Tag Archives: Anthony Joshua

Jamaine Ortiz to Fight Vasiliy Lomachenko in October

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Jamaine Ortiz has lined up his next opponent…

The 26-year-old Dominican and Puerto Rican professional boxer and Vasiliy Lomachenko have agreed to a deal for a lightweight fight that’s targeted for late October, according to ESPN.

Jamaine OrtizNo site has been finalized for the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN main event, sources said.

Lomachenko, formerly ESPN’s pound-for-pound No. 1 boxer, last competed in December, recording a unanimous decision victory over Richard Commey. He agreed to a deal for a fight against George Kambosos for four lightweight belts in June, but instead elected to remain in Ukraine when Russia invaded.

The 34-year-old even joined a territorial defense battalion, as did his good friend, heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, who meets Anthony Joshua in a rematch on Saturday.

On Tuesday, Lomachenko (16-2, 11 KOs) arrived in Los Angeles to begin training camp in pursuit of the undisputed lightweight championship. Devin Haney stepped in when Lomachenko stayed in Ukraine and went on to soundly outpoint Kambosos in Australia to capture the undisputed 135-pound championship.

Haney and Kambosos are set for an Oct. 15 rematch in Melbourne, Australia, on ESPN, and the winner could be lined up for a defense vs. Lomachenko next year.

In the meantime, Lomachenko will prepare for the potential summit meeting with a matchup against Ortiz (16-0-1, 8 KOs), who broke out with a unanimous decision victory over Jamel Herring in May that led to the former champion’s retirement.

Ortiz, from Worcester, Massachusetts, has never faced anyone close to Lomachenko’s level, and even the Herring fight was a quantum leap in competition. Ortiz’s lone blemish is an eight-round draw with Joseph Adorno last year.

Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, lost his three lightweight titles to Teofimo Lopez in 2020 and subsequently underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. He’s rated No. 2 at lightweight and No. 9 in pound-for-pound rankings.

The chief-support bout is slated to be a featherweight matchup between Robeisy Ramirez and Jessie Magdaleno, sources said, after the sides agreed to a deal.

Andy Ruiz Returning to Ring to Fight Luis Ortiz in September

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Andy Ruiz is returning to the ring…

The 32-year-old Mexican American boxer, a former heavyweight champion, will fight Luis Ortiz on September 4 in Los Angeles, according to ESPN.

Andy RuizThe fight, which ESPN reported was signed in April, will be a PBC on Fox PPV event, sources said.

The fight will be Ruiz’s first in 15 months, and he’ll enter it with a new trainer for the second time in two fights. Ruiz is now training with Alfredo Osuna after he parted ways with Eddy Reynoso, sources said. Reynoso is best known as the trainer of boxing’s top star, Canelo Alvarez.

Ruiz (34-2, 22 KOs) became the first heavyweight champion of Mexican descent when he defeated Anthony Joshua via seventh-round TKO in June 2019, in a bout that was named ESPN‘s 2019 Upset of the Year. Six months later, Joshua regained his three heavyweight titles with a unanimous-decision victory over Ruiz in Saudi Arabia.

Ruiz admitted he was not in shape when he fought Joshua in the rematch. He weighed a career-high 283.5 pounds and was lethargic during the fight, in stark contrast to the first bout, when he weighed 268 and consistently beat Joshua to the punch with his lightning-quick hands.

The Southern Californian has fought just once since the rematch, a May 2021 decision win over Chris Arreola. Ruiz weighed 256 pounds for that bout but was surprisingly dropped in Round 2 and struggled at times during the first half before he took control.

Ruiz, ESPN’s No. 5 heavyweight, underwent surgery on his right knee in August and will now prepare for just his second fight since he lost his three titles to Joshua.

Ortiz, ESPN’s No. 8 heavyweight, has twice challenged for the WBC heavyweight title, and both times he was knocked out by Deontay Wilder. The 43-year-old was ahead on the scorecards in the November 2019 rematch when Wider scored the spectacular KO.

Since the setback, Ortiz (33-2, 28 KOs) has fought twice. The 43-year-old scored a first-round KO of journeyman Alexander Flores before he met Charles Martin on New Year’s Day 2022.

Ortiz was floored in the opening round and again in the fourth but rallied for a brutal stoppage in Round 6.

The winner of Ruiz-Ortiz will be in prime position for another heavyweight title shot next year. Tyson Fury holds one title, while Oleksandr Usyk and Joshua will meet in a rematch for three belts on August 20 in Saudi Arabia.

Andy Ruiz Jr. Agrees to Fight Against Chris Arreola

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Andy Ruiz Jr. has a new challenger…

The 30-year-old Mexican American boxer, a former unified world titleholder, will battle against former title challenger Chris Arreola in a heavyweight bout.

Andy Ruiz Jr.

No date and venue have been announced, but the fight is supposed to take place later this year.

“It’s a planned fight. They pretty much know that the plan is to fight each other. We don’t have a set date for that or know what show we’re going to put it on yet,” a source at Premier Boxing Champions tells ESPN.

The Athletic first reported the news.

Ruiz (33-2, 22 KOs) was the Cinderella story of boxing in 2019 after shocking the world by stopping Anthony Joshua by seventh-round TKO to win the WBO, IBF and WBA world titles at Madison Square Garden in New York. Ruiz then lost the belts by unanimous decision in a rematch with Joshua six months later at the Diriyah Arena in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.

After coming in at 268 pounds for the first encounter, Ruiz weighed in at 283.5 pounds for the rematch and was soundly criticized for his training habits leading into that fight. Ruiz replaced his head trainer, Manuel Robles, with Eddy Reynoso, best known for his work in developing Canelo Alvarez.

The 39-year-old Mexican American Arreola (38-6-1, 33 KOs) has been a fixture in the heavyweight division for years. He has gotten two shots at the world title, against Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder.

After getting stopped by Wilder in eight rounds in 2016, he took nearly a year and a half off from the ring but returned to score stoppage victories against Maurenzo Smith (TKO in 6th) and Jean Pierre Augustin (TKO in 3rd) before losing a unanimous decision to Adam Kownacki last summer.

Norbelto Jimenez to Fight Junior Bantamweight World Titleholder Khalid Yafa

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Norbelto Jimenez is battling a champ…

The 28-year-old Dominican boxer is set to face junior bantamweight world titleholder Khalid Yafai in a mandatory challenge bout after their camps made a deal for the fight.

Norbelto Jimenez

The agreement came on Tuesday, just before the bout was scheduled to be put up for a purse bid at the WBAoffices in Panama City.

There’s no set date for the fight yet, but Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn told ESPN that he might place it on the undercard of unified heavyweight world titleholder Anthony Joshua‘s defense against Jarrell “Big Baby” Milleron June 1 at Madison Square Gardenin New York.

Hearn said if the fight is not on the Joshua-Miller card it would likely be scheduled for another date in June in the United Kingdom.

Yafai (25-0, 15 KOs), 29, of England, has made four title defenses, most recently a unanimous decision over Israel Gonzalezon November 24 in Monte Carlo.

Jimenez (29-8-4, 16 KOs), 28, of the Dominican Republic, hasn’t lost since a four-rounder in 2011, but he also has not faced top opposition.