Wladimir Klitschko keeping ‘close eye’ on Daniel Dubois-Joseph Parker

Wednesday’s conversation with fight promoter Tom Loeffler was much like the recent Commerce Casino card he staged in Southern California, when a round of entertaining club fights was accompanied by visits from Ryan Garcia, Teofimo Lopez, Callum Walsh and featherweight titleholder Rafael Espinoza.

You never knew who – or what – was coming next.

Perhaps the most pressing topic was our last one, when Loeffler revealed that former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has expressed interest in surpassing George Foreman as the oldest heavyweight champion of all time.

That means Klitschko, who will turn 49 next month and hasn’t fought since his 2017 TKO defeat by Anthony Joshua, will be watching Saturday’s IBF heavyweight title bout between newly belted Daniel Dubois and former WBO titleholder Joseph Parker in Saudi Arabia.

Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi Arabia financier staging Saturday’s card, has said he wants Klitschko to return and fight for a belt.

“Wladimir’s keeping a close eye on what’s happening in the heavyweight division, and if there’s an opportunity to fight for the heavyweight championship and break George Foreman’s record, I think he would strongly consider it,” Loeffler said.

“I know [Alalshikh] would like to see him. It would be great to see Wladimir back in the ring this year if everything works out.”

Loeffler assesses that Klitchsko would be “very interested” in meeting the Dubois-Parker winner.

“Joseph Parker was one of [Klitschko’s] sparring partners back when [Klitschko] was a world champion,” Loeffler said. “He had some great, world-class sparring partners back then, so either Dubois or Parker would be a great opponent for him. Once he gives the green light, I’ll jump into action.

“Saturday will provide some information of what direction it might go for him.”

Loeffler is working on Friday’s card at Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California, headlined by 140-pounder Cain Sandoval, 14-0 (12 KOs), meeting Filipino Mark Bernaldez, 25-6 (18 KOs).

“Cain is one of our rising stars,” Loeffler said. “Just made the switch to train with Freddie Roach. In a great division, not afraid to fight any of the names we put in front of him. We have some high expectations for Cain and think he’s on his way to a world title within the next two years.

“He’s a blue-collar fighter, has a lot of Fernando Vargas in him. Down to earth, authentic fan base, goes in there and likes to fight exciting fights. He’s not dancing, and that’s why his fan base has really grown over the last two years.”

The card also includes demanding bouts for unbeaten flyweight Daniel “Chucky” Barrera and unbeaten women’s minimumweight fighter Guadalupe “Lupita” Medina.

At last month’s 360 Promotions card in Commerce, Loeffler was pleased by the star-studded turnout of title fighters and even an NFL legend in former Los Angeles Rams tackle Jackie Slater.

As other promoters have pulled back from doing repetitive Southern California cards despite the area offering the sport its most fervent American fan base, Loeffler said he takes great pride in offering a hospitable setting for all to attend.

“That’s what I like, going back to the days of the ‘SuperFly’ shows we did with fighters from other promoters, going out there, seeing the tailgate parties, and that’s how I am with the fighters,” Loeffler said. “It was great to see them come out, and interact with them and the fans.

“This is the hotbed of boxing. … Both venues are great. Hardcore fight fans from the Ventura area go up there, and you can’t get any closer to the center of Los Angeles than Commerce. The fans recognize the quality of the shows and the energy and excitement we put on every show, and we’ve sold out each one. We’re really happy to be dominating the hottest market in boxing.” 

Loeffler will interrupt the Chumash-Commerce rotation March 16 to take his talented junior middleweight Callum Walsh, 12-0 (10 KOs), of Ireland, to headline a card at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York against the UK’s Dean Sutherland, 19-1 (7 KOs).

“These are the type of fights Callum needs to continue his development,” Loeffler said. “It doesn’t make sense to pad his record. He will be one of the most prepared fighters ever when it comes time to fight for a title.”

Walsh is rated No. 6 by the IBF and WBC.

“He’s at a point where I could see him fighting for a title within a year,” Loeffler said. “Callum’s one of the most talked-about fighters … and he’s putting on great performances, and I expect him to put on another great show for St. Patrick’s Day weekend.”

Loeffler-promoted junior middleweight Serhii Bohachuk will be inspecting Saturday’s bout between his most recent opponent, Vergil Ortiz Jnr, and former WBA titleholder Israil Madrimov as a possible big fight looms for the No. 1-rated WBC contender from Ukraine.

“Serhii is willing to fight anyone – was supposed to fight [unified champion Sebastian] Fundora [before Keith Thurman got hurt in March], and Madrimov [in December], too, before he got sick or injured … so he’s had some bad luck on opponents pulling out,” Loeffler said.

“But he’s one of the most active of anyone in the division, so he’ll either go after the tremendous fights in June or July. … Either that, or we’ll put him in one of our shows to remain active and protect his [top-ranked] position in the WBC.”

Lastly, Loeffler said his featherweight Omar Trinidad, 18-0-1 (13 KOs), will return on the May 17 Commerce Casino card as he currently stands as the No. 2-rated fighter in the IBF and No. 4 in the WBC.

Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.