THERE seems to be a big heavyweight event brewing in the UK for July but itโs not yet clear who exactly will be appearing on the card.
Initially, it seemed Dillian Whyte would fight Dominic Breazeale in some sort of bizarre and pointless WBC interim title fight and that certainly would have worked as a headliner. However, the WBC appear hellbent on making their current champion Deontay Wilder fight Breazeale in his next fight, and Whyte, it turns out, sounds keen to spread his wings and fly to America.
These factors donโt mean Whyte should be ruled out of fighting in the UK in July, but it certainly looks less likely than it did a month ago.
If Whyte is indeed bound for the States, this might present his last opponent, Dereck Chisora, with the chance to grab some limelight. It might also offer an in for Joseph Parker, his opponent from last July, to make yet another voyage to the UK.
Together, they seem a match made in heavyweight heaven.
โIโve been working on some different training, developing power, so if we can catch him with a clean shot, Iโll definitely put him away,โ Parker told Sky Sports, sounding as though the Chisora fight, one he turned down for April, was very much in the offing for July.
โHopefully when I do catch him with an explosive punch, and it lands in the right place, I can put him down. It will be a good night.
โIf I knock him out way earlier than he [Whyte] did, it shows thereโs a lot of improvement from our side.
โDillian Whyte and I would be great. I would love to rematch him now. But heโs got his own plans. Once we both take care of business, and heโs willing, we can get it on again.โ
Parkerโs coach, Kevin Barry, is eager for his man to earn a rematch with Dillian Whyte at some point this year and knows a knockout win against Chisora could be just the ticket.
โOur plan will be to knock him out, there is no doubt about that,โ Barry said. โObviously the first plan is to win the fight, and I think Joseph Parker, at his best, will knock Derek Chisora out. We will be going into that fight to make a statement.
โThis is a fight that is must-win, but I think it will bring out the very best in Joseph Parker.
โIf we take care of our business, we will be very vocal towards Dillian Whyte.โ
Itโs one thing being vocal towards Dillian Whyte and itโs another thing tempting him into a fight. With dollar signs in his eyes, and Tyson Fury potentially on the same team, โThe Body Snatcherโs priorities could soon be about to change.
Not all sons of boxing legends end up making it, but there seems to be something a little special โ a little different โ about Australian junior-middleweight Tim Tszyu.
The 24-year-old is the son of the wonderful former junior-welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu and has so far racked up 12 pro victories without needing to move out of first gear. Blessed with his fatherโs power, and that same patient, economical style, Tszyu recently halted Britainโs former Commonwealth welterweight champion Denton Vassell inside two rounds and has been matched competitively from the get-go.
Since the Vassell fight, he has fled to Los Angeles, California toย connect with Hall-of-Fame trainer Freddie Roach and aims to add a few more dimensions to his game before he steps up a level. This link-up could also lead to Tszyu making his US bow in the not-too-distant future.
โI just want the big names, the big fights, the big arenas,โ Tszyu told the Sydney Morning Herald. โMy main goal is the US. Thereโs not much going on domestically other than the [Michael] Zerafa fight.
โI want to go international, go to the States and test myself on the world level.โ
Zerafa was last seen pushing former IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook hard over 12 rounds and is rumoured to be negotiating aย fight against Anthony Mundine, the 43-year-old former super-middleweight world champion who canโt make up his mind whether heโs retired or not. If that fight is to happen, Tszyu would be more than happy to then face the winner.
โI want to see the level Iโm at,โ Tszyu said. โThereโs a few names. Zerafa and Mundine are talking to each other, Iโm now the mandatory to fight Zerafa. If them two fight, Iโd love to fight the winner. They are the big names Iโd like to fight.โ
Mundine appeared all set for retirement when he was stopped inside a round by countryman Jeff Horn last November. In keeping with the tradition of boxing exits, however, he has since reneged on this retirement and says he is now pursuing not only Zerafa but a rematch with โThe Hornetโ at some point down the line.
โZerafa is a good fighter,โ Mundine said. โHeโs just come back from England and put up a great performance against Kell Brook whoโs one of the best pound-for-pound fighters out there.
โHe went the distance. He didnโt win but he gave a competitive fight. Weโre talking to him, so weโll see what happens.โ