By Declan Taylor
Wednesday January 3
BABYJACKER
As The Week finally wrapped up the last of the celebrations, dumping all the remaining stilton into a broccoli soup and tossing the bedraggled tree off a third-floor balcony, the sport of boxing was already moving into the new year in some style.
Perhaps a poor choice of words, as the most surprising news of the day came when Jarrell Miller, Big Baby himself, was arrested in Florida and charged with carjacking without a firearm or weapon and robbery with assault or battery. His bail was set at $30,000.
According to a local television station, Miller stole a black Dodge Ram pickup truck from a car dealership in Hollywood after proceeding with what prosecutors described as a planned attack on one of the employees. What a start to the year for Miller, who suffered the first loss of his professional career at the end of 2023.
That story emerged on the heels of news that Polish southpaw Krzysztof Glowacki, who was stopped by Richard Riakporhe in four rounds 12 months ago, has been suspended for four years by the BBBoC after testing positive for the anabolic steroid Boldenone following that defeat. Well, I never, someone hands me a miniature Twix right away.
Thursday January 4
THE ACQUISITION CONTINUES
On Thursday it was confirmed that Teófimo López will return to the ring on February 8 (which, coincidentally, is another Thursday) to face Jamaine Ortiz at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas on ESPN.
Lopez hasn’t boxed since making one of the 2023 performances to outpoint Josh Taylor at Madison Square Garden in June, his only fight of the year. But it looks like he could be set for a busy 2024 and will hit the ground running early next month, the Thursday before the Super Bowl, which will also take place in Las Vegas. It should be a quiet week in Sin City.
However, one man who will no longer be in Las Vegas is Joe Joyce, as he confirmed on Thursday that he will no longer train with Ismael Salas, but will instead stay in England to work with Steve Broughton. The Juggernaut, who was stopped twice by Zhilei Zhang last year, hopes to bounce back with “two or three” fights in 2024 as he attempts to chart a path back to the top of the heavyweight tree, which brings us well to Friday.
Joyce and coach Ismael Salas
Friday, January 5
IT’S THE SEASON (AGAIN)
Further proof, if ever it were needed, on Friday that we live in Saudi Arabia’s boxing generation, as it was revealed that Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou will meet in a 10-round heavyweight attraction as part of the season from Riyadh.
Eddie Hearn took to Twitter to confirm the news late in the day and revealed that a press conference will be held on January 15 to confirm all the details. “Tonight we confirm that the deal is done!” Hearn said. “Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou collide on big night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia”.
It is understood that the fight will land on the second weekend of March, probably on Friday the 8th, due to the grand prix in Saudi Arabia on the 9th. This match will represent Joshua’s fourth outing in just 11 months, an activity he has not achieved since 2015.
While AJ’s earnings during that period reportedly rose to nine figures, it was a much smaller sum that piqued The Week’s interest elsewhere on Friday, as Boxing News confirmed that supreme Boxxer Ben Shalom has pledged £5,000 to the Ringside Charitable Trust after meeting. with its founder Dave Harris late last year. The couple will meet again this month to also discuss a longer-term plan. Bravo.
Saturday January 6
40 YEARS IN VIRGIN
The most notable card of the first fight Saturday of 2024 was at the Virgin Hotel in Las Vegas, but the two main fights lasted less than three minutes.
At the top of the card, Vergil Ortiz Jr, the former welterweight prodigy, boxed for the first time in almost 18 months in what was his debut at 154 pounds. Ortiz’s career has been rocked by some major health issues, but he is said to be safe to box at the new weight and did the business against Fredrick Lawson in the first round. But referee Tony Weeks received criticism for the speed with which he intervened to stop the fight; more on Weeks on Monday.
Before that, there were few complaints about the speed with which referee Celestino Ruiz intervened to stop Ismael Barroso’s first-round beating of Hackney’s Ohara Davies at the Virgin Hotel. The 40-year-old Venezuelan southpaw dropped Davies early and, although he recovered, he was never able to reestablish a foothold in the fight.
“It’s a fight I saw myself winning,” Davies said afterwards. “I made a mistake and I paid for it. I just want to say I’m sorry, I didn’t see that coming and I don’t think anyone else did. “That’s not how the script should be.”
Ismael Barroso (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
Sunday, January 7
BENN, IN USA
Speaking of Las Vegas, another Brit who will be in Nevada in Q1 is Conor Benn. The Destroyer had hoped to fight Chris Eubank Jr, or anyone, in Tottenham on February 3, but when those plans didn’t materialize, Team Benn decided to hit the road again.
He landed on American soil on Sunday and will now put the finishing touches on his preparation to face Peter Dobson at the Cosmopolitan on February 3. Before the flight, The Week caught up with Benn, who was in a philosophical mood after a testing 2023.
“I would say 2022 was the worst year for me, but 23 was a year of learning and growth,” he said. “I would say I became more accepting of the situation I found myself in. I found out I was having a little daughter, which is a blessing, and I spent a lot of time with my dad. For me it was a year of personal growth. This has truly made me a better man.”
While Benn makes his Las Vegas debut in a matter of weeks, Australian Tim Tszyu is expected to do the same in March. And after his victory over Fredrick Lawson, it was Vergil Ortiz who spoke of a possible clash with the Australian. “There are a lot of fighters I want, but Tim Tszyu, with all due respect, I want him next.”
Monday, January 8
VOLUMES OF THE WEEKS
There’s nothing like a good old Twitter meltdown, but that’s exactly what happened Monday morning after referee Tony Weeks appeared to give his side of the Las Vegas story on Facebook.
The post uploaded to Week’s account, which has now been deleted, read: “What the public didn’t know is that before the fight they did a brain scan on him and it turned out he had an aneurysm, and they did a test on him. again and the same aneurysm appears. “They brought another doctor and they did the same exam and the result of the aneurysm was negative, they authorized him to fight.”
It’s a truly surprising paragraph, one that didn’t last long on his Facebook, but was widely circulated on Twitter and goes some way to explaining why Weeks seemed to stop the fight before Ortiz had really gotten anything big done cleanly.
Meanwhile, Golden Boy responded with a remarkably brief statement of its own, saying: “Fredrick Lawson was cleared by a doctor licensed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to fight on Saturday night.”
And if all that wasn’t enough, Jarrell Miller (remember him?), also decided to take to social media to give an explanation. “GOD gives the toughest battles to HIS strongest soldiers,” part of the statement read. “I am praying and hoping for a favorable resolution of this case.”
Tuesday January 9
WORDS, SMITH
On the day scientists confirmed that 2023 was officially the hottest year on record, the great Callum Smith might have been wondering what happened to Quebec City, where temperatures hovered around -12 degrees.
Smith, of course, is there on business as he prepares for Saturday’s clash against arguably the number one light heavyweight on the planet, Artur Beterbiev, who is 19-0 with 19 knockouts. The pair were supposed to meet in August, but the fight was delayed due to complications following dental surgery for Beterbiev.
“Mentally it’s a little harder,” Smith said of the postponement. “I’ve had Beterbiev in my head for a long time. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for almost two years. But I always watched him and felt like I had the style to beat him. “I like my chances in this fight.”
On the other hand, Errol Spence uploaded a video to his Instagram in which he appeared to be pushed in a wheelchair with a bandage over his right eye. On Twitter he wrote: “You can cut the retirement bullshit though. Yeah, they beat my ass, shit was over. I didn’t exactly live like a boxer for the most part lol.”
And with that, the Week 2024 roadshow was officially up and running. Until someone steals our car, at least.
