day. And he’s pretty sure he knows what will happen if it happens.

James was asked on The PBC Podcast how a Spence-Crawford fight would play out and he laughed.

“I’m going to say what Errol would say. He would say, ‘one-sided performance,’” James said. “… I think he’d knock him out.”

That doesn’t mean that James has no respect for Crawford, the three-division champion who some believe is the best fighter in the world. He does. He just qualifies his praise.

“Besides Manny Pacquiao and I say Claressa Shields now, [Crawford] is the most-decorated professional fighter right now,” said James, referring to Crawford’s collection of belts. “But I think the level of competition has not been there. So I think they’ve anointed him something he has not technically earned because he’s never fought quality, like top, top [opponents].

“I don’t think he has. You can say [Yuriorkis] Gamboa but that was like, what, 20 years ago? So I think it’s interesting.”

James went on. And he didn’t hold back.

“I think Terence Crawford is naturally an amazing athlete but he has very weak, poor fundamentals and poor technique,” he said. “It will come into play [in a fight with Spence]. … I think he’s a great fighter, very decorated. He’s won a lot of fights. He’d been great. We’ll just see.”

Meanwhile, James said Spence has been back in the gym for a few weeks after surviving a horrific car crash in October. And, James said, he looks like … well, Spence.

“It’s just like he hadn’t left,” said James, who doesn’t have Spence sparring yet. “… I’m watching him, looking for everything. If he’s reacting slower, if he’s not seeing punching coming. … He’s making all the right moves, doing everything correct.”

James doesn’t know when or who Spence might fight next. He leaves that up to the fighter and his management team. And he can’t say whether he believes Spence should take a tune-up fight or jump right into a major event, at least not yet.

“I want him to have what he wants,” he said. “We’re gauging him from this point on to see if that’s (a tune-up) something we would need or just go into something big. We’re gauging him. So we’ll know.”

One thing seems certain: Spence won’t be fighting Crawford soon. One day, though, Crawford is likely to get his chance to prove James wrong.