Top light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera is still very upset that an IBF final eliminator bout against Artur Beterbiev has been derailed by his visa issues. Barrera, who is ranked #8 by the IBF (and also rated in the WBO and WBA’s top 10,) said that he didn’t hesitate when the fight was offered to him.
Artur Beterbiev
Wilder-Duhaupas – 6,500 tickets sold
By Dan Ambrose: Ticket sales have been slow for Saturday’s fight between WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (34-0, 33 KOs) and #11 WBC Johann Duhaupas (32-2, 20 KOs) for their fight on Premier Boxing Champions on NBC from the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.
According to Fight News, 6,500 tickets have been sold for the 12,300 arena, with many of the tickets being sold in the last two days. There’s still two days before the fight, so there’s an outside chance that the remainder of the 5,800 tickets could be sold before the start of the fight card at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT on Saturday night.
Artur Beterbiev vs. Sullivan Barrera purse bid on 10/5
By Dan Ambrose: A purse bid has been scheduled for October 5th next month for the IBF 175lb eliminator bout between unbeaten two time Russian Olympian #2 IBF Artur Beterbiev (9-0, 9 KOs) and Cuban #8 IBF Sullivan Barrera (16-0, 11 KOs) at the IBF’s office in Springfield, New Jersey.
The winner of the Beterbiev-Barrera fight will become the IBF mandatory challenger to IBF champion Sergey Kovalev. Beterbiev could have had the fight with Kovalev already for November 28th in Moscow, Russia, but he can make more money if he becomes the IBF mandatory challenger, which will enable him to get a larger purse split of the revenue for the fight.
Sullivan Barrera to face Artur Beterbiev in IBF 175lb eliminator
By Jim Dower: Undefeated No.9 IBF Sullivan Barrera (16-0, 11 KOs) has agreed to face undefeated no.2 IBF Artur Beterbiev (9-0, 9 KOs) in an IBF light heavyweight eliminator bout. The negotiations will start soon between Barrera’s promoter Kathy Duva and the promoter of Beterbiev for a fight this year.
The winner of the Beterbiev-Barrera fight will become the IBF No.1 mandatory challenger to IBF champion Sergey Kovalev. Beterbiev could have faced Kovalev without going through the trouble of fighting in an IBF eliminator, but he wanted to be the mandatory challenger and not just the voluntary challenger.
Pascal next up in IBF eliminator against Beterbiev
By Allan Fox: #7 IBF Sean Monaghan has joined #3 IBF Bernard Hopkins, Isaac Chilemba, Erik Skoglund, Andrzej Fonfara in declining the International Boxing Federation’s offer to face unbeaten #2 IBF Artur Beterbiev (9-0, 9 KOs) in an IBF eliminator. The option now goes to #8 IBF Jean Pascal (30-3-1, 17 KOs), who has until August 21st to decide whether he wants to face the hard hitting Russian or not. If not, then the next contender in line to make the decision will be #9 IBF Sullivan Barrera (16-0, 11 KOs).
The odds of Pascal accepting the IBF’s offer to face Beterbiev in an IBF eliminator match is slim and none. First off, Pascal doesn’t need to fight in an IBF eliminator in order to get a rematch with IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev. Pascal will get a rematch with Kovalev sooner or later simply because Kovalev has almost no options for big fights in the 175lb division right now.
Beterbiev needs opponent for IBF title eliminator
By Dan Ambrose: Unbeaten #2 IBF, #3 WBO, #4 WBA, #4 WBC light heavyweight contender Artur Beterbiev (9-0, 9 KOs) is looking for an opponent for him to fight in an IBF 175lb eliminator. The International Boxing Federation ordered a fight between Beterbiev and 50-year-old Bernard Hopkins for the IBF eliminator, but Hopkins failed to respond by the deadline last Thursday.
The other options aren’t looking very good for Beterbiev. According to Dan Rafael, the next available contender is #1 WBC, #2 WBO, #5 IBF Isaac Chilemba, but he’s not likely to take the fight because he’s ranked No.1 with the World Boxing Council and he’s poised to fight in a WBC eliminator bout against Andrzej Fonfara to try and become the WBC mandatory challenger to WBC champion Adonis Stevenson.
Beterbiev’s promoter rejects offer for Kovalev fight
By Allan Fox: Yvon Michel, the promoter for unbeaten 175lb contender Artur Beterbiev (9-0, 9 KOs), has reportedly rejected an offer from Kathy Duva, the promoter for IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev, for a fight that she was hoping could take place on November 28th in Moscow, Russia.
Beterbiev instead will fight in an IBF light heavyweight eliminator bout next against an opponent still to be determined to try and become Kovalev’s IBF mandatory challenger. The International Boxing Federation recently ordered Beterbiev and 50-year-old Bernard Hopkins to start negotiations for the IBF eliminator.
Kovalev v Beterbiev and amateur/pro rivalries
By Gav Duthie: Before the year is out we are likely to see two rivalries rekindled from all the way back to the amateur days. Top ten pound for pound star Sergiy Kovalev 28-0-1 (25) has been cutting through his opposition with ease but climbing the ranks is former amateur rival Artur Beterbiev 9-0 (9) who claims to have ‘Krusher’ Kovalev’s number.
Beterbiev bested Kovalev twice as an amateur and is eager to repeat that success possibly on November 28th. Also in the UK Anthony Joshua 13-0 (13) can’t shake his past amateur defeat to Dillian Whyte 14-0 (11) where he was knocked down and outpointed. If he can get past Gary Cornish on Sept 12 he should face Whyte in November or December. This piece discusses some of the best former amateur to professional rivalries of the past.
Kovalev vs. Beterbiev possible for November 28th in Moscow, Russia
(Photo Credit: David Spagnolo/Main Events) By Allan Fox: Last night, IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight world champion Sergey Kovalev (28-0-1, 25 KOs) demolished his No.1 IBF mandatory contender Nadjib Mohammedi (37-4, 23 KOs) in three rounds at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Kovalev knocked Mohammedi down twice in the fight. Mohammedi couldn’t get up from the knockdown in the 3rd, as he’s suffered an eye injury. After the fight, Kovalev’s promoter Kathy Duva said that she plans on bringing Kovalev back on November 28th, possibly against unbeaten #2 IBF, #3 WBO, #4 WBA, #4 WBC Arthur Beterbiev (9-0, 9 KOs) in Moscow, Russia.
Artur Beterbiev: The light-heavyweight stepping out of the shadows
By Daniel Hughes: The light heavyweight division has two fighters who most writers and fans would love to see face each other as one of the potential fights of 2015,the hard hitting duo Sergey Kovalev and Adonis Stevenson.
The division’s top two ranked fighters have been on a potential collision course for some time, promotional politics of course so far it seems have been the spanner in the works of giving the fans a fight that everyone would want to see. The Russian at 32 seemingly at his peak, Stevenson the Canadian at 37 you would hope would want the biggest money fight out there in the division.