Nat Fleischer

Anthony Joshua needs a dance partner for his June 1 Madison Square Garden slot, after “Big Baby” Miller’s adverse finding in a sample taken March 20 rendered him sidelined for this title shot. Gotzev is referring to the story that in 2015, Charr, who grew up in Beirut, was shot four times in the stomach in Germany, stemming from an online beef on a social media platform. I saw a big-name keyboard tapper Tweet out that they didn’t think Al Haymon would allow Ortiz to fight AJ. Another heavyweight fighting out of NY would like a crack; Swede Otto Wallin gloved up on the Claressa Shields-Christina Hammer undercard April 13.

The 25-year-old Gassiev, who held the IBF and WBA cruiserweight titles, will follow in the footsteps of former undisputed cruiserweight champion Aleksandr Usyk, who defeated Gassiev in a unification title fight on July 21 in Moscow. He would win the IBF title in his next bout in December, defeating titleholder Denis Lebedev by split-decision and would add the WBA title with a dramatic knockout win over Yuniel Dorticos on Feb. 3 of last year. I am very happy to announce the beginning of cooperation between my promoters, Ural and Warriors with Matchroom Boxing USA and DAZN,” said Gassiev in a release. Having unified the division at cruiserweight, I feel Murat is a very exciting addition to the heavyweight division and what a fantastic time to join it.

The 21-year-old Stevenson (10-0, 6 knockouts), who grew up across the Hudson River in Newark, New Jersey, stopped Jessie Cris Rosales of the Philippines in the fourth round of his last bout on Jan. 18. But he will require his A-game against Diaz, who lost a close decision to Masayuki Ito for the vacant WBO junior lightweight title on July 28. Stevenson’s accomplishments, including knockout victories over Viorel Simion and Aelio Mesquita, have propelled him into the top-10 rankings of all major sanctioning bodies, including a No. 3 spot with the WBA, and the former amateur star puts his fast-track success down to quality sparring. The WBO belt is currently held by Oscar Valdez, who returns on June 8 with a potential bout against Carl Frampton mooted for later this year.

Bud’s not as slick, fluid or intuitive as Sweet Pea was (nobody was or is), but his fights often follow the same pattern that most of Whitaker’s took – early rounds “feel out,” mid-rounds adjustments, late-rounds dominance; only Crawford often gets the late stoppage and that’s probably what’s going to happen with Khan. He’s physically a little smaller than Khan and shorter, however I don’t think this will make a big difference in the fight. Looking at Crawford’s resume I don’t think he’s been in with anyone as quick or slick as Khan. Looking at Crawford’s resume I don’t think he’s been in with anyone as quick or slick as Khan.