The Undisputed

On Friday night (July 26) the flame will be lit in Paris for the 33^rd Olympic Games. This, the second time in the last 100 years that the ‘City of Light’ will host the modern Games.

It also held them in 1900.

Amongst the plethora of sports (some new), boxing can hold its own. Despite the repeated attempts to demonise it and remove from the Olympic programme, on the excuse of mismanagement and corruption, it has prevailed for this latest edition. Quite simply, many aspects of the sport in today’s modern “pillow” society are deemed unacceptable. Professional boxing does, at times, little to help its own cause.

Olympic exposure of boxing and success is critical to the sport to keep it relevant. It has provided many of the iconic moments and helped define some of the Games held in the last hundred years. Sportsman and personalities have emerged who are unequalled in other sports.

‘The Greatest’, Muhammad Ali, immediately springs to mind. A man who was front stage in the US civil rights movement of the mid/late 1960’s and refused to bow to his inclusion in his countries involvement in Vietnam at the time.

Back in Rome 1960, Ali, (then Cassius Marcellus Clay), won heavyweight gold in the Olympic Games.  He was quickly followed in successive Games by Joe Frazier and George Foreman, who later became boxing and sporting legends.

Fast forward to 1972 and Cuban hero Teofilo Stevenson won the first of his three successive Olympic heavyweight golds in Munich. Quickly followed by Montreal success in 1976, when Stevenson was arguably at his peak. The boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games by the USA over the Russian invasion of Afghanistan only served to confirm the inevitable third gold medal result. Stevenson was that good !

Other Olympic champions who have become hall-of-fame fighters include ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard (Montreal 1976 light-welterweight champion), ‘Golden Boy’ Oscar De La Hoya (Barcelona 1992 lightweight champion), Vasily Lomachenko (double champion in 2008 & 2012), Lennox Lewis (super-heavyweight champion in Seoul 1988) and Oleksandr Usyk (heavyweight gold in London 2012).

Noted medallists include Floyd Mayweather (bronze in Atlanta 1996), Evander Holyfield (bronze in Los Angeles 1984), Roy Jones Jnr. (controversially only silver in Seoul) and a young Amir Khan (silver in Athens 2004).

The Olympic boxing relationship goes back as far as Lazlo Papp; a Hungarian and the first boxer to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals culminating in Melbourne 1956. Also former professional heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson (middleweight gold in Helsinki 1952), right up to Wladimir Klitschko (super-heavyweight gold in Atlanta 1996) and so on.

Britain’s Anthony Joshua triumphed in London 2012 as a super-heavyweight and, is now potentially a professional three-time world heavyweight champion and soon to possibly take part in the biggest grossing fight in heavyweight history, if, and when, he finally meets Tyson Fury.

The Olympics, though not a guarantee of future success, has provided the grounding for much professional boxing achievement, its personalities, and, in a way on the flip side, been an iconic element of the modern Games. Think of George Foreman waving the US ‘stars and stripes’ in Mexico City 1968 at the height of the civil rights movement and Vietnam War, and, Muhammad Ali memorably lighting the Olympic flame in Atlanta 1996.

The threat of its omission from future Games is a concern, but let us cherish the competition over the sixteen days of competition for those coveted Olympic medals.

Team GB take six boxers across both sexes to the Paris Games, including Birmingham’s Commonwealth champion, Delicious Orie, who aims to strike Olympic gold in the super-heavyweight division. We wish them all success.

For us observers, enjoy the show.

The art world, at times, can be a selective and fickle thing.

I hesitate to use the word ‘snobbish’, but there it is.  Boxing is not one of its friends or normal go-to’s. This, despite us fondly referring to our sport as the ‘Noble Art’.  

However, as they say “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.

For this reason, the amazing art collection of German lawyer Ingo Wegerich is not the typical art collection. All Ingo wishes to do is to share the viewing joy of his collection with other boxing aficionados and fans alike. Ingo is a true boxing and art lover and I was lucky to view some of his amazing collection last week.

What drew me to it was the excellent feature article by Tom Gray in the Nov/Dec 2022 edition of The Ring magazine and knowing I was somewhere in the vicinity of Ingo’s collection. I won’t attempt a re-write of Tom’s article, but aptly titled ‘Champions on the Canvas’, it’s worth checking out. Go to their website www.ringtv.com to view the digital or order a printed copy.

It’s fair to say that Ingo has spent a bit of money on compiling the definitive collection of boxing art which includes originals shown on the covers of The Ring magazine from the 1930’s through to the present day. Legendary champions such as Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson are featured. One of Ingo’s personal favourites, given his nationality, is German great Max Schmeling featured on the October 1936 cover of The Ring.

His collection goes right up to today and includes some originals painted by renowned British fight artist Richard T. Slone. Richard’s works are in high demand and often associated with high profile events, including big boxing matches. Visit his website www.sloneart.com .

His paintings are also exhibited at the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHoF) and adorn the cover of their programme for induction weekends in early June each year.

Ingo also has in his collection some originals from famous artist LeRoy Neiman, who in his own unique style did artworks on the most iconic Muhammad Ali fights and many from his training camps in quieter moments. Neiman was the doyen of boxing art in the late 1960’s through to 1980’s.

To further publicise and connect with fans alike, Ingo plans to launch a newsletter to share the joy.

Here you can subscribe to the newsletter:

Newsletter

After a quality few hours chatting boxing with Ingo I was then privileged to view some of his collection which was staggering. Me, as a long time reader and subscriber to The Ring , and self-confessed boxing ‘nut’, it was amazing to look at the inspiration and original material to boxing covers and posters I came to love over the years.

We parted with my asking the origin of Ingo’s forename, as him being a boxing fan, and my making a mimic ‘Bingo’ punch known of former 1960’s world heavyweight champion Ingemar Johannson. It drew his smile.

Check out Ingo Wegerich’s collection when you can. It’s a must-see:

Welcome

Or become a follower with 80,000 others on Instagram… @wegerichfineart

Bournemouth, England’s Chris Billam-Smith even exceeded our expectations with a comfortable unanimous points victory against London’s Richard Riakporhe at Crystal Palace association football stadium on Saturday (June 15).

Through an excellent display of ring generalship, pressure and shot selection he kept the previously undefeated puncher Riakporhe from detonating his heavy shots, which in recent contests had blown away most of his opponents. He was never able to land with full impact on the champion’s chin.

In a fairly even contest in the opening rounds, by round eight the die had been cast and future fight pattern established. The more compact Billam-Smith had narrowly gained most of the early rounds by systematic pressure and landing the more solid shots. Carefully being close enough to the tall and rangy Riakporhe and not allowing him the distance he needed to get maximum leverage and impact on his punches. If ever there was a way to fight a man with a longer reach and good jab this was exhibited on the night.

Most surprising was the difference in engine of the two fighters; with the challenger visibly blowing and gulping between rounds compared to the apparently fresher champion, who although with the more facial damage, was the more comfortable with the fight pace and, clearly the way it was going.

The final scores were inevitable with 116-111, 115-112, 115-112 in favour of the Bournemouth man. There was a view that they could have been even wider.

Billam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs) made the second successful defence of his WBO middleweight title and is now vying for unification fights to cement his status as the 14st, 4lbs/200lbs world supremo. Lucrative chances await against Australia’s Jai Opetaia (25-0, 19 KOs), The Ring magazine champion and thus rightly considered the dominant cruiserweight. Also possibly for Billam-Smith an outing stateside against Gilberto Ramirez (46-1, 30 KOs). In the post-fight interview on Saturday it would seem Las Vegas is his preferred destination. Any why not ? He would certainly take a fanbase of Brits and he enhanced his ringside persona as ‘The Gentleman’.

‘The Midnight Train’ Riakporhe (17-1, 13 KOs) is now licking his wounds after taking a reversal from his previous victory over Billam-Smith five years ago. This is an undoubted setback but his record and quality is such that he can come again. The aura of invincibility is though no more.

Chief support on the undercard saw Ben Whittaker (7-0, 5 KOs) show his usual quality and showboating, but had to tough out a unanimous points, albeit shutout victory, against previously undefeated Nigerian Ezra Arenyeka (12-1, 10 KOs). ‘The Surgeon’ Whittaker will go onto bigger things and paydays for sure. As he improves his opposition he will likely be forced to eliminate a lot of the showboating, but that makes him box office for now.

British boxing is hoping for a continued bright future for the Wolverhampton man as he steps up in class. Saturday night though in SW London was Billam-Smith’s night.

Crystal Palace’s association football stadium in south west London is the scene for this weekend’s big ‘world’ title fight on Saturday night (15 June).

It pits Britain’s WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith against top 14st, 4lb/200lbs contender Richard Riakporhe, who’s effectively the ‘home fighter’ as a proclaimed Crystal Palace FC supporter.

Billam-Smith conversely, is a self confessed football fanatic and follower of Bournemouth FC, who also currently reside in the English Premier League.

As a result, a sell-out is assured, held in the open air, and will have the rabid atmosphere of a top football match. The BOXXER promoted event will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and the NBC Peacock channel in the USA. It’s also available on TalkSport radio in the UK.

This is a rematch of a July 2019 encounter which Riakporhe narrowly won by split decision on points. The defining moment in their first fight was Billam-Smith being knocked down in the seventh and a 10-8 round being registered in Riakporhe’s favour. That proved the difference.

Billam-Smith, now age 33, subsequently recovered his career and went onto win the WBO title by defeating another Briton Lawrence Okolie in Bournemouth last summer. Okolie has gone on to win a ‘world’ title in a higher weight class, so that gives Billam-Smith’s win even more credibility.

Billam-Smith (19-1, 13 KOs), known as ‘The Gentlemen’, is a model professional with charisma and a strong fanbase. His combative style and reckless abandonment of any defensive tendencies is a good watch, making him box office. This style does though lead to him being prone to cuts.

The 34 year old, more rangy Riakporhe (17-0, 13 KOs), is a big puncher who works off a good strong jab. With the moniker of ‘Midnight Train’ he’s improved with every fight as he’s stepped up in class since the two Brits first met.

We expect a toe-to-toe contest, mainly because the champion doesn’t know any other way to fight. Despite being trained by respected Shane McGuigan, the Bournemouth man is never elusive. He should know from the first contest that Riakporhe can punch, but will be buoyed by a new found ‘champions’ confidence and with his passionate vocal support he won’t resist a ‘tear up’. That may be his downfall.

Riakporhe will be equally backed by his Crystal Palace FC faithful. Despite his knockout record he does have flaws and, his waiting in line for a ‘world’ title shot, may have had one of two effects; either frustration or a complacency.

Both fighters are always in top shape so we expect a war of attrition and both to compete well into the championship rounds. Knockdowns and possibly cuts are expected.

It’s unlikely that Billam-Smith has the power to stop his challenger but he could outwork him down the stretch, as he did against Okolie in winning the title.

Riakporhe will start strongly looking for the KO blow, but the longer the fight goes on the more he will be frustrated. The smart money is on a Riakporhe victory by knockout, but we expect the champion to find a way to retain his title, likely on points.

The event will also feature Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Ben Whittaker (7-0, 5 KOs) who is rising fast in the light-heavyweight (12st, 7lb/175 lbs) division. His potential is unlimited and we expect him to come through in style Saturday night. He’s unlikely to steal the show but will again be a good watch. Enjoy !

On an unforgettable day like today when thoughts across Europe and in Allied countries are on the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings on the Normandy coast of France, starting the “beginning of the end” of World War II, let us consider boxing’s role in the bigger conflict. In particular that of the boxers who served and the many who sadly lost their lives.

The images above, courtesy of The Ring magazine, show how World War II (WWII) influenced its participants and its readers’ state of mind over the six years of conflict (1939-45) in Europe. Ultimately solidified with the 1941-45 US involvement after the surprise Imperial Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941. Immediately fighters and the world united in opposition to the Nazi brutality occurring across Europe and by their Japanese counterparts in the Far East.

The images above are from the May 1941 edition (after Pearl Harbor). The former, then-retired, heavyweight champion of the world Gene Tunney was centre stage after his enrolment in the US Naval Defence Force, previously serving in their Marines, which he cited for his earlier boxing education. Among boxers, he was not unique at those times.

He was joined by such notables as the reigning heavyweight champion of the world Joe Louis who combined his ring career of title defences by performing boxing exhibitions across the US to servicemen. It was only as the war effort and hostilities deepened in 1943 that he failed to make a boxing world title defence.

He was much loved for his patriotism through life and, on death, one of his lasting epitaphs was that “He was a credit to his race, the human race”.

In 1942 alone, the ‘Brown Bomber’ is on record as donating $65,200 and $45,882 of his purse for two separate title defences to the Naval and Army Relief Fund respectively. No truer is his patriotism exhibited and, in many American eyes, this contrasts sharply with Muhammad Ali’s refusal to step forward on being drafted to Vietnam in the late 1960’s.

Louis was undeniably an American hero throughout life and remains so in death. Whenever this writer goes to Caesar’s Palace hotel and casino in Las Vegas, a photograph alongside the larger than life marble statue of the ‘Brown Bomber’ is a must do.

Other legendary boxers who put their careers on hold during WWII and entered the armed services whilst in their heyday included future world lightweight hall-of-famers Barney Ross and Beau Jack, along with light-heavyweight Billy Conn. All were featured on the cover of The Ring in the war years wearing military uniform, along with senior military personnel. The Allied Forces Supreme Commander Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower appeared on the cover in February 1944.

The previously stated fighters were joined by reigning world lightweight champion Lew Jenkins who re-joined the US cavalry and, in Britain, light-heavyweight champion Len Harvey who re-entered the Royal Navy. There were many other examples across all weight classes and with varying fistic abilities. It was all hands to the pump literally.

The sport in Britain was effectively put on hold for four years with other matters of national security and understandably the saving of lives taking priority.

Another notable military participant was the, then recently retired, three-weight world champion, Henry Armstrong who represented the US Army. ‘Homicide Hank’s’ face adorned many covers of The Ring at that time and was held in even higher esteem.

On the German side former world heavyweight champion Max Schmeling was considered the oppressor supreme. This despite him never notably defending or supporting the action of the Nazi’s. His defeat to Joe Louis in the June 1938 rematch was widely considered a victory for the ‘freeworld’ and for all that was deemed ‘right’. At the time with war on the horizon Louis dared not lose, and he delivered emphatically KO’ing his rival.

Over the WWII years the covers of the esteemed Ring magazine would show images and sketches of fighters monthly in military uniform and adverts for Defence & War Bonds/Stamps would be a common feature. Inside, as in the right hand image above, there was an invitation for readers to subscribe on behalf and in the name of a serving soldier or sailor. Definitely it was an unprecedented time, in a thankfully to date not replicated era.

This went on for the whole four years that the US was involved and it was the D-Day landings that started the snowballing effect that eventually ended hostilities.

Only on the German and Japanese surrender in 1945 did military hostilities start to cease and those boxers return to the ring. The aforementioned fighters were revered for evermore for their patriotism and participation. The boxers who sadly lost their lives during the six years of conflict can never be listed in full, but their bravery, as previously exhibited within the ring, can never be doubted.

Boxing ultimately played a large part in the war effort and Allied victory by virtue of the bravery, high profile and morale raising potential of the individuals concerned. Also, by the values of discipline, fitness and dedication installed in fighters from an early age, which easily transferred across to military conflict, in the hours and years of need.

As followers of the sport of boxing and, especially today after 80 years, we should all be proud of that.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) hosted another fantastic night of boxing from Riyadh on Saturday.

There were potential fights of the year, heavy knockdowns, new world champions and young stars in the making. In the much hyped and promoted 5 versus 5 between rival British promoters Queensberry and Matchroom Boxing, the victory of the former was an emphatic 10-0.

Frank Warren who heads up Queensberry was jubilant and if the wager was for the loser to serve tea in their rival promoter’s office for a day, then Matchroom staff will enjoy that (not) !

The big boxing attraction though was headed by quality fights throughout. Sadly, only available on TNT Sports and DAZN pay-per-view (or Box Office if you prefer), it was bankrolled and hosted by the KSA for the significant riches on offer. Good for the boxers, but yet another hit to subscribers pockets. That’s the price of boxing now unfortunately !

In the ring, biggest achievement and headline goes to Liverpool, England’s Nick Ball (20-0-1, 11 KOs) who won the WBA ‘world’ featherweight title via split decision against talented and game American Raymond Ford (15-1-1, 8 KO’s). It was an absolutely quality contest, with both fighters giving their all, and sits well with any world title meetings in the 9st/126lbs division of yesteryear.

In an action packed contest Ball’s aggression and relentless industry won him the fight by scores of 115-113 on all three scorecards. The Liverpudlian was was unlucky to receive only a draw against Mexican WBC champion Rey Vargas in March 2024 and on Saturday took his second ‘world’ title chance with both hands. He will now look to unify some of the titles.

Southpaw Ford was coming off a last minute knockout victory in March to retain his WBA title but couldn’t cope with Ball’s workrate and accuracy.

Most high profile on the card was Chinese giant Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs) who destroyed former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) inside five rounds, likely sending the American into retirement. Zhang who is enormous, weighing in around 5 stones (70lbs) heavier than his opponent, but is highly skilled and heavy handed, can now look forward to a shot at the world heavyweight title. He may have to join the queue though with a Usyk-Fury rematch scheduled for December.

Young Briton, Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs), spectacularly halted previously undefeated Croatian Filip Hrgovic (17-1, 14 KOs) after 0:57 of round eight, with the referee waving it off with Hrgovic rocked and badly cut around both eyes. This was a ding-dong contest throughout with both fighters having success through the completed rounds. Dubois’ youth and industry ultimately prevailed.

In victory Dubois took Hrgovic’s mandatory IBF status and the so called IBF ‘interim’ title to current undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.

Russian Dmitry Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs), scored his first knockout in six years stopping Libya’s Malik Zinad (22-1, 16 KOs) for the former’s WBA light-heavyweight (12st, 7lbs/175lbs) title. The end came at 2:06 of round six.

Bivol is holding out for a ‘mega’ unification fight with his compatriot Artur Beterbiev, which has been postponed due to Beterbiev sustaining an injury during camp. Bivol, a victor over Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is looking the ‘real deal’.

At middleweight (11st, 6lbs/160lbs) bright British prospect Hamzah Sheeraz (20-0, 16 KOs) dominated and stopped world rated American Austin Williams (16-1, 11 KOs) in the eleventh round. Sheeraz, physically and stylistically a Tommy Hearns lookalike further improved his stock and looks a certainty for a world title shot.

Final mention goes to Scotland’s fast improving Willy Hutchinson who beat England’s multiple ‘world’ title challenger Craig Richards in a clear points victory. All in all, an another excellent and entertaining night of boxing as part of RSA’s Riyadh Season.

After the excitement of the ‘Dust Up in the Desert’ and Oleksandr Usyk’s coronation as undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, it’s back to more domestic matters this weekend.

The much awaited rematch between Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall at ten stone (140lbs) is a classic England v Scotland clash, but with world consequences for the junior-welterweight division. Scotland’s ‘Tartan Tornado’ Taylor, 33, finally gets his chance to shut up all the doubters, who now believe his time at world level is over and he must return to domestic matters, permanently.

For Chorley, England’s Catterall, this is his opportunity to seal the victory he claims he was wrongly denied in the controversial draw of 2022 against the same foe. This looked to us to be one of the worst decisions in recent years. Caterall’s career has essentially been on hold as a consequence, whilst Taylor subsequently lost all his world titles to American-Honduran Teofimo Lopez and has not looked the same since.

As crossroads fights go, on Saturday in the Leeds Arena, the stakes are high. The fight will be available live on DAZN in the UK and on ESPN+ in the USA.

Prior to their first meeting, Taylor (19-1, 13 KOs), was an undefeated fighter and rated by The Ring magazine in their pound-for-pound top ten across every weight. The mythical but elite ranking of boxers.

His fall since then has been dramatic, but is not totally irreversible. To get anywhere close to his previous status he must beat Catterall, and emphatically.

For the Chorley man, 30, this is an opportunity to continue with his upward trajectory and fight for one of the now splintered ‘world’ titles available. Billed as ‘Hate Runs Deep’ this is a genuine grudge match with both fighters insistent they were the victor in the first meeting.

Taylor doesn’t believe that Catterall (28-1, 13 KOs) is on his level and the latter believes the Scot is a spent force. Come Saturday we will know one way or the other.

The Scot has all the pedigree being an elite amateur and navigating his way through an unprecedented series of victories to reach undisputed status. Both are excellent boxers with respectable, but not destructive knockout power. They are box-punchers and slick southpaws who know their way around a ring.

This is a fight that based on the boxers’ similar skillsets, close age and, what’s at stake, is difficult to call. We conclude that despite one fighter appearing on the upward curve (Catterall) and one reputedly going in the opposite direction that this should be easy. However, the toughness of Taylor, him operating at a more elite level and, his motivation to prove the doubters wrong, might swing the fight in his favour.

We expect another hard-fought twelve rounds but the Scot’s hand to be raised at the end of a quality match. Caterall can come again, but for Taylor this is his ‘last chance saloon’. He should seize the moment.

Editor’s note: Our regular Monday LunchBox did not appear this week as we let the national media and bloggers consume you with the dust finally settling in Riyadh. Simply revisit last week’s Friday Faceup to confirm how the fight would go and the victor.

You will see in the biggest fight this millennium we were ‘bang on’.

Well, here we are !

Twenty four hours from crowning the first, ‘new’ heavyweight champion of the world, to carry the title of this website this century. What an event and fight it promises to be.

This contest, as the American’s are prone to say, is a real ‘pick ems’. The odds are even among the bookies, and pundits, fans and soothsayers are swaying from one to the other. Flip-flopping is rife.

Let us nail our flag to the mast …

After years of us being convinced that Tyson Fury was too big, strong and adaptable for Oleksandr Usyk, and, the ‘Gypsy King’ would prevail in any subsequent meeting between the two, we have watched and deeply considered what has happened in recent years and, as a result, now predict a Usyk points victory.

Our rationale is:

• Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) is an elite fighter, who as a 2012 London Olympic champion and former undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world has a proven track record and skillset to behold.
• He originally entered the heavyweight division as a small addition to the world title contenders. It was doubtful whether he was going to physically be big enough to achieve anything in that rarefied division. He has though been a genuine heavyweight for the years either side of the COVID pandemic. His defeats of Anthony Joshua (twice), fringe contenders and Daniel Dubois last time out confirm this.
• Usyk is a southpaw, providing a whole series of new challenges to Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs). These are awkwardness, technique, pace, mixing up of stance and punching positions.
• Usyk has the support and motivation of a nation currently under occupation by an invading army. His desire to give honour and pride to his nation, in difficult times, cannot be underestimated.
• We believe Fury has regressed significantly in recent years. This was no more evident than in his last fight with Francis Ngannou, a one-fight novice in the Queensberry code. He was put on his backside and in our view lost the fight. He was previously involved in a back and forth struggle with Otto Wallin (a small heavyweight) in which he suffered significant cut damage. Tomorrow’s match up was also delayed by three months due to a further cut received in training camp. The scar tissue is mounting up.

Some of the flip-side arguments are:

1. Fury is significantly the bigger man
2. At 35, he is also younger than Usyk (37)
3. Fury has got into shape (certainly compared to previous outings)
4. Fury is adaptable and always found a way to win when he’s most challenged
5. Fury is the better boxer ?
   Responses to all these arguments can be put forward, in many cases contradicting the original point. An example being; Fury is in shape. But, will Usyk after three training camps during the prolonged journey to this meeting, not be ?
   We believe the decider which leans us towards a Usyk victory will be skills and style. The Ukrainian WBA/IBF/WBO titleholder will maximise these advantages by aligning his tactics over the twelve rounds we expect the fight to last.
   Usyk will not stand toe-to-toe with Fury on any occasion, but will also not run. He will use measured and well timed aggression.
   He will exchange when he needs to force a point and bank rounds as the fight progresses.
   We predict Fury will float around the ring when he chooses peppering Usyk with his jab but the Ukrainian will, by his boxing IQ, maximise his experience and southpaw style to take a close but unanimous decision on the scorecards. Then, it’s roll on to the controversy and the subsequent rematch scheduled for September. We can only hope the title still remains undisputed and is not splintered in the interim.

Enjoy what we predict to be more of a chessmatch than slugfest but, hope and expect it to be riveting, not just for what’s at stake, but the mesh of the size, styles and pedigree. We’re likely to get a twelve round fight, but thankfully, at the end the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion !

They say form is temporary and class is permanent.

Sunday in Perth, Australia double-Olympic and three-division ‘world’ professional champion Vasiliy Lomachenko proved it once again by regaining the IBF lightweight (9st, 9lbs/135lbs) title in his opponent’s backyard.

In front of approximately 15,000 raucious Aussies, the Ukrainian future hall-of-famer ‘Loma’ was supreme, dropping George Kambosos Jnr twice en-route to becoming a ‘world’ champion again via a late eleventh round stoppage.

The nature of victory was emphatic belying Lomachencko’s 36 years.

Fighting out of his familiar southpaw stance and carefully navigating and commanding the ringcentre with his ‘Matrix’ custom-like style he bossed the fight, regularly targetting the Aussie’s body with pinpoint accuracy.

The left hook sortie that brought Kambosos’ end was spectacular.

The former undisputed champion, Kambosos, now 21-3, 10 KOs, was competitive and brave throughout but was no match for Lomachenko’s technical superiority in the end.

With the Fury-Usyk undisputed world heavyweight fight coming up this weekend (Saturday 18th) this was a big fillip for Ukrainian patriotism and that nation’s ongoing struggle. Whether the co-London 2012 Olympic champion can pull off something similar this weekend is still up for debate, but, it should serve as additional inspiration for Usyk. Both Ukrainian fighters are close knit.

Despite a few years in boxing on the outside looking in and, a slide down the pound-for-pound ratings with successive losses to Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney, Lomachenko has bounced back substantially and can now look forward to future big fights, if he so wishes.

Since the Russian invasion of his homeland in February 2022 he has understandably been pre-occupied by events, even serving in their defence corp at one point. It will continue to still occupy his mind and hopes regardless. He has though, at best, got his boxing career back on track, and we can look forward to a continuing exhibition of his skills.

Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KOs) was The Ring magazine 2017 fighter of the year and a regular in their pound-for-pound ratings up until recently. The big fights that may happen and he could re-cement his status are against American’s Shakur Stevenson (WBC champ) or Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis (WBA champ). Recent victor Ryan Garcia may also be on the horizon.

For the time being, post-fight Loma commended his opponent’s skills and bravery but dedicated his newly won belt to his father and trainer Anatoly and that he now wanted to go home to his family. He had earned it.

Honourable mention also goes to Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion and Welsh heroine Lauren Price, who emphatically beat American Jessica McCaskill in Cardiff, Wales to win the undisputed women’s world welterweight (10st, 7lbs/ 147lbs) championship. Her performance was flawless in clearly outpointing and ultimately stopping her classy opponent via a badly swollen left eye after eight completed rounds.

McCaskill (12-4-1, 5 KOs) was brave throughout, but simply outskilled by the Welsh southpaw. A bright future undoubtedly awaits the new quality champion Price (7-0, 1 KO).

As the temperature hopefully heats up in the northern hemisphere, thankfully, at last, so does the action in worldwide rings.

Over the coming month three of The Ring magazine’s mythical pound-for-pound fighters in the world will box. For fans of the sport this is a potential feast.

First up, this Saturday on Mexican Cinco de Mayo weekend, boxing in Las Vegas, USA is a contest for the undisputed super-middleweight (12st/168 lbs) championship of the world. It pits The Ring’s #4 pound-for-pounder (P4P), multi-weight world champion and, future hall-of-famer, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez against fellow undefeated Mexican Jaime Munguia.

At age 33 and entering the twilight of his career Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) is still a formidable fighter and it will be some achievement for the 27 year old Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs) to wrestle the titles from him. The challenger is a come-forward fighter who likes to mix it, but bar an immediate deterioration of Alvarez’ skills and metal, we expect, after a real humdinger of a fight, the experience and durability of Canelo to prevail.

Quickly following up on Monday (6^th) The Ring 2023 Fighter of the Year and four-weight world champion ‘The Monster’ Naoya Inoue defends his second undisputed title against Mexican Luis Nery. This match-up is also notable for selling out the Tokyo Dome for boxing for the first time since ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson v James ‘Buster’ Douglas in 1990. And we know what happened then !

The 31 year old Japanese, Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs), is a modern boxing phenomenon who transcends the sport in the Far East. To think he was recently questioned by Shawn Porter as to needing to fight in the US to achieve that transcendal status !

The fight is at junior-featherweight (122 pounds/8st, 8lbs).

Nery (35-1, 27 KOs) and aged 29 is up for the challenge and talking a good fight. His sole defeat was in May 2021 being counted out by a body shot and subsequently it’s hard to see him weathering Inoue’s assault and class. Again though, a shoot-out is expected.

The following weekend ( Sat 11^th) Ukrainian Vasiliy Lomachenko faces Greek-Australian George Kambosos for the vacant IBF lightweight (9st, 9lbs/135lbs) title in Perth, Australia.

Loma, a two-time Olympic champion and former undisputed professional lightweight world champion is, like Canelo, in the twilight of his career too. His record stands at 17-3, 11 KOs and he’s The Ring #1 at 135 lbs. The Aussie, Kambosos is as well a former undisputed champion at lightweight and is attempting to regain at least a splinter of his former titles, having suffered two defeats to American Devin Haney.

Then, on Saturday (18^th) from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia we have the ‘history’ fight for the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship of the World between WBC and ‘lineal’ champion Tyson Fury and multi-sanction body champion Oleksandr Usyk. This is genuinely the biggest fight in the sport and will cement the undisputed status for the first time this century. Lennox Lewis was the last person to boast this by finally defeating Evander Holyfield in 1999.

Fury will enter at 34-0-1 (24 KOs) and Usyk 21-0 (14 KOs). More news, updates and a prediction on this follow.

Finally, on Saturday (25^th) in Leeds, England the long awaited rematch takes place between Brits Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall. This is a classic England v Scotland encounter, with Taylor the passionate Scot. Both have good skills and a sole defeat. Taylor (19-1, 13 KOs) had a hotly disputed victory over Catterall (28-1, 13 KOs) in 2022 and subsequently lost his unified world titles to Teofimo Lopez. No titles at stake in the rematch but national pride and kudos are high. Taylor is The Ring #2 and Catterall #7.

The month of May is truly 31 days of career defining and monumental fistic contests to lick your lips to. Legacies will either be enhanced or come tumbling down if either Canelo, Inoue or Lomachenko lose heavily.

Although big losses are entirely unexpected, great fights await. Lets hope the month delivers, and enjoy.