A boxer enrolling in a Clean Boxing Program, which it to say doing their job, shouldnโt constitute news, but this is boxing, a sport in which many โ for obvious reasons โ donโt bother, so it becomes newsworthy.
Kell Brook, recently dropped from the WBC rankings for not enrolling in their VADA-affiliated Clean Boxing Program, today proudly announced he has fixed this, got his house in order and signed up.
โSo many people asking me why I havenโt signed up to VADA, well here are the forms which are getting signed and sent in today,โ Brook wrote on Instagram, in a post accompanied by a picture of the former IBF welterweight champion holding said forms and grinning as if showing off a 20 metres swimming certificate.
Bless.
Brook has done the right thing, no doubt, but until we reach a point where everybody is enrolled, and regular random tests are an actual thing, such efforts are kind of futile.
Whatโs more, itโs no good boxers enrolling only when theyโre told to enrol, or because theyโve been dropped from rankings, or because they have a fight coming up and find themselves in the middle of a training camp. Instead, there needs to be greater visibility and an all-year-round commitment, and the boxersโ efforts need to amount to more than just a wide smile and an Instagram pic. (See, I did it!)
Still, itโs progress. Itโs better than it used to be.
Brook, now WBC-approved, will fight unheralded Canadian Brandon Cook on July 28 at Londonโs O2 Arena. The pair are highly-ranked with the WBO โ Cook at four, Brook at six โ and the plan, it would seem, is for Sheffieldโs former welterweight king to hustle his way towards a shot at WBO super-welterweight champion Jaime Munguia, a fearsome Mexican puncher last seen demolishing Sadam Ali in four rounds.
Which means he might not need those WBC spoilsports, after all.
Itโs coming home.
I should be clear: two-time WBC super-flyweight champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai is coming home โ to Bangkok, Thailand, that is.
The hard-hitting Thai, famous for twice beating Roman Gonzalez, will fight in front of his home fans at the Muang Thani Arena on October 6. It will be the first time he has boxed in Thailand since he stopped compatriot Oley Taladklangadsawai in four rounds 19 months ago. It will also be a voluntary defence against an opponent still to be announced.
So far, So normal. But what makes Sor Rungvisaiโs return to Thailand so interesting is that it will be promoted by ONE Championship, the Middle Eastโs leading mixed martial arts promotional group, on a card titled ONE Championship: Kingdom of Heroes.
The idea, Iโm told, is to gather as many of the countryโs top combat athletes on one show and stack it top to bottom. But itโs unusual all the same to see a world champion boxer blurring the lines and linking up with whatโs widely known as an MMA organisation. A good kind of unusual, I should add.
โIโm very excited at the opportunity to defend my crown at home for the first time in two years,โ said Srisaket, last seen defeating Juan Francisco Estrada in February.
โTo be able to compete in the One Championship arena is an honour. Iโm determined to defend my belt in front of the home fans.โ
Sor Rungvisai is unbeaten in his last 18 fights, has won a whopping 15 of them by knockout, and if heโs to represent boxing on a night that celebrates the cream of combat sports, I can think of no better champion.
And finallyโฆ donโt get too excited but it would appear Vasyl Lomachenko, only recently free from a sling following shoulder surgery, could fight again on August 25, as originally planned.
The gifted Ukrainian was booked for that date in the days that followed his win over Jorge Linares, but an injury seemed to scupper those plans. Instead, Plan B involved a date towards the back end of the year, perhaps November or December time.
Now, however, according to Lomachenkoโs social media, thereโs every chance he gets out again in August and, moreover, heโs training for it and asking his followers for some opponent recommendations. Thatโs good news for boxing fans and good news for Lomachenko, too.
Admittedly, it sounds soon โ perhaps too soon. But if anyone has the ability to allay concerns regarding a premature return, itโs the man known as โHi-Techโ, the greatest talent in the sport today. Even with one arm, youโd find it hard to pick against him.