Fightful Boxing News Rundown: Wilder, Berto, Spence, More
This article originally appeared in the August 3 Fightful Boxing Newsletter, which releases every Thursday Morning at 8 AM EST. You can see the full newsletter at this link.
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1. Promoter Eddie Hearn has a lot of interest in putting together a rematch between Dillian Whyte and heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. But before Hearn can put that fight together, he wants Whyte to capture a world title by beating WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. Whyte is fighting on August 19 against a still to be determined opponent in the United States. Whyte is fighting on the undercard of the Terence Crawford vs. Julius Indongo card at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. That fight will be broadcast on ESPN.
2. After finally getting his hands on the IBF welterweight title, Errol Spence Jr. has his sights set on unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman. Spence has wanted a fight against Thurman since 2014. Thurman wasn’t willing to fight him back then, and he still doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to make the fight now that Spence is a world champion. It’s also hard to imagine Thurman taking a fight with Spence after he is finished recovering from elbow surgery.
3. Former welterweight world champion Andre Berto says Conor McGregor revealed to him the game plan he’ll be using to try and beat boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. later this month in their fight on Showtime pay-per-view at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“He understands how he wants to make Floyd Mayweather uncomfortable,” Berto told Fighthype. “Me seeing it and talking to McGregor, that’s the plan. He’s a southpaw. He does a lot of awkward movements, and I really believe he thinks it’s going to make a big difference in the fight. He believes he’s going to bring a little bit more, something different from what Floyd’s used to. Make things awkward, and jump in from different angles.”
4. Promoter Lou DiBella, who co-promoted the July 29 Barclays Center card in Brooklyn, New York, has two more dates on hold for fight cards at the arena this year. One is penciled in for October 14, which is supposed to be the return of former middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs for his first fight since a close decision loss to unified world champion Gennady Golovkin on March 18. Jacobs’ fight, against an opponent to be determined, likely will headline a Premier Boxing Champions card on FOX.
The second date is November 4, which is earmarked for heavyweight world titleholder Deontay Wilder’s next defense. It’s supposed to be on Showtime but if Wilder is ultimately forced into a rematch with mandatory challenger and former champion Bermane Stiverne, Showtime may not pick it up. At this point and time, a Wilder vs. Stiverne match is not commercially viable, so don’t count on the fight being on Showtime, which has said it has no interest in that bout. The network would have big interest in fights between Wilder and an opponent such as Luis “King Kong” Ortiz, whom Wilder wants to fight, or Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller.
