WBO No.1 154lbs contender Tim Tszyu will clash with Japan’s Takeshi Inoue in Australia on November 17.
Australian Tszyu (19-0, 15 KOs) is next in line for a crack at WBO super-welterweight champion Brian Castaño, assuming that the Argentine doesn’t immediately rematch with WBA, WBC and IBF belt holder Jermell Charlo with whom he drew in July.
Tokyo’s Inoue (17-1-1, 10 KOs) went the full 12 rounds in a past WBO title tilt against former champ Jaime Munguia in January 2019. He has won four fights on the bounce since.
“I’m doing Jaime Munguia’s leftovers. He was a world champion and I’m fighting for no belt at the moment. I’ll take over everyone he fought when he had the world title. I’m fighting all of these boys without a world title, Tszyu told the WA Herald.
“It could be my last fight here in Australia, you never know. The further you go in your career, the more it goes to the international level. We can host events here, but the big time is in the States. That’s where we will be going eventually. This will be a tough challenge. I’m sure [Inoue] will give me my toughest fight, the toughest test of my career.”
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WBC No.13 rated super-welterweight Serhii Bocachuk continued his career rebuild with a sixth-round retirement win over Raphael ‘Trouble’ Igbokwe at the Quiet Cannon Country Club in Montebello, California, on Thursday night.
Ukrainian Bocachuk (20-1, 20 KOs) gradually broke the spirit of Houston’s confident Igbokwe (16-3, 7 KOs) with perpetual punches and a looping right hand. Igbokwe was wisely withdrawn by his corner at the end of the sixth.
The heavy-handed Bocachuk has won two on the spin since losing his unbeaten record to Brandon Adams in eight rounds in March.
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IBF cruiserweight king and WBSS winner Mairis Briedis (27-1, 19 KOs) will defend his crown against Germany’s No.6 rated contender Artur ‘Thunderman’ Mann (17-1, 9 KOs) at the Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia, on October 16.
“Mairis has the pressure to box in front of his fans at home, which isn’t always an advantage,” said Mann. “He has everything to lose, I have everything to gain. Boxing in Riga isn’t a problem for me either. It spurs me on even more.”
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The 122lbs unification bout between WBO title holder Stephen Fulton and WBC champion Brandon Figueroa has been rearranged for the new date of November 27 in the Park Theater at the Park MGM in Las Vegas.
The unbeaten duo were originally scheduled to meet this weekend before Figueroa withdrew after testing positive for Covid-19.
Main image: Tim Tszyu/Alamy/PA images.