Night of Heavyweights on Saturday
Heavyweights take center stage Saturday night on FOX. The all-heavyweight telecast coming from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, features unbeaten WBA #3, IBF #3, WBO #3, WBC #4 Adam Kownacki (20-0, 15 KOs) against WBA #7 Robert Helenius (29-3, 18 KOs). The bout will be a twelve round WBA heavyweight title eliminator.
The co-feature is unbeaten 6’6 Efe Ajagba (12-0, 10 KOs) in a ten round bout against 6’7 Razvan Cojanu (17-6-1, 9 KOs. The TV opener is unbeaten Frank Sanchez (14-0, 11 KOs) steps against Joey Dawejko (29-7-4, 11 KOs) in another ten-rounder.
Speaking of heavyweights, Hughie Fury (23-3, 13 KOs), the cousin of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, meets Pavel Sour (11-2, 6 KOs) on DAZN.
Joshua-Pulev set for June 20
After long tedious negotiations, it was announced that unified WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) will defend against IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs) at the new 70,000-seat Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on June 20. The bout will air on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK, with a US carrier conspicuously absent. This will be ‘AJ’s’ first fight on UK soil in nearly two years.
Anthony Joshua: “On June 20, I am defending my heavyweight world titles. I’m back in my home city after some time away…the belts go back up in the air and nothing will stop me from being victorious.”
Kubrat Pulev: “I am happy to have the opportunity to show the world how strong I really am. Becoming a heavyweight world champion has always been my mission in life and on June 20 2020 I will fulfill my destiny!”
Whyte-Povetkin collide on May 2
WBC interim heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte (27-1, 18 KOs) will make the first defense of his title against Alexander Povetkin (35-2-1, 24 KOs) at Manchester Arena on May 2, live on Sky Sports Box Office. No U.S. carrier announced.
Whyte landed the WBC belt with a unanimous decision win over Oscar Rivas last July, then topped Mariusz Wach on the Ruiz-Joshua 2 undercard. The 40-year-old Povetkin, an Olympic gold medallist and former WBA world champion, proved that he’s still a force in 2019 with a win over Hughie Fury in August and a split decision draw with Michael Hunter.
Never let it be said that the Don isn't onto it. He MIGHT have a fight for Bryan after 18 months. Truth be told, Don King will live longer than Trevor Bryan's next fight:
Don King’s Last Gasp? The Trevor Bryan-Manuel Charr Fight
James Slater - March 3, 2020 1 Comment
Don King is 88 years old, he is semi-retired and has been for some time. While one-time bitter rival Bob Arum is still very much at the top of his game – promoting as he is the likes of pound-for-pound king Vasyl Lomachenko, Terence Crawford and upcoming heavyweight title challenger Kubrat Pulev – King has aged less well; his energies failing to keep up with those of the Top Rank boss.
A morbid question it might be, but who will outlive the other, Arum or King? Another question – will Arum once more get his hands on a significant piece of the world heavyweight crown before he’s done, or will King?
Pulev, Arum assures us, will beat Joshua on June 20th, knock him flat. Maybe. King is aiming, possibly, to get his hands on a far lesser version of the heavyweight belt: the version of the WBA strap currently held by Manuel Charr. King fighter Trevor Bryan holds yet another watered-down version of the WBA heavyweight belt, a version even less worthy than the one belonging to Charr. And King has won the purse bid to host Charr vs. Bryan.
Excited about this fight? Nah, of course, you’re not. But King, if this fight actually takes place (King bid $2 million to win the rights), might promote his last “big” fight. There was a time when King really was The Don, the man who worked his own unique magic and controlled the heavyweight championship as well as the division.
How the mighty have fallen. So brace yourself – the thriller in wherever between Bryan (inactive since August of 2018) and Charr (last seeing action back in November of 2017) might be a fight that goes down in footnote boxing history: that of Don King’s final fight.
How much longer will King stay with us before he passes? Will you miss him when he’s gone?
Say what you want about King, and love him or loathe him, you cannot deny the impact the former Cleveland numbers runner and prison convict made on the sport. Good, bad and ugly.
Kownacki , Helenius media workout
Heavyweights Adam Kownacki and Robert Helenius took part in a fight week media workout Wednesday at the world famous Gleason’s Gym before they meet in a WBA title eliminator headlining on FOX this Saturday from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Adam Kownacki: “Right now I’m just focused on Robert Helenius. It’s going to be a tough test and a tall test. I have to be ready to exact my game plan and pass the test…His jab is the main thing I’m focused on. If I can get past his jab, I think I’m going to have a lot of success. When I get inside, I’m going to punish him and If I get the chance, I’ll be ready to end the fight.”
Robert Helenius: “I’m going to stick and move and show off my boxing skills. We’ve been training to take advantage of the flaws in his defense and if the opportunity comes for the knockout, we’ll take it. We’ve trained hard to make sure I have the stamina to take advantage even if it’s the final round…every heavyweight hits hard, but I think that Adam is more about volume. I have to be ready for the knockout punch, but he’s more focused on breaking down an opponent and overwhelming them with punches.”
Also participating in the workout were heavyweights Efe Ajagba and Razvan Cojanu, who battle in the co-main event, plus rising heavyweight Frank Sanchez, who takes on Joey Dawejko to open the night of heavyweight action.
Efe Ajagba: “Every fight is good experience for me. I wasn’t happy with my performance in my last fight. I want to deliver the best that I can every time I fight.”
Razvan Cojanu: “This is heavyweight boxing, so nobody is invincible. People talk like Efe like he’s supernatural, but I saw his last six or seven fights, he’s a strong fighter, but I think that I’m going to give my best performance Saturday night.”
Frank Sanchez: “I feel like I’m ready for a world title fight right now. I can’t look past this fight though. This is a big platform for me and I know that I have to take care of business.”