We saw action around the world, Oleksandr Usyk got a mandatory order, and New York is sticking with a draw for Tank vs Roach.
Tank vs Roach decision upheld by New York
In news that didn’t really surprise anyone, the New York State Athletic Commision’s review of the draw between Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Lamont Roach from March 1 saw no change to the official decision, with the original scoring and outcome kept in place.
Though nobody really expected anything to change, boxing fans still largely aren’t happy about what happened in that fight, particularly referee Steve Willis’ non-call of Davis taking a knee and going to his corner.
Results: Ball, Thurman, Teraji all win, world title changes
We had some notable results in the sport this week, though no Big Fight, really.
Nick Ball retained his WBA featherweight title with a typical Nick Ball-style win over TJ Doheny, fighting rough and hard until the 38-year-old challenge was broken down and his corner pulled him after 10 rounds. It was a gutsy performance by Doheny, and he was dangerous in the first half, but once the gas tank started emptying, it was all Ball.
Ball has also challenged Naoya Inoue to come up to featherweight for a fight, which would be a good one if things hold as they are now, but probably won’t happen until 2026 or, at the very earliest, late this year, depending on Inoue potentially making two successful 122 lb defenses in May and September.
Austin “Ammo” Williams also picked up a crucial win on Saturday, beating Patrice Volny in a Matchroom main event from Orlando, Fla. It’s a fight that Williams really had to win to stay in the race at 160, which is a historical glory division sitting on some dull times at the moment, and has been for years now. It wasn’t a blow-away type of victory, but it was one earned against a solid opponent.
Drawing some attention on the undercard was a ridiculous mismatch between Edgar Berlanga — who missed weight on Friday — and Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz, who looked totally unprepared to even be there, having just returned to boxing last year after a 10-year absence from the sport.
Earlier in the week from Australia, former welterweight titleholder Keith “One Time” Thurman got back in the ring and stopped Brock Jarvis in the third round. Thurman said he’d like to fight another Aussie, Tim Tszyu, which would be a much bigger fight. The two were scheduled to meet in 2024 before Thurman pulled out late, leading to Tszyu’s loss to replacement Sebastian Fundora.
Tszyu returns to the ring on April 6 against Joey Spencer, so timing-wise, it would line up, and Thurman going to Australia to fight Jarvis seems the perfect set-up for Tszyu vs Thurman to get made again.
We also saw a title unification in Japan, as Kenshiro Teraji brought the WBC and WBA flyweight titles together with a 12th round stoppage over Seigo Yuri Akui in a very good fight with a somewhat controversial ending, but not one provoking real outrage.
On the same bill, Anthony Olascuaga retained the WBO flyweight title with a career-best win over Hiroto Kyoguchi, and Rene Santiago took the WBO light flyweight title from Shokichi Iwata. The scoring of both fights has been criticized.
More from this week:
- Oleksandr Usyk has received a WBO order to defend his title against Joseph Parker. Usyk does also hold the WBC and WBA belts, so he could really just say no if he wants to say no, but Parker is as good an opponent as is out there, too. He’s already beaten Tyson Fury and money man Anthony Joshua twice, so it’s really down to Parker, a rematch with Daniel Dubois, Agit Kabayel (which may get ordered eventually), or the dark horse, a rematch with Derek Chisora.
- Filip Hrgovic has stepped in and will face Joe Joyce on April 5, replacing Dillian Whyte.
- Staying with the heavyweights, Bakhodir Jalolov must need a little cash injection, because he’s going to pop in for a pro fight on April 5 in Kazakhstan, part of the Janibek Alimkhanuly vs Anauel Ngamissengue card. I still firmly believe Jalolov’s interest in pro boxing is minimal, and this will be his first pro bout since November 2023, as he spent 2024 focused on winning another gold medal at the Olympics, and he’s expected to box again at Los Angeles 2028. I have no problem with this, by the way, it’s just something I think should be considered when projecting any pro hopes on the 30-year-old.
- Rafael Espinoza will defend his featherweight title against Edward Vazquez on the Inoue vs Cardenas card on May 4. Vazquez is a tough fighter and it’s nice to see a guy like that get a shot. A lot of people who aren’t as good get shots by being better-connected or whatever.
- We got to hear more from the May 2 Times Square fighters with another press conference. Ryan Garcia assures everyone he’s not looking past Rolly Romero, Devin Haney says we’ll see a “new and improved version” of him against Jose Ramirez, and Teofimo Lopez once again took it upon himself to add some spice to the event.
- Speaking of Ryan Garcia, Fanmio has sued him and promoter Golden Boy for Garcia not going through with a Garcia-planned exhibition in December. This will probably go nowhere, or maybe it’ll go somewhere, but the major point I want to make is who cares
- The British Boxing Board of Control did fine Chris Eubank Jr for hitting Conor Benn in the face with an egg. Again, to me this all seems phony and planned, but then that’s the entire Misfits Boxing-style event.
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