On Tuesday afternoon while Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant engaged in an unscheduled round one of their upcoming fall battle at their press conference in Beverly Hills, it overshadowed the news that that unified heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, had agreed to a 'career-long' promotional contract with Matchroom Sports.
Joshua, faces former undisputed cruiserweight king, Oleksandr Usyk this Saturday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. It will be the first major boxing event since the world-wide pandemic, and once again 'AJ' will play to a large throng of his loyalists.
Under the guidance of Eddie Hearn and Matchroom, Joshua has established himself as the games biggest ticket seller. While the likes of Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder struggle to sell-out arena's -- even against one another -- Joshua fills stadiums to the brim. And his fight cards go far beyond just boxing events but extravagant spectacles. Boxing, just feels bigger on these occasions, like it actually still matters.
From the time Joshua came out of the 2012 London Olympics with a gold medal, save for one horrific night at Madison Square Garden in 2019, it's been a blissful marriage between the two parties.
And if it ain't broke, why fix it?
Photo Credit: Matchroom Sports/Mark Robinson
"We've built some great foundations over the years and I appreciate Matchroom - the company, the team, the family business,'' said Joshua. "That's kind of what drew me towards you guys as well, the integrity that the Hearns have when it comes to boxing and business."
"I've felt comfortable during my years and I always felt that the business outside of sport is harder than the actual fighting due to the history and some of the problems that some fighters have had. So, to be with Matchroom Sports has been a blessing for myself, my family and my team."
It was certainly a momentous achievement for Matchroom Sports, which secured their franchise fighter for the duration of his career.
"There is something quite special about sharing a journey together from the professional debut to the day the gloves are hung up," stated Hearn, who is the Sport Chairman for the company. "But it takes a huge amount of belief and an unwavering loyalty. Over those eight years 'AJ' has been the face of British boxing, inspiring a new generation and audience to the sport we love."
In many ways, Joshua is Matchroom, and Matchroom is Joshua.
And till end-of-the-career due us part.
TRILLER VS TEO
Speaking of relationships, the one between unified lightweight champion, Teofimo Lopez, and Triller, is like that really bad one-night stand you end up regretting. Not sure if it's quite like 'Fatal Attraction', but it's clear someone wants to get back to their loving marriage.
As of now, no bunny rabbits have been boiled.
But Triller had some designs on moving the October 4 card a few weeks back from the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden to the Barclay Center in Brooklyn.
Which was summarily rejected by Lopez and his camp, and later by George Kambosos on his team, which insisted this fight take place on the 4th as announced a couple of weeks ago.
The fighters who have already endured several delays in this fight, really don't want to wait any longer to get this over with. But on the flip side, given that this bout is scheduled for October, it's not like they were going to fight again till the first quarter of 2022. So what is another two weeks?
As of Wednesday night, there are those who have a vested interest in this fight still aren't sure just when -- and if -- it will actually come to fruition. Regardless, this fight has moved more than a military family.
(Editors note: Triller has notified SNAC.com on Thursday morning that they have recieved signed agreements for this bout to take place on October 16.)
ROUND 1
Just in case you missed it, Alvarez and Plant just couldn't contain their brewing tension and animosity, and they scuffled a bit as they faced off earlier this week. While Plant suffered a cut underneath his right eye, it's not anything that will put the fight (scheduled for the MGM Grand in Las Vegas) in jeopardy.
HEATED AF!!! CANELO SHOVES CALEB PLANT IN FACE OFF!! BOTH FIGHTERS & CAMPS ALMOST BRAWL IN PRESSER
FINAL FLURRIES
Speaking of Wilder-Fury III, it was formally announced that super middleweight Edgar Berlanga will face Esteban Coceras. While former unified junior middleweight titlist, Julian Williams returns against Vladimir Hernandez, and heavyweight prospect Jared 'Big Baby' Anderson takes on Vladimir Tereshkin at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.... The ShoBox telecast on Friday night features Saul Sanchez versus Ja'Rico O'Quinn. This broadcast on Showtime begins at 10:35 pm ET/PT......'A Football Life' on Nick Saban on NFL Network was excellent.....
