Sor Rungvisai to defend title vs. Diaz in Bangkok https://t.co/D3Z8ZN1lMq @ONEChampionship
— Loren (@lorenonefc) August 10, 2018
Sor Rungvisai Set to Defend Title Against Iran Diaz
After an abysmal non-title mismatch in his last outing, Sor Rungvisai is at least putting his WBC flyweight title on the line in his next fight, an October 6th matchup with Mexico’s Iran Diaz in Bangkok Thailand. Once again, Rungvisai is facing a lesser fight in what is essentially his hometown, as Diaz holds a 14-2 record with his two losses having come via knockout. Rungvisai will win easily, but is beginning to seem like a man who has decided he’s had enough of fighting top tier competition.
Mike Lee Looking to Face Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. In Battle of Boxers Way More Famous Than They Deserve to Be
Mike Lee, the untested but undefeated light heavyweight who was bafflingly featured in a Subway commercial in 2011, is looking to fight the perpetually overhyped Julio Cesar Chavez in Lee’s hometown of Chicago. Lee says Chavez’s side has indicated they want the fight as well, but who knows what state of mind Julio was in when he said that?
Miller-Adamek, Vargas-Dulorme, Beterbiev-Johnson Will Happen Oct. 6 in Chicago
Three fights that will definitely be happening in Chicago are the announced matchups between heavyweight Jarrell “Big Baby Miller” and Tomasz Adamek, light heavyweights Artur Beterbiev and Callum Johnson, and welterweights Jessie Vargas and Thomas Dulorme. These are three very solid matchups for the first American boxing event ever shown on Eddie Hearn’s DAZN platform, though it remains to be seen whether that platform will be worth the money in the long run.
ESPN’s “2017 Prospect of the Year” Ryan Garcia Fires Dad as Trainer Before Sept. 1 Fight
Throwing the famed “if it ain’t broke” adage out of the window, ESPN’s 2017 “Prospect of the Year” has switched trainers for his September 1st fight with Carlos Morales, which will be streamed on Facebook. Making matters even stranger, the trainer Garcia has left behind was his own father, Henry Garcia. Firing your dad as trainer has had mixed results over the years. Floyd Mayweather fired his dad then had to rehire him when his defense suffered, while Shane Mosley fired his dad and won a welterweight title soon after. At 17-2-3, Morales is a decent step up for Garcia, but will likely not provide a serious test of whether making this drastic move was a good idea.
”Canelo”-“GGG” 2 to Get 24/7 Treatment from HBO Starting Aug. 28
The rematch between GGG and Canelo is getting its own 24/7 series to debut on Aug. 28. Considering how much animosity has developed between the two since the first fight, this may prove to be a far more compelling watch than we’ve seen from the show since Floyd left HBO for Showtime. Just this week, the two camps got into an ugly spat about what constituted fighting “Mexican Style” that would have been fascinating to watch play out in live time.
Rumors about the undercard of that fight continue to swirl, though it is looking more and more like the David Lemiuex-Gary O’Sullivan fight, as well as Jaime Munguia’s title defense will be on that show.
50 Cent Questions Floyd’s Investments as Mayweather’s Cryptocurrency Business Fails
As part of their ugly ongoing feud, 50 Cent questioned Floyd Mayweather’s investments this week saying “He’ll tell you: ‘I made great investments’. Just ask him what the investments are. Just one time I want him to say what the investments are (implying they don’t exist).” Unfortunately for Floyd, one of the investments we know is real had a rough week, as a company he invested in claiming to have a debit card that would allow you to spend cryptocurrency anywhere you could pay with Visa was deemed fraudulent, as there was apparently never a deal between the ICO and Visa.
David Haye to Play Professional Poker, T.J. Dillashaw to Box?
British heavyweight David Haye, who retired this June after his second loss to Tony Bellew is looking to become a professional poker player. He says he will take a full year to study the game with former greats, learn the fundamentals, then make his move.
Another athlete apparently looking to crossover into a new sport is Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight champ Dillashaw. After being called out by boxer Gervonta Davis, Dillashaw tweeted that he would be happy to fight him in MMA before stating “I think he’s an overrated boxer as well with that padded record and I [would] beat him in the ring.” Davis responded “let’s make it happen then pussy.” It won’t, but that’s what they said.
Wilder’s Horrific “Cripple” Comments Go Way Too Far
When discussing a possible fight with Dominic Breazale, Deontay Wilder made the statement “if it do happen [laughs], aw man, I’ma make sure he bring his son up on the stage to look the man in the eye that’s gonna cripple his daddy!” Boxing is a sport where getting crippled is a very real possibility; ask Gerald McClellan (but know he won’t be able to answer you), so Wilder should learn from this mistake and keep an idea like this to himself.
ESPN Locks in Andre Ward as Commentator
ESPN poached Andre Ward from HBO to serve as an on-site studio boxing analyst. Ward signed a multiyear deal with the network, which likely will quell the rumors of a comeback at heavyweight. Unfortunately, between his coming appearance in the "Creed" sequel and his broadcasting duties for ESPN, Ward may become more famous post boxing than he ever was during his brilliant career.
Hayden Panettiere and Wladimir Klitschko’s Relationship Is Down For the Count
Boxing’s only Hollywood "it" couple is no more. Former “Heroes” and “Nashville” star Hayden Panettiere and former one-scene-in-“Ocean’s 11” star Wladimir Klitschko have split up following nine years together. Panettiere was recently seen holding hands with a mystery man who desperately needs to google “Wladimir Klitschko.”
Macaulay Culkin Knows Boxing
This isn’t news, but it sure was news to me. On a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” former child star Maccauley Culkin spoke of his love of boxing, and was extremely knowledgeable about the current state of the heavyweight division. Plenty of celebrities are boxing fans, but while people like Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg are not hugely surprising this one was kind of shocking.