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Steve KimESPN
Boxing returns to the United States this week as Top Rank promotes cards on Tuesday and Thursday night. These will be the first shows in North America in which Top Rank has been involved since the Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua rematch on Feb. 22.
There were two Top Rank cards canceled in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, and outside of a few minor fight cards internationally, these upcoming shows represent the restart of the sport on a much larger scale.
Starting this week, there will be cards staged by Top Rank that will air on various ESPN platforms multiple times a week. Other promotional outlets and networks will soon follow suit with their own schedule of fights, with Premier Boxing Champions set to hold fight cards beginning in mid-July and Matchroom Boxing’s next card set for July 25.
But first things first. Here’s what you need to know ahead of the upcoming week of fights at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.
Tuesday
Olympic silver medalist Shakur Stevenson (13-0, 7 KOs), who faces Felix Caraballo (13-1-2, 9 KOs), won the vacant WBO featherweight title last October by easily outboxing Joet Gonzalez over 12 rounds. But in this headliner, his title won’t be on the line, as this scheduled 10-round fight will take place at junior lightweight.
Stevenson, the 22-year-old native of Newark, New Jersey, and 2016 Olympian, was bitterly disappointed when his March 14 title defense against Miguel Marriaga was canceled. It was a lost weekend he says he’ll never forget.
“I trained eight weeks, spent a lot of money on training camp, and then to find out that I wasn’t getting paid, that kind of made me mad,” Stevenson said. “To find out I wasn’t fighting made me mad because I put a lot of work in. I was going to perform.”
There has been talk of a unification bout with IBF titlist Josh Warrington, but the two sides seem to be going in different directions, after Warrington left promoter Frank Warren, who works closely with Top Rank, to sign with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. At this point, because Stevenson is still growing, the more time that passes without a fight against Warrington, the more likley it is that Stevenson might not even go back to 126 to defend that belt.
“I don’t know, yet. I’ve got to see how I feel at 130, making the 130 weight,” Stevenson said. “That will be a question I can answer for you after the fight.”
The co-main event is a women’s junior lightweight bout between another 2016 U.S. Olympian, Mikaela Mayer (12-0, 5 KOs), and Helen Joseph (17-4-2, 10 KOs). Mayer has made it clear that she wants a title shot — sooner, rather than later — and this figures to be her toughest test to date as a pro. Joseph will give Mayer all she can handle; from a physical standpoint, Joseph will be the strongest fighter Mayer has faced in her career.
On the undercard, Robeisy Ramirez (2-1, 2 KOs) matches up with Yueri Andujar (5-3, 3 KOs) in a six-round featherweight contest as he looks to push further past a disastrous pro debut. Ramirez was signed to a much ballyhooed contract with Top Rank last year, as he has two Olympic gold medals (2012 and 2016) for Cuba in his trophy case. The boxer he defeated in the gold-medal round in Rio? Stevenson.
Other fights
Heavyweight: Guido Vianello (6-0, 6 KOs) vs. Don Haynesworth (16-3-1, 14 KOs)
Heavyweight: Jared Anderson (3-0, 3 KOs) vs. Johnnie Langston (8-2, 3 KOs)
Middleweight: Quatavious Cash (11-2, 7 KOs) vs. Calvin Metcalf (10-3-1, 3 KOs)
Catching up with: Mikaela Mayer
Mayer was another boxer on a canceled Top Rank card in March and she jumped at the opportunity to perform on the first card back.
“I haven’t fought since October, so it was kind of a bummer that my fight got canceled before I was going to fly out to New York [back in March], and then not knowing how long this was going to last or when we are going to fight.” Mayer said. “So when Top Rank started discussing potentially having a card, [my manager] George [Ruiz] informed me, ‘If they do have a card, they’re going to want you on it. You were one of the last fighters who was supposed to fight.’
“So I was all about it. That’s important to me, I don’t want to be out of the ring for a year. I want to keep the momentum going. I feel I’ve had a great couple of years, but I’m at that point now where I’m ready to step up — and Top Rank’s ready to step me up, too.”
Her enthusiasm doesn’t preclude her from thinking about safety, and that of her 76-year-old trainer.
“My only concern was I didn’t want anyone to get sick because of me, the No. 1 person I was thinking of was someone like coach Al [Mitchell],” she said. “Things have settled down, testing is now opening up, states are opening up. I didn’t know what coach Al was going to say. I called him and we discussed it, ‘Hey, they want me to fight in four, five weeks, how do you feel about that?’
“It just shows how coach Al is. He’s going to live and die boxing, because he was excited. He said, ‘Please, get me out of this house, I’m ready to work, and get back to camp. Let’s do this.'”
By the numbers
Stevenson is the fourth man from the United States in the past 20 years to win both an Olympic boxing medal and a world title, joining Jermain Taylor, Andre Ward and Deontay Wilder.
Predictions
Stevenson vs. Caraballo: Though Bob Arum says that Stevenson is “a master, Floyd Mayeather-type boxer,” given this stage, and how bitterly disappointed he was about his fight being canceled a few months ago, he’s going to want to really make a statement in an event that will be televised nationally. Stevenson TKO7
Mayer vs. Joseph: This is the best pure matchup of the night. If Mayer is indeed ready to fight for a world title, this is the type of bout that she has to win — against the stout Joseph, who has one of the best monikers in boxing in “Iron Lady.” I’ll go with Mayer by split decision.
Thursday
Former WBO junior featherweight champion Jessie Magdaleno (27-1, 18 KOs) was also slated for the March 14 card at Madison Square Garden. Now, he returns to face Yenifil Vicente (36-4-2, 28 KOs) in a 10-round bout. Since losing his WBO 122-pound belt to Isaac Dogboe via 11th round stoppage, Magdaleno has notched two victories, against Rico Ramos and Rafael Rivera.
In the past, one of the knocks against Magdaleno was a questionable work ethic, which reared its head when he wouldn’t come into fights in top physical condition.
“That was the old Jessie, the immature guy,” Magdaleno said. He admits the loss to Dogboe was a much-needed dose of reality for him. “I’m a grown man, I have my eyes on the future. I have a lot of things I want to get done before I end my career. I’m not going to go through the same mistakes that I did in the past. It’s a new and improved me. I’m just ready to rock ‘n’ roll.”
While Magdaleno was quarantined for the first several weeks of the pandemic, he turned his garage into a makeshift gym, complete with a heavy bag, treadmill, resistance bands, weights and jump rope.
“It’s everything I use in the gym,” Magdaleno said. “It’s hot as well out here in Vegas, so I could train and lose weight here at the house.”
The semi-main event on Thursday’s broadcast is a fight that was originally scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend, as Adam Lopez (13-2, 6 KOs) faces Luis Coria (12-2, 7 KOs) in a 10-round featherweight bout. Lopez opened some eyes when he willingly accepted an 11th-hour assignment to face former WBO featherweight titlist Oscar Valdez, after Andres Gutierrez missed weight by 11 pounds.
Lopez, who moved up in weight for that fight, put forth a strong performance — even flooring Valdez in the second — before getting stopped in the seventh round. Lopez-Coria figures to be a fun fight between two young fighters with good offensive skills.
Other fights
Lightweight: Bryan Lua (5-0, 2 KOs) vs. Dan Murray (5-3)
Lightweight: Eric Mandragon (3-0, 2 KOs) vs. Mike Sanchez (6-0 2 KOs)
Bantamweight: Gabriel Muratalla (2-0, 2 KOs) vs Fernando Robles (2-2)
Catching up with: Adam Lopez
Lopez has fighting genes — his father is the late Hector Lopez, a respected junior welterweight contender in the 1990s. Coming off his strong effort against Valdez, Lopez says he believes Thursday’s fight will be the launch point to bigger and better things, as he moves back down to his natural weight class.
“I’m very excited, I’m looking forward to the fight,” the 24-year-old said. “In my eyes, this fight is more important than my last fight. I’ve just go to confirm to everybody that I’m the real deal and I’m here to make a statement.”
Despite the loss to Valdez, Lopez says he feels what he gained from the notoriety and experience, outweighed the final result of the bout.
“I think it was worth it, I had to take the risk, now I’ve got people’s eyes on me. They want to see Adam Lopez, and that’s what I’m going to give them.”
By the numbers
At featherweight, 41.1% of Magdaleno’s landed punches were to the body (compared to the featherweight average of 29.5%)
Predictions
Magdaleno vs Caraballo: If anything, Caraballo is durable. In 42 professional bouts, he has never been stopped. The 33-year-old from the Dominican Republic, like Magdaleno, began his career as a junior featherweight. So in essence, they are the same size. But Magdaleno, a fast southpaw, with above-average power, has the superior skills. Don’t be fooled by the Dogboe fight. This is a talented guy. Magdaleno should cruise to a wide decision.
Lopez vs Coria: This figures to be an action fight, because if there’s anything that Coria can do, it’s throw a whipping left hook. Coria is in the camp of Robert Garcia, so you know he has had quality sparring in the past and he knows he can’t afford another loss in this early stage of his career. But Lopez is the more well-rounded fighter, and his experience against Valdez will serve him well. Eventually his steadiness and class will overtake Coria, and Lopez will score a late stoppage.