Sherdog Boxing: The Weekly Wrap

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Wilder-Fury Rematch Not Happening Next

The news that everyone feared after Tyson Fury signed his deal with ESPN came true this week, when it was confirmed that Tyson Fury’s next fight would not be a rematch with Deontay Wilder. Supposedly, Arum’s offer to Wilder made is so that Wilder would have had to fight multiple times on ESPN, which “The Bronze Bomber” was unwilling to do. Fury insinuated that he was robbed against Wilder because the fight was on Showtime, which added to the idea that the fight would need to be on ESPN or it wasn’t going to happen. Worse for fans, Bob Arum insinuated that the rematch would be bigger after Tyson Fury had fought on ESPN and became more well known to casual sports fans. Arum said (essentially) the same thing about the Juan Manuel Lopez-Yuriorkis Gamboa matchup back in 2010. That fight still hasn’t been made, so don’t hold your breath that Wilder-Fury 2 will happen anytime soon.

But, before you get too discouraged about that fight not happening or that the three biggest heavyweights in the world fight on three different networks, you should know that according to Mike Coppinger, Eddie Hearn has offered Deontay Wilder a multi-fight deal, with the second fight being a bout against Anthony Joshua. With Joshua coming to Brooklyn to fight Jarrell Miller, it would be great if he becomes well known enough in the USA to make Joshua-Wilder a huge global event. And it would be great if that fight actually happens.

Prograis Stays in WBSS, Fights for WBA Title in Lafayette, Louisiana April 27

When Ivan Baranchyk pulled out of the World Boxing Super Series citing financial concerns about when he would get his money, Regis “Rougarou” Prograis threatened to do the same. That would have destroyed the tournament entirely, seeing how Prograis was the No. 1 seed and the biggest name. However, after some negotiating Prograis opted to remain in the tournament and will fight WBA Super-lightweight champion Kiryl Relikh in Lafayette Louisiana on April 27. While “Rougarou” is a big draw in his home state of Louisiana, he will have to share the spotlight with WBO bantamweight champion Zolani Tete and WBA bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire, who will fight in the night’s main event.

As for the WBSS’s Cruiserweight tournament, it was also announced this week that their two semifinal fights, Yunier Dorticos-Andrew Tabiti and Mairis Breidis-Krzystof Glowacki will both be on the same card, June 15 from Breidis’ hometown of Riga, Latvia. All these fights will air on DAZN.

Munguia-Hogan, Rungvisai-Estrada Fights Made Official

This week a couple of fights we knew were very likely to be made, were made official. The rematch between Sor Rungvisai and Carlos Estrada will be on April 26 at the Forum in Inglewood, California, and will feature Daniel Roman and TJ Doheny unifying the WBA and IBF 122-pound titles on the undercard.

The bout between 154-pound bruiser/WBO champion Jaime Munguia and Dennis Hogan has also been officially agreed on. The rumored date for that fight is April 13.

Oscar De La Hoya Sends Floyd Mayweather Cease-and-Desist Letter over Ryan Garcia

The consensus in the boxing world is that Oscar De La Hoya wants no part of putting his future cash cow, Ryan Garcia, in the ring with Floyd Mayweather’s protégé Gervonta “Tank” Davis. The Golden Boy’s actions this week cemented that idea in a major way.

Floyd was on TMZ Sports and made an offer to “Kingry”: He will give him $200,000 to fight Mayweather Promotions’ undefeated Cuban Rolando Romero. If Garcia wins that fight, Floyd promised he would get a shot at Gervonta Davis. Garcia might have liked the offer, because he attended Mayweather’s birthday party and was seen chatting with Floyd for a little while. Oscar must have panicked about this, because De La Hoya opted to take legal action and send a cease and desist letter to Floyd.

Garcia is fighting Puerto Rican Jose “Wonderboy” Lopez on March 30 in Indio, California. Davis, on the other hand, is being investigated after getting into an altercation with the police, although the details of that incident have yet to come out. Either way this was a weak look for De La Hoya, who appears panicked his future star might jump ship.

Canelo Talks about Facing Sergey Kovalev at 175

This week, Canelo Alvarez said that while unifying the various titles at middleweight is his primary goal, he could face Sergey Kovalev at 175 pounds at some point in the future. Alvarez told ESPN Deportes "We do not rule out the possibility (of fighting at 175 pounds). At this moment we have other things in mind, but the possibility exists. It's a huge challenge, but it's the type of things that I like, I know (Sergey) Kovalev since I was 20 years old, and why not, we could make a fight between us and I like those challenges, there is the possibility of making that fight."

That would be insane. Kovalev is way too big for Canelo no matter how much tainted meat he consumes. This was probably nothing, but it would be fun to watch if it ever actually happened.

USA Boxing Won’t Let Amputee Fight in Golden Gloves Tournament

And finally, this week Eric Morante, a former Marine sergeant that lost his leg in Iraq, was barred from competing in the San Antonio Regional Golden Gloves Tournament by USA Boxing this week. USA Boxing essentially said that they needed more time to create guidelines for adaptive athletes, saying “adaptive boxing is part of a strategic plan and a high priority for USA Boxing,” but amputee boxers will not be allowed to compete “in a club show, Golden Gloves or USA Boxing tournament” until guidelines can be finalized.

This was not a big story and was confined to regional media. However, with issues like Casey Martin’s use of a golf cart, the success or failure of Shaquem Griffin in the NFL, the debate over Oscar Pistorious’ competing in the Olympics, and Kyle Maynard’s fight to compete in MMA, having become huge national stories don’t be surprised if this isn’t the last you hear about Morante’s desire to compete against able bodied fighters.