The 140lbs unification clash between Josh Taylor and Jose Ramírez has apparently been moved away from May 8, avoiding a date clash with the proposed super-middleweight unification between Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders.
Taylor-Ramirez will now take place on another date in May, according to Mike Coppinger of The Athletic.
WBA ‘Super’ and WBC 168lbs champion Canelo traditionally boxes on the Cinco De Mayo weekend, but this year the Mexican celebration falls on a Wednesday, meaning either a May 1 or May 8 fight date would have been suitable.
Taylor-Ramirez had reportedly settled on May 8 then Canelo-Saunders followed suit, but thankfully it seems a date clash has been avoided, meaning no scheduling conflict or shared publicity on fight week.
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MTK Global has won the right to stage the vacant IBF featherweight title fight between its fighter Jazza Dickens and No.1 contender Kid Galahad.
The Dubai-based promotional outfit was the sole bidder and won with an offer of $202,500. The IBF crown fell vacant when previous champion Josh Warrington lost a purse bid for a rematch with leading contender Galahad, who he had previously outpointed via split decision in June 2019, and chose to relinquish the belt in pursuit of other opportunities.
Galahad-Dickens is another, potential all-English rematch with the duo meeting way back in September 2013 for the vacant British 122lbs crown. That night in Rotherham, Sheffield’s Galahad (27-1, 16 KOs) rallied from an early points deficit to score a 10th round stoppage. Liverpool’s in-form Dickens (30-3, 11 KOs) won the lucrative Golden Contract featherweight tournament in December, decisioning Ryan Walsh in the final.
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WBA ‘Interim’ welterweight title holder Jamal James (27-1, 12 KOs) has been promoted to ‘Regular’ champion by the Panama-based sanctioning body.
Minneapolis fighter James must now face Russian Radzhab Butaev (13-0, 10 KOs & 1NC) next. A 30-day negotiation has begun before that bout heads to purse bids. Butaev was promised a title shot after fellow Russian Alexander Besputin outpointed him for the WBA ‘Regular’ crown in November 2019, but subsequently failed a drug test.
James’s upgrade follows Cuban Yordenis Ugas’s previous elevation from ‘Regular’ to ‘Super’ champion last week. Manny Pacquiao was also downgraded from ‘Super’ title holder to ‘Champion In Recess’ in a bemusing belt merry-go-round.