By William Holmes
The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of April 8th to April 15th, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.
Canelo vs. Lara Announced for July 12th
Erislandy Lara (19-1-2) has pulled out of his scheduled fight with Ishe Smith to take on Caleno Alvarez (43-1-1) on July 12th for a pay-per view bout. Lara had recently been calling out Canelo and to his credit Canelo has taken up that challenge. It will be a nontitle bout at 155 pounds and will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Both boxers have defeated top junior middleweights Alfredo Angulo and Austin Trout.
This should prove to be a much more competitive bout for Canelo than his last pay-per view bout against Alfredo Angulo.
Provodnikov vs. Algieri Announced for June
Ruslan Provodnikov’s search for a dance partner has ended, as it has been recently announced that his next opponent will be Chris Algieri. They will headline an HBO Boxing After Dark card at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Demetrius Andrade (20-0) will fight in the televised co-feature against Brian Rose (25-1-1).
The bout was initially scheduled to take place in Long Island’s Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York but has since been moved to the Barclays Center. Brandon Rios was discussed as a possible opponent for Provodnikov, but Rios’ perceived inability to make the junior welterweight limit forced Provodnikov’s camp to seek out different options.
Hopkins vs. Shumenov Weigh-In Open to the Public
On Saturday, April 19th Bernard Hopkins will be taking on Beibut Shumenov at the DC Armory in Washington D.C. The weigh-in will be open to the public and will be held at the Marriot Renaissance-Renaissance Ballroom West at 999 Ninth Street NW, Washington, DC 20001. The weigh-in doors will be opened at 12:00 p.m. and the weigh-in begins at 1:00 p.m.
Saunders European Title Challenge on Chisora vs. Fury Card
Middleweight Billy Joe Saunders has been given the starring role on the undercard of the heavyweight rematch between Dereck CHisora and Tyson Fury on Saturday, July 26th at the Phones 4 U Arena in Manchester.
He will be taking on unbeaten Italian Emanuel Blandamura with the vacant European Title on the line. “I’m going to do a real good job and smash Blandamura up to win the European title,” said Saundres. “He’s standing in the way of my dreams of completing the three big belts before I go for the world title and I’m not going to let him do that.”
Undercard Announced for Iron Mike Productions April 18th Card
Sensational 18-year-old welterweight prospect Erickson “The Hammer” Lubin (4-0, 4 KOs) and 2004 Olympic silver medalist Yudel Jhonson (14-1, 9 KOs) will provide chief support this Friday evening, April 18, in separate bouts on “Pittsburgh Power,” presented by Iron Mike Productions (IMP), at Monroeville Convention Center in Monroeville, Pa.
Three of IMP’s most highly regarded unbeaten fighters will be showcased in a live tripleheader airing on ShoBox: The New Generation (SHOWTIME, 10:45 ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).
Explosive Cuban southpaw Alexei “The Hurricane” Collado (18-0, 16 KOs), of Miami, Fla., by way Cork, Ireland, and Havana, Cuba, faces Pittsburgh-area crowd favorite “Lightning” Rod Salka (18-3, 3 KOs), of Bunola, Pa., in the 10-round main event for the vacant WBC Interim FECARBOX title.
Slick southpaw and 2008 Olympic gold medalist Felix Diaz (14-0, 8 KOs), of Oxnard, Calif., by way of Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic meets Emmanuel Lartey (15-1-1, 7 KOs), of Brooklyn by way of Ghana, in an eight-round co-feature for the vacant WBC FECARBOX welterweight championship.
Local favorite and Iraq War veteran Sammy Vasquez, Jr. (13-0, 9 KOs), of Monesson, Pa., makes his IMP debut against fellow unbeaten Juan “The Beast” Rodriguez, Jr. (11-0, 5 KOs), of Union City, N.J., in an eight-round welterweight bout opening the broadcast
More information can be found at www.ironmikeproductions.com
Lemieux vs. Guerrero to Serve as Co-Feature for Stevenson vs. Fonfara
The co-feature for Stevenson vs. Fonfara, on May 24th at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada has been announced to be David Lemieux (31-2) vs. Fernando Guerrero (26-2) for the vacant NABF Title. Lemiuex is currently riding a six fight win streak coming into his fight with the former world title challenger Guerrero. Artur Beterbiev (4-0) is also scheduled to take on Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy (26-4) and unbeated welterweight Mikael Zewski (23-0) will also be on the card against Prince “Too Hot” Doku Jr. (18-5).
Masternak Dominates in Denmark
Mateusz Masternark (32-1) put on a dominant display in Esbjerg, Denmark on Saturday night to earn a unanimous decision victory over Stjepan Vugdelija (8-3). Masternark dominated all eight rounds and won easily on the scorecards with scores of 80-72, 80-72, and 80-70.
Dawejko vs. Rideout Added to May 16th Card
Heavyweights Joey Dawejko and Mark Rideout will meet over eight rounds in an all Philadelphia match on Friday, May 16th at the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia. Dawejko has recently served as a sparring partner for Wladimir KLitschko, who is defending his heavyweight championship belts against Alex Leapai. Topping this card will be an eight round bout between undefeated junior welterweight prospects Naim Nelson, of Philadelphia, and Jerome Rodriguez, of Trenton, New Jersey.
This card is being promoted by Peltz Boxing and BAM Boxing in association with Sugar House Casino. Tickets can be purchased online at www.peltzboxing.com
Train with Mia St John
Boxing fans only have a few days left to bid for the chance to train with World Champion Boxer and model Mia “The Knockout” St. John, part of a CharityBuzz auction benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
https://www.charitybuzz.com/catalog_items/498509
This auction was donated by World Boxing Council and WBC World Boxing Cares with all proceeds going to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, which supports more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations across the country. More information at broadwaycares.org.
