By Gav Duthie: The latest brain child of Sauerland Promotions gets underway next month bringing some of the finest boxing talent from two weight classes together to find a supreme champion. Sauerland has joined forces with Richard Schaefer to create The World Boxing Super Series tournament in both the Super Middleweight and Cruiserweight divisions.
The World Boxing Super Series is delighted to announce that the inaugural season of the Muhammad Ali Trophy will feature ALL four reigning cruiserweight champions. WBO titlist & Olympic gold medal winner Oleksandr Usyk (12-0, 10 KOs) has officially joined the revolutionary bracket-style elimination tournament that already features unbeaten champions Yunier Dorticos (WBA), Mairis Briedis (WBC) and Murat Gassiev (IBF) as well as former champions Marco Huck and Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, with two more spots to be filled. On July 8, all participants will come face-to-face at the Draft Gala in Monaco where they will hand-pick their quarter-final opponents.
By Donavan Leonard: 2017 has been a banner year for boxing, and there are still a few more highly-anticipated bouts on the calendar. This bonanza has extended over many divisions, with marquee bouts (biggest names/unifications) that have been held or are scheduled in: Heavyweight (Anthony Joshua-Vladimir Klitschko), Light Heavyweight (Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev 2), Super Middleweight (Badou Jack-James DeGale), Middleweight (Gennady Golovkin-Canelo Alvarez), Welterweight (Errol Spence Jr.-Kell Brook, Danny Garcia-Keith Thurman), and Featherweight (Leo Santa Cruz-Carl Frampton). However, not all of the weight classes have enjoyed a showcase fight.
By Jim Dower: Unbeaten WBO cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (12-0, 10 KOs) defeated #8 WBO Michael Hunter (12-1, 8 KOs) by a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision on Saturday night to retain his title at the MGM National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Maryland. The final scores were 117-110, 117-110 and 117-110.
By Allan Fox: WBO cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (11-0, 10 KOs) has a high visible fight this Saturday night against Michael Hunter (12-0, 8 KOs) on the Vasyl Lomachenlo vs. Jason Sosa card at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. This is a pit stop for Usyk while on his way to unifying all of the titles at cruiserweight. Usyk wants to win all 4 of the cruiserweight titles and then move up to heavyweight to go after the titles in that weight class.
By Eric Baldwin: Undefeated WBO cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (11-0, 10 KOs) methodically broke down #12 IBF challenger Thabiso Mchunu (17-3, 11 KOs) in stopping him in the 9th round on Saturday night on HBO from the Forum in Inglewood, California. Boxing News 24 had Usyk ahead eight rounds to zero at the time of the stoppage in the 9th.
By Dan Ambrose: Bernard Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs) weighed in successfully at 174 pounds for his fight against WBC International light heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr. (22-1, 18 KOs) for their fight on HBO Boxing this Saturday night at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Smith Jr. weighed in at 175lbs.
Hopkins, 51, did a lot of talking to the 27-year-old Smith Jr. during the face off after the weigh-in. It looked like Hopkins was trying to get into the head of the Long Island fighter to unnerve him and gain an edge for the fight.
By Dan Ambrose: WBO cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (10-0, 9 KOs) will be making his first defense of his title next month against the crafty #9 WBC, #14 WBO Thabiso Mchunu (17-2, 11 KOs) on the undercard of the Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Smith Jr. card on HBO Championship Boxing from the Forum in Inglewood, California.
This is a good chance for Usyk to start making a name for himself in the U.S. Former WBO champion Marco Huck was given an opportunity to make a name for himself in the U.S, but he was stopped by Krzysztof Glowacki in the 11th round last year.
By Jim Dower: WBO cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (10-0, 9 KOs) is tentatively scheduled to fight on the undercard of the Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Smith card on December 17 on HBO Boxing from The Forum in Inglewood, California. It’s still not a done deal, according to Dan Rafael, but it’s in being worked on.
This would be a great addition to the Hopkins-Smith card if Usyk could be added, because he’s a fighter that is heading towards stardom in the sport. Usyk captured a gold medal in the 2012 Olympics for Ukraine, and he recently defeated the highly respected World Boxing Organization cruiserweight champion Krzysztof Glowacki by a 12 round unanimous decision on September 17 in Gdansk, Poland.
By Dan Ambrose: Unbeaten WBO World cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk says he’s assisting IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) prepare for his fight this month against former 168lb world champion Andre “SOG” Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) on November 19 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 6’3” southpaw Usyk says he’s helping Kovalev by working as a sparring partner for him. That’s a kind gesture on the 29-year-old Usyk’s part, as he’s a world champion now after his recent one-sided 12 round unanimous decision win over Krzysztof Glowacki last September in Gdansk, Poland.