BoxingScene’s Midweek Mailbag: Saudi boxing league, best boxers who never won major titles, Ennis-Chukhadzhian II, and more

In this week’s mailbag, we tackle the idea of a boxing league led by Turki Alalshikh and his Riyadh Season; the wet fart that is the idea of a rematch between Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Karen Chukhadzhian; a potential fight between Naoya Inoue and John Riel Casimero; and the best boxers of the past two decades who never won major world titles.

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THE TIME IS NOW FOR SAUDI-LED BOXING LEAGUE

Somebody influential, like a Bob Arum (Top Rank) or Garry Jonas (ProBox TV) or whoever, needs to talk to Turki Alalshikh before he leaves about forming a new boxing league with all the boxing promotions, big and small, united under one roof.

If there ever was a time for boxing to finally have one organized boxing commission (with Turki providing the funding), this is it. Window of opportunity is closing fast.

-HandsofIron

Jason Langendorf’s response: As much as I appreciate this sentiment – and believe even the improbable is worth trying for the payoff you describe – I’ll borrow a phrase from the kids (which may already be a decade too old): This ain’t it.

And by “this,” I mean Alalshikh. Yes, the money from Saudi Arabia’s top sports power broker spends quite nicely. But at what existential cost? Even if you take no issue with Turki’s very established ties to some very shady stuff – and, by the way, you should take issue with it – there is the small matter of turning over the whole shebang to a man who has a history of petty strong-arming of other sports properties and who, frankly, seems to have a weak grasp of boxing.

Neither Arum nor Jonas (who, in full disclosure, owns BoxingScene), is likely to give up his hard-earned position of power, even for mountains of oil money. Ditto for Eddie Hearn, Oscar De La Hoya, Al Haymon and Frank Warren. Would enough fighters, lured by a quick cash grab, defect to a Turki-run league to consolidate the necessary boxing talent to make it work? Maybe. We’ve seen it in LIV Golf. But, honestly, how is that working out for golf so far? And all boxers have to do is look to their MMA brethren to see how all but the 1% are treated in a non-unionized, monopoly-style league run by a malignant narcissist.

I’m not saying that thoughtfully gathering a plurality of top fighters under one tent can’t or shouldn’t be done. Boxing desperately needs guidance from a set of stronger organizing principles and a philosophy that puts fighters and fans first. But too much about Alalshikh’s past – and even his current behavior – suggests he isn’t the guy to bring them to the sport.

ENNIS-CHUKHADZHIAN REMATCH IS NONSENSE 

Nonsense that Boots may have to rematch a guy [Karen Chukhadzhian] he won every round against, and all he [Chukhadzhian] did to deserve a rematch was beat three fringe contenders to get a title shot.

-Street Cleaner

Lucas Ketelle’s response: Let’s be honest: this matchup wasn’t exactly on anyone’s radar.

The IBF’s decision to resurrect this fight came out of the blue, and to make matters worse, Jaron Ennis’ promoter, Matchroom Boxing, lost the purse bid. Karen Chukhadzhian’s promoter, P2M-Box Promotion, won the bid, so brace yourself — this potentially dull affair could be heading to Germany. It’s a familiar story by now, but seriously, what’s the rationale?

Ennis already delivered a masterclass in their first encounter (and it was boring). It was also part of the undercard for the Gervonta Davis-Hector Luis Garcia PPV. Chukhadzhian’s recent victories over Michel Marcano and Pietro Rossetti, coupled with a win against Harry Scarff, somehow earned him another title shot? Really? Even though they had no coverage?

This IBF debacle in ranking uninspiring opponents is reminiscent of a poorly executed Game of Thrones spin-off — leaving fans puzzled and turning a potentially intriguing scenario into a dull spectacle, while highlighting the welterweight division’s lack of depth.

We have top-tier fighters like Ennis, Eimantas Stanionis, Brian Norman Jr., and Mario Barrios. But beyond them, the waters get murky. The next tier includes Conor Benn (still entangled in drug test issues), Souleymane Cissokho and Jin Sasaki.

Perhaps Teofimo Lopez will drop into the division to stir things up. And in the third tier, we have Giovani Santillan, Alexis Rocha, Blair Cobbs, and Shakhram Giyasov. Chukhadzhian likely fits in here.

With Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. out, the division looks thin. Prospect Paddy Donovan might make a move, but right now, the division feels up in the air.

Ennis deserves a fight that genuinely captures interest, not just another rematch destined to fade into obscurity. I concur. Let’s just hope the business of boxing doesn’t deliver a TKO to Ennis’ career.

 NAOYA INOUE SHOULD FACE JOHN RIEL CASIMERO

Casimero vs. Inoue outside of Japan is the fight fans want to happen

-Komandante

David Greisman’s response: The junior featherweight division right now is a prime example that a fighter can be deservingly undisputed while still having work to do to truly clean out the weight class.

Inoue arrived at 122 and promptly took out Stephen Fulton and Marlon Tapales to win all four major world titles, then he defeated a top challenger in Luis Nery. Earlier this month, we saw Inoue win a stay-busy fight against TJ Doheny. Inoue is expected to return before the end of the year.

Three of the contenders who remain? Murodjon Akhmadaliev (a former unified titleholder who lost his belts to Tapales via split decision), Casimero and Sam Goodman.

Casimero has a fight scheduled for this October, so it’s unlikely he’ll face Inoue next. While Casimero hasn’t done much of note at junior featherweight since arriving in 2022, he’s still been on a pretty good run since his surprising defeat to Jonas Sultan in 2017. Casimero held the WBO title at bantamweight at the same time that Inoue was blasting through the other titleholders at 118. Alas, Casimero had to pull out of his fight with Paul Butler at the last moment and was later stripped of the WBO belt. That led to Inoue facing Butler for the undisputed bantamweight championship.

While I too would like to see Inoue vs. Casimero, I disagree with you that it must take place outside of Japan. Yes, Bob Arum has said that Inoue will fight in the United States again, as Inoue has done three times before. But I don’t see a problem with Inoue otherwise performing in his home country, where he is a huge, huge star. Fighting in Japan is the most lucrative location not only for him, but for his opponents. There’s a reason Fulton willingly chose to travel overseas to defend his own titles against Inoue. 

RECENT BOXERS WHO NEVER QUITE REACHED THE PINNACLE

Since 2000, who is on the shortlist of best fighters to never win a world title?

-Dustin

For this question, we turned to Lucas Ketelle, who recently authored an article tackling a similar question, “Riddled: 10 modern day fighters who rarely had luck on their side.”

Lucas Ketelle’s response: Who are the best fighters since 2000 to never win a world title? Buckle up, because this list is long. Some names will be glaringly obvious, while others might make you go, “How did you forget that guy?” So, to keep the chaos under control, we’ll break it down like you’re organizing your fantasy draft for the NFL season, complete with tiers.

Fighters who kinda won titles (but not really): Let’s start with Alexander Povetkin. Yeah, sure, he held the WBA “regular” title from 2011 to 2013, but let’s be honest — Wladimir Klitschko was the real champ with the WBA “super” title. Povetkin was essentially the junior varsity version of a world champion. The 2004 Olympic gold medalist picked up a WBC interim and diamond belt after knocking out Dillian Whyte in 2020, but a real world title? That never materialized. It’s like trying to summon Bloody Mary—you can call for it all you want, but it doesn’t show up.

Right behind him? Lucas Matthysse. Talk about hard luck. He lost two debatable split decisions to Zab Judah and Devon Alexander, fights still argued over like you’re at Jack Rabbit Slim’s debating whether Mia Wallace really drew that square. Matthysse did win the WBC interim title by stopping Ajose Olusegun, but his big shots at glory came and went — he lost to Danny Garcia and got stopped by Viktor Postol. Like Povetkin, Matthysse picked up the WBA “regular” title in 2018, but Keith Thurman was the “super” champ. Close, but no dice.

Best fighters who never got a shot: Now here’s where it really stings — guys who never even got a title shot. Junior welterweight Arnold Barboza Jr. and junior lightweight Albert Bell. They’re still active, so there’s time, but right now, they’re walking the same path Ike Ibeabuchi did. Remember Ike? The heavyweight who beat David Tua but never sniffed a title before his career derailed. If Barboza and Bell don’t get a shot soon, they’ll be sitting in that same forgotten booth in boxing purgatory.

The “almost won” club: Martin Murray? Ouch. He dropped Sergio Martinez in Argentina — Martinez’s homecoming fight, mind you — and almost pulled off the upset of the century. That one still hurts. He also lost a split decision to Arthur Abraham, a fight that could’ve gone either way. Murray’s résumé is a collection of near-misses, and none sting more than the Martinez fight.

Then you’ve got Derek Chisora, who’s a legend in the UK but never took home a heavyweight belt. He had his chances against Vitali Klitschko and Tyson Fury but came up short both times. Still, Chisora is probably more beloved than half the guys who actually won titles.

And let’s not forget Sergiy Derevyanchenko. His story? Brutal. He went 0-3 in middleweight title fights, but look at who he lost to — Daniel Jacobs, Gennadiy Golovkin, Jermall Charlo. Two of those losses were razor-close. Jacobs won by split decision, Golovkin by majority decision. You could make the case Derevyanchenko deserved one of those belts, but the judges didn’t agree.

Rocky Juarez, anyone? He’s practically got a lifetime membership to the “so close, yet so far” club. Juarez went 0-4-1 in world title fights, with his closest call being a draw against Chris John in 2009. That was his shot, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

“It just didn’t happen” club: David Tua was power personified—a mini-Mike Tyson. Remember his 19-second knockout of John Ruiz? Of course you do. It’s one of those highlights that gets passed around like vintage YouTube clips. But when Tua got his one shot at a title against Lennox Lewis in 2000? Lewis jabbed his way to an easy win, and that was the end of Tua’s title dreams. He never got another shot.

“Close, but not close enough” club: Luke Campbell? This one’s tough. 2012 Olympic gold medalist, but as a pro, he just couldn’t get over the hump. He lost to Vasiliy Lomachenko and Jorge Linares in title fights, with the Linares fight being a split-decision. That was his moment, but he couldn’t pull it off. Then Ryan Garcia retired him with that body shot, and Campbell’s story was written. Close, but not close enough.

And finally, Ryan Garcia – a club of his own: Ah, Ryan Garcia. The TikTok king and boxing’s Gen Z superstar. His loss against Gervonta Davis was for the WBA’s secondary “regular” title. And then he missed weight for his fight against Devin Haney, which voided any title chances. After all the hype, Ryan’s still title-less. 

Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity.