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By: William Holmes
The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of November 24th to December 1st, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.
Deontay Wilder Calls out Tyson Fury
The Guardian reported that Deontay Wilder has challenged Tyson Fury to a unification bout after Wilder defeated Wladimir Klitschko in a shocking victory.
Wilder currently holds the WBC Heavyweight Title while Fury holds the IBF, WBO, and WBA Titles.
Wilder told BBC Radio: “I’ve got to fight someone in January and after that fight I would love to have a unification bout- and guess what, I wouldn’t mind coming to the UK for that one. No matter where it might be, I want to be the undisputed champion of the world.”
He continued, “We haven’t had an undisputed champion in I can’t remember how long and I want to be the first name to bring the belts back together and heavyweight boxing back to its full potential.”
More can be read at http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/dec/01/deontay-wilder-tyson-fury-unification-wladimir-klitschko
Former Undisputed Cruiserweight Champion O’Neil Bell Killed in Atlanta Robbery
Former cruiserweight champion O’Neil Bell was killed during a robbery last Wednesday morning in Atlanta, Georgia.
He died after the robbers fired one round into his chest and killing him on the streets. Officers are currently searching for the four men believed to be involved in the shooting. A second victim was also shot during the incident.
O’Neil Bell last fought in 2011.
Zou Shiming to Return January 30th
Three time Olympic Gold Medalist Zou Shiming will return to the ring on January 30th in Shanghai against an opponent to be named later. Shiming has fought exclusively in Macau for his past seven fights, band will likely fight there again, but Macau has lost some of it’s luster recently with a fall off in gaming revenue.
Shiming was last seen in the ring losing a unanimous decision to flyweight titleholder Amnat Ruenroeng of Thailand.
HBO Names Peter Nelson Executive Vice President of HBO Sports
Nelson will be responsible for overseeing the strategic direction and operations of the HBO Sports department, including its boxing franchise and HBO Pay-Per-View®. In addition, the HBO Sports portfolio includes the Peabody- and Emmy Award®-winning journalism program “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel”; the nine-time Peabody Award-winning documentary team; the boxing studio show “The Fight Game With Jim Lampley”; and the landmark reality series “Hard Knocks” and “24/7,” which have garnered 12 and 18 Sports Emmy® Awards, respectively.
“Peter Nelson is the ideal choice to spearhead our groundbreaking programming initiatives as well as our commitment to world class boxing, which have made HBO Sports an acclaimed franchise for the network,” said Lombardo. “He has a comprehensive understanding of boxing, a key programming staple for our subscribers for more than four decades. We enjoyed a terrific 2015 season and can’t wait to present the best collection of fighters in the world on our platforms in the new year.”
HBO has televised boxing for 43 consecutive years and enjoyed a banner year in 2015 sparked by a host of fighters that dominate the consensus top ten pound-for-pound compilations in the sport.
Says Nelson: “The quality of HBO Sports programming is mirrored in the profound talents creating it, both those who work with HBO and those who work within it, people for whom I have deep admiration and with whom I’m excited to collaborate.”
A native of Newton, MA, Nelson attended Harvard University and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Ancient Greek. He has lived in Florence, Italy, Santa Monica, CA and New York City. Nelson will assume his new role effective immediately.
Dominguez vs. Vicente set to Square Off on PBC on FS1
Juan Dominguez (19-0) and Yenifel Vicente (27-3-2) will meet in a ten round featherweight bout to headline Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) Toe to Toe Tuesdays on FS1 on Tuesday, December 8th at the Sun National bank Center in Trenton, NJ.
Unbeaten cruiserweight Keith “Machine Gun” Tapia (16-0) will face off against Garrett Wilson (16-9-1) and undefeated middleweight prospect Immanuwel Aleem (15-0) will face Carlos Galvan (11-3-1) in an eight round bout.
“I am very motivated by this fight and this opportunity,” said Dominguez. “The preparation has been tremendous and I am going to show all of my skills in the ring. I want a world title fight and this is another obstacle in my way.”
“I know I have a very tough opponent in front of me and that is why I am preparing harder than ever,” said Vicente. “I will be ready for anything Dominguez throws at me. This will be an action-packed fight.”
TMZ Sports Reports Briggs Claims to be Inking Deal to Fight Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko lost his heavyweight titles to Tyson Fury this Saturday in a shocking upset, but prior to his win TMZ Sports reported that Shannon Briggs had inked a deal to fight Klitschko.
Briggs had chased Klitschko for nearly two years around the glove and he told TMZ Sports that he has been in negotiations with Wladimir for the past couple of weeks and that he will be inking a deal to fight Klitschko in the near future.
However, with the recent title change, it appears this is unlikely to happen.
http://www.tmz.com/2015/11/24/shannon-briggs-wladimir-klitschko-fight-boxing/
Shumenov Withdraws from Title Defense
Beibut Shumenov, who holds an interim cruiserweight title, withdrew from a December 18th title defense against Krzysztof Wlodarczyk after suffering an eye injury. They were scheduled to meet on December 18th on a PBC on Spike TV card from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Isiah Thomas (15-0) will instead meet Murat Gassiev (22-0) in a replacement fight and a world title eliminator. The winner of that bout will become the mandatory challenger for Victor Ramirez (22-2-1).
