The final WBC heavyweight eliminator (over 90.7 kg) between former US world champions Deontay Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) and Andy Ruiz Jr. (35-2, 22 KOs) does not seem to take place in May and in June. Told about it Salvador Rodriguezwhich refers to the words of the boss Showtime Sports Stephen Espinosa.
Earlier we said that Wilder and Ruiz agreed to fight, but there is a problem. And not alone.
Reviewer Dan Raphael announced that in the heavyweight limit (over 90.7 kg), an intriguing duel is planned between fighters who have previously been caught using illegal drugs more than once.
On March 18 in Dubai (UAE), American slugger Jarrell Miller (25-0-1, 21 KOs) will fight with age-old Australian Lucas Brown (31-3, 27 KOs). This fight was discussed back in August last year.
Brown in 2016 in Grozny (RF) took away the WBA World belt from Ruslan Chagaev from Uzbekistan, but was later stripped of the championship title because he failed a doping test. Considering that the result of the fight remained unchanged, it seems that he can still be considered the ex-world champion.
The bearded man from Ireland and the victim Lomachenko will box at the opening act.
On March 18, in Johannesburg (South Africa), local ex-challenger Kevin Lerena (28-2, 14 KOs) will fight against slugger Riyad Merhi (31-1, 26 KOs), who represents Belgium. At stake is the title of mandatory contender for the WBC title in bridgerweight (up to 101.6 kg). Told about it No Smoke Boxing.
The champion in this “weight” will be determined in a duel between Alen Babich (11-0, 10 KOs) from Croatia and Lukasz Rozanski (14-0, 13 KOs) from Poland – more on link.
According to boxing kingdom, February 25 in Saudi Arabia, Jake Paul and Tommy Fury will open for the WBC world title in cruiserweight (up to 90.7 kg). The belt holder Ilunga Makabu (29-2, 25 KOs) from the DRC will fight with the conqueror of two divisions, veteran from Sweden Badu Jack (27-3-3, 16 KOs).
For the contender, this fight is a chance to conquer the third weight category. Previously, one of the top fights of January was thwarted – Makabu had to fight his mandatory challenger.
Jack is a very popular person in the Middle East (especially in the UAE), as he is also a Muslim philanthropist: I will fight for refugee children to the end.
Previously, he had already performed as an opening act for Paul, but not this one. The source reports that this information is already official.