The Ariel Helwani Show - Ariel x Ade, episode 11: Paul x Canelo x Crawford in 2025? What’s next for David Benavidez? Plus, Frank Warren drops news

Episode Date: February 5, 2025

Ariel x Ade kicks off with a discussion about Derek Chisora's 'last stand' (05:42), before being joined by his promoter Frank Warren (09:37), who also touches on Tyson Fury's future, Daniel Dubois' next fight, and more.Next, they address the reported September bout between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford (28:07) and whether Jake Paul could play spoiler in a potential bout against Alvarez (30:45).Recapping the weekend, the duo wonders what's next for David Benavidez after his win over David Morrell (45:11) and who will be able to challenge Claressa Shields (54:41).The conversation moves to potential opponents for Anthony Joshua (59:59) and the duo delivers the parting shot (01:11:32), before closing on the newly announced KSI vs. Dillon Danis fight (01:14:23).

Hello there and welcome to a brand new edition of the Ariel and Ade show right here on the global home of boxing. Of course, we are DAZN and this is the flagship program for DAZN who continues with their tremendous schedule. Another big fight this weekend. There was a great fight on Sunday. There is more to come later in February. We have a lot to discuss. Canelo Crawford, is this a real thing? What about Canelo Jake Paul? What about all the comings and goings over seas that are going down that we've been talking about and wondering about? There's many more things to discuss on the Hero Program. And by the way, we're going to be joined by a Hall of Famer, one of the greatest promoters of all time, the founder, the head man, the face of Queensberry Promotions, Frank Warren is going

to be joining us in the first half hour of our program. So stay tuned for that. But of course, it's not just me here in our beautiful New York City studio. We do have to go across the pond and say hello to my better half, dare I say, the one and only Ade Oladipo, who I would never trade for anything in the world, unlike the Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic. Yes, what are they at now, 22, 23? What are we at? You're being kind. I would say more 20.

I'll take 22, 23, but i know we have some eagle-eyed viewers that will say adi you're nowhere near that wow 20 i'll tell you about 20 well you look that's about a pump as well that's without a pump i look fantastic you look like a school kid right now what you look like a school kid you're like a school kid what is this this jumper look what have you got on what is this what? What do you mean? This little thing? This little thing. This thing looks like you're about to go hunting. What are you talking about? Are you going to go bear hunting?

What are you wearing right now? This is a one-of-one designed and produced by my brother, my blood. 20 by David Helwani. You can't pull off something as cool as this. I love your brother. I love your brother. Thank you. He's family.

I love your brother, but maybe it just's family. Yeah. I love your brother, but maybe it just isn't for you. What do you mean? You think it's too cool for me? I think it's far too trendy for you. I get it, right? New York kid nowadays, I understand,

but maybe you're not as hipster as you think. I think you should give it to a 20-year-old on the street. Wow. At your age, you're nearly 40. Actually, I'm 42.

You're 40 years old. I'm 42. You're 42. And perhaps you don't know the real me. Perhaps don't know perhaps this is the real me perhaps the me that i've been showing you on the telly for years and years is actually a facade maybe i am perhaps more street i think you just hit a point where it's a midlife crisis i get it you're probably gonna get a motorbike and a skateboard i get it right maybe a couple of tattoos now i understand what you're trying to do but leave it ariel leave it just dress like a man a grown-up please this is so inappropriate for such a great show as you say

the flagship inappropriate he's calling flagship show flagship show for the zone and ariel turns up like he's about to go hunting it's just not good enough do you realize that these are banana leaf trees these are i'm not i'm not i'm not in the jungle here by the way what's cooler this fit in in your opinion what's cooler this fit or the fit that steven fulton showed up in on saturday talk about new york talk about cool are you gonna crap on this too no no i can't i mean i mean jean shorts and Timberlands? This is fantastic. What do you know about jean shorts and Timberlands?

Hey, what do you mean what I know about Timberlands, eh? I've been to New York before. I've got a pair of Timberlands. I've got several pairs. This is incredible. And I was hoping

he was going to do that fit and win. I was thinking, don't come out of that fit and lose. And he gets a very good victory and Stephen Fulton is back, ladies and gentlemen. Forget the Inouye fight.

It didn't happen. He's now back. He's a world champion, and he's going to go on and do really good things this year. Book it. I'm still unsure as to whether or not they were real Tims or boxing boots disguised. I don't know.

What do you think? Nah. No chance? There's no way they're real Tims. I mean, I don't have a weight of real Tims. The only person I know that wears non-boxing boots is Amanda Serrano, who just seems to wear Jordans, don't she?

She wears Jordans, which is incredible. But everyone else, it's boxing boots disguised as Timberlands, trust me. Devin Haney wore Uggs in April. He did, didn't he? Didn't help him. Didn't help him. That was the first thing I thought of when I saw Fulton on Saturday. I was like, oh no, not this again

Although Those look like Uggs disguised as boxing boots But they seemed a little bit too flat There was something off about Whatever he was wearing They were so flimsy And maybe like it was like too comfortable Like you can't fight someone

In comfy Soft Whatever the sensation that you get when you wear Uggs you can't fight someone in in comfy soft whatever whatever the sensation that you get when you wear uggs you can't fight someone with that it makes you soft it makes you it doesn't give you that killer instinct right yeah they were bad they were bad and um hopefully they're sort of discarded for the history books i'll tell you who has really good sort of footwear when it comes to boxing footwear anyway caleb plant incredible yeah i mean this guy literally he's the coolest guy in the world you should take some dress sense of caleb plant wow go on his instagram after the show and if you really want to be the cool kid in the class again

just wear what he wears that he wouldn't wear what you're wearing right now he'd probably wear something like this i think he'd probably wear this he'd probably wear the hat i'm just saying wow what you're wearing it's uh it's a lot of shade, but I'm comfortable enough. I'm secure enough. I'm confident enough to take all of this and then some. I tell you what, we do have Frank Warren joining us in a matter of moments. Of course, Queensbury going to be joining forces with DAZN come April officially, although there's a bit of a taste.

There's a bit of a taste, if you will. If you're living outside the UK and Ireland this weekend, you're getting the Derek Chisora versus Otto Wallin card. It's on TNT Sports in the UK and Ireland, but elsewhere, including here in America, we get it. So a bit of a taste of Queensbury action on DAZN. They're calling this, I think they're calling it the last dance for Derek Chisora, right?

Number 49, but they've already said that he wants to get to number 50. calling this i think they're calling it the last dance for derek chisora right uh number 49 but they've already said that he wants to get to number 50 so i've i've surmised and and we'll ask frank when he joins us in a matter of moments about this i've surmised that i guess it's the last dance in the uk for chisora what do you think it means if not that you are correct that is exactly what it is it's the last dance in the. And obviously that's where I'm guessing 99% of all these fights have been. I know he's had a couple of fights in and around Europe. I'm thinking of Hellenius and Klitschko and Pulev. But the majority of these fights have been in the UK.

So it's his last dance in the UK, the AO Arena in Manchester. I'm hearing he's pretty much sold that place out. And it's a big arena. So the crowd are going to turn up and support him. And Chisora is just incredible. I don't think there's a story like Chisora in boxing full stop, not just in the UK, but boxing globally for a guy to have lost 13 times.

He's lost 13 times, but he still puts bums on seats. He's still got a following. He's still in big fights. He's, he's for everyone that he could fight apart from maybe AJ, who he's never going to fight in Deontay Wilder. Apart from that, he's for everyone that he could fight apart from maybe aj who he's never going to fight in dionte wilder apart from that he's for everyone i mean he's an incredible story he's i like the way he's changed himself from delboy chisora to war chisora so he's moved with the times he always

reinvents himself fantastic story good luck to him on saturday who do you want for number 50? Who comes to mind? Nganou. Really? I saw that photo. Yeah, there's two, really. Yeah, Nganou in Africa, because there's been this big talk about an African fight, potentially. Nganou makes sense for that. Dillian White, I mean, him and Dillian White always seem just a mix.

The problem is it's 2-0 Dillian White. I thought Dillian White lost the first fight, but obviously he won the second fight conclusively. So it's those two. I know he's spoken about AJ. He says, you know, I think I saw something where he says he hasn't fought two people and he said, I've not fought AJ and I've not fought Dubois. So I think he wants potentially a crack at a world title. I don't think he's going to get that. And he's not going to fight AJ. AJ's his younger brother. So I'm going to go for Nganou in Africa. I think that'll be a big one. Oh, I don't hate that. I don't hate that. And I know that Nganou is itching and I know that he wants to fight in

boxing this year, perhaps even more so than, you know, MMA as far as his next fight is concerned. No chance Dubois. I mean, especially if he wins, even if he loses,

I don't want to see that there's, there's too big of an age gap. And I just, I have no interest in that. The AJ one would be weird. I feel like it's going to end up being someone like Dillian White. And, you know, fair play. 50th fight.

Try to get one back. It wouldn't work for me, though. No? I don't know. I don't like the idea. Look, if it wasn't his last answers in his last fight in the UK, cool. I think him versus Dillian White in the UK, it does an arena here comfortably.

Those two, once they get talking, they sell it. The press conference will always be action-packed. But that fight abroad, it's kind of weird. It just doesn't feel like a fight that would do great numbers in Saudi. It certainly wouldn't do great numbers in Africa. It kind of, you know, whereas I think Nganou would do great numbers in Saudi. He's been there before. We know how good his support is over there.

And it would certainly do something crazy in Africa, especially, and I know we're going to get to it if it's on the undercard or something a bit special so um i like the inganu one more than the dillian white one all right well let's talk to the man who will be putting on this event uh this saturday in manchester as you said at the ao arena it will air right here on the zone outside of the uk and and Ireland on TNT Sports in the UK and Ireland and a bit of a taste, as I said, of what is to come come April

when Queensberry joins the DAZN family in full force. Let's say hello to the man himself, the best-dressed man in boxing, the great Frank Warren, who, Frank, you know,

I've been getting a lot of stick from Ade on my jumper. He says it's not cool that I'm having a midlife crisis. I thought it was very cool. Who better than you to ask? What do you think? You're on there?

I can't see you. Camouflage, you know, it's hip. You're blending into the background without camouflage. Wow.

This is a lot of British humor for one man to take on a Tuesday evening. Great to see you, Frank, as always. Appreciate it very much. We were just talking about Chisora

and obviously he returns on Saturday, 49th fight, the last dance, last fight in the UK, but we were kind of trying to come up with a name for number 50. Perhaps you even know the answer to that question. Do you know when number 50 will be against you? And I understand I'm putting the cart before the horse,

but he's kind of laid out this plan, has he not? Well, he's got obviously, the horse but he's kind of laid out this plan, has he not? Well, he's got to obviously, you know, he's got to get through this fight first on. This is a tough fight for him. When he gets through it, I think the summer we'll do the 50th fight. You know,

well, yeah, probably summer. That's what we're looking for, maybe June. But I've got to be honest, he's got his hands full. Otto Wallin, I think, on his day can give Derek a lot of problems. A lot of problems. He can be an awkward customer. So it's going to be quite interesting to fight.

But he's done extremely well. We've sold a lot of tickets up there. I mean, it's not completely sold out, but we've had a real, real good turnout for it. And I'm hoping we can get rid of these last few tickets leading up to Saturday. But a really, it's a really good card. And for Derek, this is, you know,

this is his last fight in the UK. So as we called it, the last dance, he certainly will be one way or another as far as the British public's concerned, seeing him live. Yeah, Frank, I can't wait to come up. I'm coming up on Saturday to support Derek. I think Derek's been incredible for British boxing.

How would you sum up Derek's career? He's a guy that's fought everyone. There are double-digit defeats on the resume. And normally when you get those kind of double-digit defeats, you lose the fan base. The fan base still supports him. He still gets big numbers, as you say. It will probably sell out time, fight rolls around.

How would you sum up Derek's career? You've looked after him a few times. He's left you a few times. He's come back. He's left you. He's come back. How would you sum it up? I think, you know, the fans have got to like him more

as he's got older. And it's despite the fact that, you know, he's got losses on his record. He's lost about 30 fights in his career, but all tough fights. I mean, he's not had any easy jobs. He's fought everybody who's out there. But the one thing he's always done is give everything he's got. He's given 100%. You know, he's a moniker, he's war.

And that's what you get every time he gets in the ring he goes to war he doesn't leave anything outside it's all left in the ring and I think that's what's happened with the fans and they love him for it his last fight he went in again as an underdog against Joe Joyce and it was a cracking

fight and up until the stoppage there was nothing in it but what a great fight that was and I think we're going to get something as well on Saturday, similar to that, because it's the way Derek fights. You know, there's only these two more fights.

I mean, I said a couple of years ago, he should have retired. And he's proven me wrong on that. But, you know, hopefully he comes through Saturday and, you know,

the 50th and that must be it for him I don't want to see him carry on any longer because every punch he takes now he's going to catch up with him as he gets older yeah it was supposed to be Jarrell Miller and that would have been something right Jarrell Miller versus Chisora just a press conference alone for that would have been crazy Otto Wollen as you say steps in it's a for that would have been crazy. Otto Wollen, as you say, steps in. It's a tough task. I mean, we recently saw Otto Wollen against AJ. He's had a fight since then.

Were there any other names, Frank, linked to this fight? Was Otto almost like the second choice? Were any other big names sort of being spoken to or approached? No, there were quite a few people. You know, different people were meant their names were mentioned but we settled on this one I'm not sure

the exact amount he's had something like maybe 28-30 fights he's only lost 2 fights and both were over 2 world champions in Tyson Fury and AJ so he's fought at the highest level.

And on his day, he can be a bit of a problem for anybody. You know, he's a southpaw. He's quite awkward. And he's up for this. I mean, for both of them. You know, for Derek, it's his last fight in the UK. He didn't want to go out on a high. And for Volley, it's a fight he can't afford to lose

if he wants to get into another big fight. If he loses this one, he becomes basically, you know, a stepping stone for up-and-coming young fighters. Let's stick with the heavyweight theme, Frank, and it's an easy one. True or false, Tyson fury will fight again um at the moment uh it's it's false uh you seem to struggle with that yeah i'll say that genuinely because he just you know he's he's uh you know tyson is a is a very unique guy and uh you know he's uh this is how it is and I've spoken to him a couple of times

I've not bothered him, I've certainly not spoken to him about fighting a game and if he does that's got to be his choice but he's a very very wealthy guy he's made some serious money he doesn't need financially to fight, if he does fight it would be because

he's got a fighting heart and obviously he'd get well paid if he does fight but he's got a fighting heart and uh and for me that that's going to be the the thing with him you know can he walk away from the sport he says he has um and in at this moment in time he seemed he said to me he's really in a good place and he's very happy and that for me is very important that he's happy, he's in a good place he's been a great one of the best two heavyweights of the 21st

century and I just want him now to enjoy his family and his life he had a hard year as well last year in three training camps one after another one fight got cancelled because because he got the cut eye and uh you know he's he he needs now to go and enjoy his life and enjoy enjoy being with his family which is what

he's doing could i ask you though to clear one thing up for me when he referenced dick turpin what was he trying to tell us with that message in the video? I've got to be honest, I've not discussed it with him. I'm not sure. I mean, there's various, various thoughts. Come on, I think you know. What do you think he's trying to say? Frank knows, Frank knows.

I think for Tyson, that's something. If he does come back or if he does an interview, that's something that I'm sure he'll clear up. You know, he's a very complex guy. Yes, yes, yes. Frank, you have the lock of the heavyweight division right now. I mean, your stable for heavyweights. It's incredible. There's two kids I do want to talk about, though.

Moses Itauma. I'm always intrigued as to what next for Moses. And the follow-up to that one is, obviously, you've signed Delicious Ori recently. That was announced a couple of days ago. Big sign in. Fantastic amateur. The perfect size, the perfect age as well.

So, Delicious after. But first, for Moses, what next? I heard rumors of Charles Martin. I know he's been talking former IBF heavyweight champion. Plans for Moses in 2025? Yeah, I mean, in fact,

I hope we'll be in a position to announce what we're doing in next week. So we're just trying to get a few things sorted out and fingers crossed we'll get him over the line and we'll announce it side but he'll fight

he'll fight in the next three months no doubt about that he'll be fighting then and I'm looking forward to seeing him back in the ring he's a tremendous fighter you look at him he's only 20 last month and he's

anybody who talks about you know the next big fighter the one who I about, you know, the next big fighter, you know, the one who I feel is going to be the next big thing, they mention him. And I don't like putting too much pressure on young fighters to make their way and when we're ready, we move them. But, you know, he's such a mature fighter. You know, when you think of his age, you know, he's such a mature fighter. You know, when you think of his age,

you know, the last time he fought, he was a teenager. And the maturity of how he goes about his business in the ring. He's a very smart fighter. He's a very strong guy. And more importantly, he can punch. And all I think, he can only get better and better

as he gets older and as he matures physically he's still not a man as strength wise yet and the stronger he gets he's going to be a massive handful for everybody And on Delicious very quickly again another heavyweight added to your stable

good amateur there was talk about him going into wrestling I remember that a couple of months ago obviously he's decided to stick with boxing, which is good, but another good prospect. Yeah, well, he actually, when we were talking to him, he said, oh, again, you know, he was quite keen

or thick, you know, considering that. I know he had some discussions about it, but thankfully, George, my son, who's the CEO of Queensbury, he managed to talk him around so he's signed he was very unlucky in the Olympics wasn't he

he was there's great expectations it was a pretty close fight but anyway that's gone and passed it's up to him now to turn that around he's had great experiences as an amateur. And for some reason, because I'm very proud of being British,

but the Brits and the heavyweights take Usyk out of the picture and I think we're the bosses. There's no doubt about it. And when you think when I started in boxing when I grew up, I mean, no British heavyweights, they won a world title. They'd fight for them, but invariably get beaten. And it's not until I think, you know,

going back to Lennox Lewis and going back to Frank Bruno that we were lucky enough to start winning titles. But now, I mean, we're absolutely so strong. We're such a great bunch of young fighters and mature fighters. I would love to ask you about two massive pieces of news in the boxing world that don't necessarily pertain to your business, but who better than you to ask your opinion on these pieces of information? The first one being this very strong rumor coming

out or story from the ring, which of course is owned by Turkey Alshayk, states that on September 13th, they are going to in fact do Canelo Alvarez versus Terrence Crawford. Are you surprised that they got this over the line, that it appears to be a done deal for Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium? Look, if it's done, if it's done, I mean, as a fan, I mean I can't wait to see that fight, it's a fabulous fight, if anyone can get it done His Excellency's the man and you know he's been a massive

fan of both those guys and I know when we've sat down or when we sit down and talk about up and coming shows, that's one he's always wanted, he's always said he'd love to see and i'm pretty positive that it will happen and fingers crossed they again they get that over the line because what a fight that'll be between those two and a great fight for american boxing yes you know

it's a real great fun you need great fights there you know i need to get you know i need a massive big fight if it does go on in vegas which i think is the home for it with greatest respect to everywhere else you know that that is a is something special that's a burst of that fight and there's a continued talk that dana white and the tko group are going to get into boxing along with turkey alshika try to make some sort of boxing league and and perhaps use the ufc you know formula if you will and bring it to boxing uh bless you uh do you think that that formula can be successful based on the things that dana has said about the current state of boxing and feeling like the the business is broken bringing that mentality bringing that business plan to boxing do you

think it can be successful yeah i think I mean, Dana's a very confident guy and, you know, he knows what he's doing and, you know, in his excellence, you've got to look at his track record, how brilliant he's been for the sport. I don't think boxing is broken, by the way. I mean, I think boxing's a great sport and I think we've had some fabulous,

certainly in the last 18 months, some great fights. We had some good fights as well before that but the whole dynamic of the sport has changed whereas it was basically the world capital of boxing was Vegas. It's now Riyadh. This league

I mean all the fights I'm sure are going to take place in different cities and it'd be quite interesting to see how that develops. But certainly with Dana and TKO and Nick Khan and all the team, I mean, they're very serious players. So I think it's going to be a great addition to boxing. Away from that, closer to home. Obviously, everyone's excited about what Queensbury are going to do with DA to home. Obviously, everyone's excited

about what Queensborough are going to do with DAZN. Obviously, you still have stuff to do with TNT. I did see a report

today, Anthony Cacace giving up his IBO super featherweight strap. I think Cacace had one of the best years

of his career, one of the best years in boxing last year. What's the plan with Cacace? The rumors are circling that

potentially Lee Wood jumps up. Can you fill us in on that one, Frank? Anything happening soon for Kakache? He's vacated because, what is he, 36 now, and you know, he's sort of late

in his career, he's shown what he's all about. He had a tremendous win, winning that title against Joe Cordeni. I mean, that was a fabulous win. He was a massive underdog in that. Then he went on and successfully defended his title again. He's looking to make some serious

money. We feel we've got a fight that we hopefully will be able to be in a position to announce officially. I think everybody's going to love the fight. It's a really, really competitive fight. It's going to be a great fight. I can't actually say what it is yet,

but we're not far off of actually doing that. We're going to have a press conference next Monday to announce our schedule for the zone. Ooh. And I think, I hope, and I do believe everybody's going to be really happy with the first few shows that we're putting together. No better time than the present, Frank.

You can break some news for us here on this program. A nugget, a morsel. No one will be upset. I mean, we're all part of the same family. I absolutely agree. But you know what? I'll get in terrible trouble because everybody books all their tickets and train tickets and everything to get there for the press conference.

And if I do that, they're going to be very disappointed. They have had to lay out their money for that and we've announced it already. I think you're going to keep a little suspense going because everybody, I think, who's interested in what we're doing with the zone and I know people will be interested

because as a company, Queensbury and us we aim to be the the the top promoter on that on that uh on that uh channel and with a worldwide appeal worldwide um audience he's got now and we are determined to put on the best shows so it's all competition you know of us matt room oscar's going to be fabulous. It's going to be fabulous for the boxing fans because it's going to be one destination now, more or less, to go and watch the big fights. Last one from us. Obviously, we're rapidly approaching February 22nd.

There's a million different angles, but I'll just ask you about one. If Daniel Dubois wins on the 22nd of February, how confident are you that he will fight Alexander Usyk again later this year? If he wins, and it's a tough fight, and I believe he will win, but it's a very,

very tough fight, that for me has got to be the most natural rematch of anywhere in boxing. It was controversial the last fight. We had that controversial moment with Daniel and he definitely hurt Alexandrov and the four-minute break

and all the controversies you just said that went around it. And looking at Daniel and how he's matured over the last three fights, this being his next one of his four fights since he fought against Usyk, and you look at the change in him. You know, as I say, he has matured mentally.

He's shown what he's all about. Every fight he's been, every fight except for this fight that he's been into in his last four fights, he's gone in as an underdog. Bookmakers, public, everybody had him being the underdog. And he's proved everybody wrong in the last three fights and he wants to wipe that slate clean with Usyk and it's a natural natural fight there's no doubt about it probably the biggest fight out there and I and I believe provided he

comes through I believe if we get it on that was going to be a mega fight, no doubt about that one, it's going to be a mega fight Plenty to be excited about, plenty to look forward to starting with this weekend looking forward to that one the last dance in the UK for Derek Tejera the penultimate last dance of his career

it's always fun when he's in action and always great to talk to you Frank, thank you, I know it's late over there so we'll let you go. Appreciate the time very much and good luck this weekend. Very, very kind of you. All the best to you, Ariel, and to you, AD. And I love that top as I say, Ariel. If I could find the rest, it's brilliant, my friend. That means a lot.

Thank you, Frank. All the best. There he is. Good evening to Frank. And much to discuss from what he said, but I do want to go back to Canelo Crawford because it is the biggest news and everyone's buzzing. We're getting little, little morsels from The Ring magazine, which I love, by the way. They say, you know, The Ring has learned when, I mean, like Turkey owns it. Who else are they learning it from? You know, we don't need to say sources say. we know where it's coming from and that's fine no need to speculate no need to wonder it seems like we're moving in that direction it seems like we're moving towards september 13th allegiance stadium which by the way is a massive stadium where the las vegas raiders play this isn't t-mobile it's the football stadium which has never hosted an mma boxing event. They did host SummerSlam a couple of years

ago, and they'll be hosting WrestleMania in April, two nights. So, you know, maybe a sign of things to come. And it looks like it's going down at 168 pounds. Your reaction? Wow. You know, when I first heard it, I was like, okay, this is, we kind of knew it was coming, but I didn't know it was going to be announced. I mean, I've never known a fight to be sort of scheduled it was coming but i i didn't know it was going to be announced i mean i've never known a fight to be sort of scheduled for september but announced in february i mean that's what hasn't been officially announced yet right like not official but it's like unofficial been confirmed yeah as you say i mean it's the ring magazine turkey and the ring magazine turkey put this fight together turkey's giving them the green light to put that story out so for me that's

all the confirmation I need. I love it and I love the way they are drip feeding sort of more information, more nuggets, as you say. First of all, it's September. Now it's September 13th. Now it's the Raiders Stadium. So this is all sort of playing up well and I'm happy it's the Raiders Stadium as well, just because

what is that, 65,000 with floor seats, maybe 75,000 and another 10,000 on the the floor it needs to be that big i love the t-mobile arena but it's not big enough i think everyone needs to see this fight it's easily the biggest fight of 2025 i said last week that benavidez morale was my most exciting fight well that's been completely pushed down to second place because this is this is crazy it's the kind of fight that everyone talks about around the world. It's the kind of fight that gets into the headlines

between sort of NFL and NBA and football. So I'm super excited about it. I just wonder, my biggest question, Ariel, my biggest takeaway is do they both have interim fights? Like, do they both risk rolling the dice in May? Do we see that? Crawford, maybe not so because he's a one fight a year fighter. That's all he does. It's all he's done for the last five years. Canelo though,

fights twice a year, has always done that. So I do wonder if interim fights will be sort of put in place before the big one in September. I hope not, but I think so. Well, that is a perfect segue because there are now more and more reports and whispers that there's something going on between Canelo Alvarez and Jake Paul. There's something happening here. Are you buying or selling this? And if it does, in fact, end up being May against Jake Paul, does that, in your opinion, take anything away from this super fight in September?

And I don't say take it away in the sense of like, oh, you know, what if he slips on a banana peel? But just, you know, going from Jake to Terrence, there's a massive leap in terms of talent there. I mean, let's be honest. Do you feel that it puts Canelo in one bucket here and then he's going to try to move to another bucket? Or maybe this is all just hogwash and he's getting paid a gazillion dollars in 2025

and God bless him. Yeah. I think it could be the latter. Like when I first read this, I was like, okay, this is silly. Um,

and it's not silly because I don't think Canelo will fight Jake Paul. Cause I do believe, and I came onto your show, um, in the studio a couple of months ago. And I do believe the fight will happen. Like if you told me Canelo versus Jake Paul in four years, I'd say,

okay, yeah, fine. Of course it's going to happen. If you're telling me Canelo, Jake Paul in May, I'm like, you must be crazy. And I mean this respectfully to Jake Paul. This is Canelo we're talking about. This fight doesn't last a round. Like if Canelo wanted to get Jake Paul out of there in a round, in a minute, I believe he does that. Again, this is no discredit to Jake Paul. I think what Jake Paul's done in the sport of boxing has been incredible.

I think what him and his brother have done in just the world of entertainment has been incredible. But Jake Paul is fighting potentially a guy that's what, top five, top six pound for pound? A guy that's only lost to Dimitri Bivol and Floyd Mayweather, a guy that's still very much at the top of his game. The kahunas and Jake Paul

to wanting to get in the ring with Canelo at this stage of Canelo's career. This isn't an Anderson Silva. This isn't a Mike Tyson. This is a legit live boxer. It's crazy. But considering the numbers they did on Netflix, I can imagine Nikita and Jake Paul sitting down with Netflix and saying, okay, how

do we try and get something like that again? And top of the list would be Canelo. I guess followed closely by Conor McGregor. So there are only two options to kind of get those numbers again. So it's not as crazy as people think. I think it could happen, but I'm still calling cap.

Would he finally get the respect that he deserves from the hardcore boxing community if he takes the fight, regardless of the result? Like the Carl Frotches of the world, right? Would they finally say, you know what? Respect. You're fighting a guy who's somewhat in his prime,

one of the greatest of all time. He's not in his 40s. He's not an old man. He's not an MMA fighter. Does he finally get that respect? Or will they see it as some sort of freak show fight where he could say, hey, look, I took a chance. I dared to dream, and now I'm going to go back to other fights.

Again, the latter. Really? Freak show fight. Yeah, he's not getting respect. Why does he not get respect for taking this? He gets humiliated. Because it depends how he performs. Yeah, but it depends how he performs.

He doesn't care about that. I think Jake doesn't necessarily care about that. Jake seems to be the most thick-skinned person I've ever seen in my life. He doesn't seem to care about abuse that's directed his way. It seems to just go over his head or goes in between one ear and come out the other. It depends how he does in that fight. If Jake, say, lasts four or five rounds of Canelo, gets up from a couple of body shots, then I think, okay, thumbs up.

Everyone's going to show him that respect and rightly so. If Jake gets washed in a round and gets 100 million for getting washed in a round, I don't think he gets respect. Should he get respect? I mean, who wouldn't jump in the ring with Canelo for $100 million for a round? Who? I'd do it. The truth is, I don't think, look, there will always be talk about whether or not Floyd Mayweather carried Conor McGregor. We'll never truly know the answer to that question.

But I don't think Canelo, if he's agreeing to this fight, I don't i don't i don't think canelo if he's if he's agreeing to this fight i don't think he's he's he's finishing this in a minute i i think he will he will do the dance you know what i mean oh really 100 interesting because i've always looked at canelo as someone that will i don't know if he views jake as a bit of a joke a bit of a sideshow i'm not quite sure And I've always viewed him as someone that wants to put this sideshow to bed I almost feel like he wants to You know when Darren Till says I'm going to come in and end this

I almost feel like Canelo looks at that when it comes to Jake So I expect Canelo to go in there and just blow him out He's also a businessman He's a businessman and he's getting paid a lot of money He's getting paid a lot of money for the easiest. No, no, but I'm just saying he's getting a lot of money for the easiest fight of his career. And at least at this point of his career,

who knows what he was doing when he was 1-0. But the point is, I think he goes out there and just, he gets paid and he puts on a show to a degree. And I'm saying this as someone who doesn't know. Do you think this happens? You're talking to me like you think this actually. I mean, come on, Ariel. Ariel, stop it.

You've got all the connections in the world. I go back to post Tyson. I'm the one that said, I think this happened. I even think I said this before Tyson, that it's closer than ever, that it's a real thing. I said the same about the McGregor fight with, with the Pauls and with Jake in particular that I think could happen down the line as well.

There's a lot more hurdles there because he has two fights left on his UFC contract. We'll have plenty of time to talk about Jake Paul versus Canelo if in fact it gets done. And if it happens in, in May, that's going to be a fascinating scene in some city in America, Cinco de Mayo weekend, which is historically a big Canelo weekend. You know what my worry is? You know what my worry is, very quickly? My worry, and

this isn't certainly not the way I believe it, but the way a lot of casual fans believe it, my worry is that Canelo Jake Paul is bigger than Canelo Crawford. Wow. And I don't want it to take away from Canelo Crawford. What is bigger? In terms of what does more numbers? On a mainstream level.

Canelo Crawford. On a mainstream level. You think so? Canelo Crawford does more bigger. Yeah, I believe Canelo. Sorry. Apologies. Canelo Jake Paul.

Oh, yes. Okay, okay, okay. Canelo Crawford. Yes. My apologies. That's a crazy thing. Canelo Jake Paul. And of course, we have to know where it's going to air, what platform, this, that, and the

other. But on a mainstream level, this, that, and the other. But on a mainstream level, my children know who Jake Paul is. They don't know who Terrence Crawford is. You know what I mean? That's just the nature of things. Yeah, 100%. It just reaches a whole other audience.

What if, what if, Jake catches it? What if? I mean, could you imagine? This thing goes up in smoke. I was thinking about this. I mean, did you imagine? Do you know what the thing is? I was thinking about this. I was thinking about this. But no one in boxing, of the thousands and thousands of boxers out there, nobody has a better chin than Canelo.

Nah, I know. Nobody. It's crazy. So even if Jake catches him, it's literally going to bounce off him. No one. So I hate to say it as a hardcore boxing fan i'm intrigued by the way it works it works so perfectly for canelo after what happened with mike tyson he's the guy that says all right let's go i'm going to do this i'm i will be the guy to finally end him i will be the guy to finally

stop this circus this charade it works out perfectly oh and by the way he gets a boatload of money mr payday himself he gets a boatload of money. Mr. Payday himself, he gets a boatload of money. Now, I want to go back to the Crawford fight because I think initially when this was first being bandied about, everyone was like, you know, even Canelo himself, I don't want to be a weight bully. 168, 147, 168, 154. That's not my thing. I won't get the proper credit if I beat this guy. As great as he is, he may in fact be the number one pound for pound fighter. But obviously, we're getting closer and closer. And I'm starting to feel like the initial thought of

this won't be competitive is dissipating out, eh? And it's starting to become a discussion. You know what? Is Canelo getting older? Are the legs still there? Crawford switch hitter.

He did all right in his first fight at 54, but now he'll get more comfortable as a bigger guy. You know, he's actually not that small, this, that, and the other. Yesterday on my program, Ade, I spoke to David Benavidez, and I asked him about this fight,

and his response surprised me. I want to play this clip for you and get your response to David's answer. Here it is. It's a good fight for both of them. It's a good fight for... I think it's more important for Crawford than anybody, but I think if anybody could beat Canelo, I think Crawford could.

Yeah, I know you said he could be the guy. What kind of a chance do you ultimately give him? I think I'd give him a 7 out of a 10. Oh, wow, that high? I thought you were going to say 25. Crawford is good. Crawford is good. I think he's been known that he's going to fight Canelo for a long, long time, and Crawford, he likes to pick up the weight. So I'm sure he's been working on the weights for a long, long time.

So Crawford, with a person that has a big IQ like that, if you do enough weights and you stay working for a long time, you have a puncher's chance. Okay, so what do you make of that? What do you make of that response? I was a little surprised. I need to clear up what he meant by 7 out of 10. Does he mean he's giving him a 70% chance to beat Canelo? Yes! Is that what it... Wow.

I mean, who am I to disagree with Benavidez? Benavidez knows he's boxing, right? I mean, he might share the ring with both. I mean, with Terence Crawford. I mean, if anyone else was jumping up from 154 pounds to 168, not named Terence Crawford, I'd say this is crazy and they don't have a chance because they're fighting a guy

that I still think is very, very good in Canelo. The reason I give Crawford a chance is because, A, it's Terence Crawford and he's unbeaten, but B, I think Canelo's slipped just enough for me to think this is a real fight. This isn't Canelo that fought Golovkin second time around. I thought that was almost the best Canelo I've ever seen. It isn't that anymore. I've watched his last couple of fights.

I've been lucky enough to have been at a few recent fights. The Bivol fight's taken something out of him. He doesn't throw punches and combinations. His feet have slowed just a little bit. And Canelo, sorry, and Crawford does throw combinations. And Crawford has really good feet. If I'm Crawford, I know Benavidez spoke about picking the weights up.

If I'm Crawford, I come in just above middleweight. I don't try and match Canelo for size and come in at 168 pounds. You're not going to out-bully or out-strength Canelo. I know Crawford likes to wrestle a little bit and he's strong at that, but he's never going to be as strong as Canelo. It's just not possible. So I think you're coming at 160, 161 and you use your speed and movement and you

do it that way. And then I think Crawford's got a chance. If Crawford stays in the pocket with Canelo, that could be a problem. I saw when he stayed in the pocket with Madrimov and Madrimov was able to catch him quite a few times and hurt Crawford a couple of times. Majumov is no Canelo. So I think there are ways for Crawford to win, but you still got to edge towards the bigger guy that's not yet fallen off a cliff. This isn't a bigger guy that's done. As I said earlier, this is Canelo who's five or six pound for pound. This is a guy that was undisputed until they took a belt away. He's still very, very good. So I edge to Canelo, but I give Crawford a hell of a chance. Can I be honest with you?

Yes, sir. I edge to Crawford. I edge to Crawford, and this is why. Number one, I don't think he was motivated against Madri Moff. I don't think there was anything there for him other than the fact that it was his first fight with Riyad Zizin, and he was fighting at 54,

and this is what... There was no juice there. The promo was the best part, right? That incredible promo, there was no juice there. Number one. Number two, a lot of people forget. Have you ever seen those clips of Terrence Crawford wrestling? Terrence Crawford knows how to wrestle.

Terrence Crawford knows how to use his weight. His kids are great wrestlers as well. I've seen clips of him on the front lawn wrestling with his boys. This guy knows what he's doing. He knows how to battle people who may be trying to weight bully him, who may be trying to use their weight to their advantage. Obviously, this isn't a wrestling match, but those things do come into play. He's one of the smartest fighters of all time. He's one of the best switch hitters of all time. He has incredible boxing IQ. We saw that against the likes of

Errol Spence not that long ago. He's at the top of his game. He has not fallen off a cliff. He does not seem to be worn torn. I really think he has a solid chance. And I think that sentiment is going to keep growing as we get closer to September. Of course, we're still seven months away from this, you know, this discussed date. But if Canelo takes another fight, if it's against Jake or someone else, he's just going to be out there chilling. He doesn't necessarily need another fight. Oh, you could say, okay, could he get another fight at 160

to get used to the weight? Yeah, sure. But I think that confidence in him is going to keep on growing. Now, the flip side of the coin, you have someone like Amir Khan who was asked recently about this fight. Here's what he had to say.

Let's see if you agree a little bit more with what the British boxing legend had to say recently. There's weights for a reason in boxing. And even though I've got a huge respect for Terence Crawford for showing the balls that he wants to go in the ring and fight a beast like Canelo. But like I said, Canelo

maybe Crawford sees something that other people have not seeing against Canelo, which is like maybe he's gone past the sell-by date. And maybe Crawford is the guy to catch him at the right time. Okay, so he kind of hedged at the end there, but it doesn't sound like Amir fancies his chances, right? Yeah, look, Amir understands the troubles that Crawford's going to have.

Amir fought Canelo and got knocked out viciously. But that was a much younger, much better, much stronger Canelo. Now this Canelo's had some wars. He's been in tough fights since then. So I fully understand why you're edging to Crawford. Crawford's unbeaten. Unbeaten fighters don't know how to lose. But this is a Canelo that's seen

every single star. You mentioned the switch hitting there and rightly so. Crawford's a fantastic switch hitter. Canelo has seen everything. I mean, this career where he's been at the top of his game for the past, I don't know, 12, 15 years, he's been in there and he's lost a couple, but he's been in there with everyone. This is the big stage that he's now,

his normal stage. This is a big stage for Terence Crawford. I mean, yes, he's experienced it, I guess, with Errol Spence, but before then, nothing quite like what a Canelo fight's like. A Canelo fight week's

completely different. I think Crawford's ready for it. I do, but, I mean, it's a big jump. I mean, we say 154 to 168. Really and truly, it's 147 to 160. He's only had one fight in 154.

This isn't a guy that had 10 fights at 154 and now he's going up. So, look, I think it's intriguing. I like the fact that we both have different views on it. And I think this is what's going to make it one of the most watched fights of 2025 because everyone's going to be glued to watch it because it's Canelo too big, it's Crawford too good. And I think it's fantastic.

A classic barbershop fight, right? I could just see barbershops all over the world, all over the country debating these finer points. We'll have plenty of time to talk about it as well. I want to go back to Saturday in Las Vegas, David Benavidez, David Murrell. We were both oh so very excited for this fight, and it delivered. In the end, it was a fairly easy fight to score if you were just picking the winner.

When that fight ended, I wasn't sitting there at midnight at home going, okay, you know, round seven for Benavidez, round eight. But I knew Benavidez did enough to win. And in the end, we got that result. 118 to 108, 115, 111, two judges had it. It got a little dicey there in the 11th with the supposed knockdown. I know Benavidez doesn't agree.

But then it was negated by the punch after the bell by David Murrell. So, you know, it was the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh. I was very impressed with Benavidez. The fight was a little closer early on, but then towards the end, I felt like he just showed, you know, he's better. He's got more experience. He hits freaking hard. He attacked the body double the amount of times that Morel did. And Morel just didn't want to get hit from some of those punches. And I can understand because Benavidez hits like a freaking truck. I was blown away. And it just, by the end of the fight, I was just thinking like, man, could you imagine Benavidez against Beterbiev? Could you imagine Benavidez against Bivol? Luckily, he told me yesterday he's flying out to Riyadh. He will be there in attendance on February 22nd. He wants next.

I hope we get next. I hope we get him against the winner of that fight. Before we get to that, your thoughts on what we saw on Saturday. You know how good a performance that was from Benavidez? I think morale beats everyone, not named, but Turbio Bivol Benavidez. That's how good I think Benavidez is because of how high I rate morale. I thought morale of how high I rate Morale. I thought Morale was excellent. I thought Morale just maybe came in just a bit too inexperienced

for what was almost scary Benavidez. I mean, he's frightening. I tweeted about it. This guy can do everything. And he doesn't look like he can do everything. And I mean this with so much respect. He doesn't look like your athlete that can have fast hands and fast feet. But he's got fast hands, fast feet.

He's got a good chin. He fights on the back foot. He counters off the ropes. And when you hit him, a bit like Nigel Benn, when you hit him, he wants to hit you back. There isn't like,

okay, you've hit me. I should shell up now. He's like, okay, you hit me. Let's go. Now, when he got knocked down, it was kind of a flash knockdown. He went straight for Morel, like straight for him.

Okay, I'm not giving you this round. No, no, no, no. We're not doing that. I'm going to win the round back. And I think he's sensational. I think he's a superstar. I think he speaks well. I think he's sold the fight fantastically well.

The face-off that you conducted with him and Morel, I thought was fantastic. Every time they kind of got together, it was electric. I think he's the guy to kind of be the next flag bearer for American boxing. He's got the Mexican-American fan base. He's got the casual boxing fan base. And I think him versus either Baturbiev or Bivol, I mean, I just said Canelo Crawford's fighter 2025. Him versus Baturbiev.

You keep changing your mind. But that means that we're being spoiled. Oh, it'd be fantastic. It would be, I mean, it would just be like, it would be like literally two monsters just going, like two zombies going in there toe to toe. And, and, and I guess, you know, I thought

Bibble won the first fight and then I'm thinking, all right, let's say he figures it out and he wins the second fight and he does it more comfortably, right? No controversy. I'm starting to think like, okay, are they going to try to do a trilogy or... They have to.

They have to. I'm more interested in the Benavidez fight. I want some fresh blood now. Okay, I saw them twice. I know. I would say give me the other one before the trilogy. Give me Benavidez versus the winner before the trilogy. Okay, so if Bivol wins,

you're saying give us Bivol-Benevidez? Yeah. Let's see. It's unfair on Paterbiev. Why? 1-1. I say if it's 1-1, I know you might not

want to like what I'm going to say, but I think Benevedez fights the winner of Boatsy Smith. I think Benevedez, what, what? It's not good enough?

Joshua Boatsy, if he beats Kevin Smith, I think that's a good fight. I think Joshua Boatsy versus Benevedez is a good fight. It's not Paterbiev. It's not Paterbiev. It's not Paterbiev.

And you could make a case. Boazzi's unbeaten. Yeah. Boazzi could make a case to be the next man in line, if I'm honest with you. Could make a case. Sure. But is it not a bit of a step down in terms of prestige going from Morel in a sold out T-Mobile arena to Joshua Boazzi, who is tremendous,

but not exactly a known commodity here in America, right? He'll get a big win on February 22nd, but he's thinking, he's thinking winner better be a Bivol, and then you have to fight a killer like Joshua Boazzi? I'm just saying,

of course I would watch it. Benavidez has turned into one of my favorite fighters. I was glued. I loved every single, every single thing about that fight was just magic. And every punch looked like it killed, looked like it

hurt. And shout out to Morel for taking those punches. I am the biggest Bivol fan. I am the biggest Dimitri Bivol fan on planet Earth. And I feel like what I'm going to say next is blasphemy. But I am so desperate to see Berturbio Benavidez that in a way, I mean, I don't know. I just want to see Berturbio Benavidez in a way I mean I don't know

I just want to see Berturbio Benavidez because I want to see a guy stand and trade with Benavidez because there was times when Morel had to

take a step back I'm telling you now Berturbio's taken no steps back Benavidez has taken no steps back and it's going to be mano mano

this is honestly it's frightening to think what these guys will do to each other. So yeah, I'm desperate to see that one. But in saying that, Bivol could run circles around Benavidez. I think Bivol's feet could be too good.

So either way, it's going to be great fights, regardless of who Benavidez fights. But I am fully in Perturbia of Benavidez. Fully in. And Benavidez likes to cause a bit of trouble. He likes to talk a bit of smack.

And I love it. You can't talk smack to Biterbo because he's no interest. It just literally won't mean anything to him. So that card there, he can't play that card.

So it's just about a fight. And that'll be a fantastic fight. Look at this guy sitting in front of his Team Bivel jumper over there saying essentially that he hopes

Biterbo wins on February 22nd so that we can see Biterbo versus Mr. Biver. I didn't quite i mean you said it you said it in so many words but i understand i understand the intrigue and the passion what i what i ultimately love most about this discussion is that here you have a guy in in dimitri bivel who's a matchroom fighter going up against a uh a top rank fighter with with a PBC guy in the mix as well in, in Benavidez.

It's like, look at this world that we're living in, right? Isn't this incredible that all of this is possible in 2025? It's, it's, it's amazing. And I love, I would love it by the way, if Better BF wins, I would love to see Bivel versus David Murrell. I want David Murrell, I want David Murrell to be rewarded so early in his career for taking this opportunity.

And I hope that boxing fans don't say, oh, you lost to this guy. Now you have to go all the way to the back of the pile. I would love to see David Murrell versus the winner of Smith Boazzi as well. But I'm just saying like, boxing fans need to stop looking at losses,

especially early in one's career, sub 20 fights as, you know, a death sentence. It's not that. Yeah. Agreed. Agreed. I mean, Morrell was fantastic. Again, Morrell, so inexperienced, decided to kind of take the fight. Didn't necessarily have to, but decided to take the fight and put up a good performance. I mean, was there for 12 rounds, was throwing punches for 12 rounds. It wasn't like he was always on the back foot. He tried to land these shots. He landed some big shots, but Benavidez just et them. And normally that could be very, you know, very dispiriting for someone like, my God,

I've landed my best shot, but he stayed there. And I was very intrigued to see how he was going to handle sort of the post-fight press conference. And he was there, he was talking, wasn't shying away from the questions. So I'm with you. I think boxing fans should give Morel a lot of respect and he should be right back in the mix with some big fights. As for Benavidez, I love what you just said earlier that he's coming to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I love that. You want the big fight, go and chase the big fight. And I got to respect him for that saying, you know what? I want the winner. And regardless of who wins, if I'm him, I get in the ring. I get in the ring. Do a Daniel Dubois. I have the mic there for you. You criticized Dub ring. I get in the ring. Do a Daniel Dubois. I have the mic there for you. You criticized

Dubois. No, no, no. Do a Daniel Dubois. Because Dubois had a fight against Joseph Park. Fair, fair. Benavidez has no one. Get in the ring. Grab it from whoever's doing the interview. If it's me, I'll give it to you. If it's Mannix, grab it. And ask the questions. Ask the questions. Say, I want you. I want you, Biterbiv. I want you, Bivol.

And let's see how this plays out. Yeah, it's very smart to do that. You have to be in the mix. You have to be seen. You have to be in the front row. That just makes you a part of the conversation. He still believes, by the way, he still maintains that the Canelo fight will happen. I feel like we are further, as he continues to do well at 175, I feel like we're just moving further and further away from it. What do you think? True or false? That fight happens. What do you say? True. You think so? Wow. Yeah, true. You know why? Because I now

believe... Maybe Canelo views him as a draw. Maybe. Exactly. Exactly. The public demanded it 12 months ago. And Benavidez, yeah, he had some good wins. Caleb Plant, Dimitri Sandre. But he wasn't that guy. He's now that guy. I'd love to know what the numbers were for PBC because I almost feel like a star was born on Saturday. I genuinely believe

that. It was like a real first big pay-per-view outing for Benavidez and he didn't disappoint. Benavidez gives you so much value for money and Canelo's all about the Benjamins. So I feel like Canelo might look at him thinking, okay, so you can put a few bums on seats now. You can sell a few pay-per-views. Now let's talk. Because before you were just a guy that was dangerous and a big mouth. Now you're a dangerous big mouth, but you make me some money. Let's come to the table.

All right, so that was Saturday's story. Let's talk about Sunday night's story, a rare Sunday night boxing event. It went down in Flint, Michigan. Our friend, friend of the program,issa shields makes history three time undisputed champion no one has ever done this in women's or men's boxing until now and this is the third round of her fight against danielle perkins and and ade i do have to say i think the fight could have been stopped here and i'll explain why in a matter of seconds you see her just like pouring it on and perkins wasn't in her league and and wasn't really in her class look at this perkins falls they called this a trip and then the referee's like oh let me help you up that does not look like someone who tripped

that looked like someone who was out who was hurt that that looked like someone that was like okay this is a bit too much you hurt me oh my god that one there wow yeah and in the end it ends up a unanimous decision win that wasn't even a stoppage because there was 10 seconds left i mean credit to her the the heavyweight division in women's boxing isn't really a thing i think there's like it's it's the equivalent of the women's featherweight division in mma there's like one person and that's it. She did her thing. It's worse than that.

It might be worse than that. I mean, women's featherweight doesn't even exist anymore, but she did her thing. There's nothing for her to do there. It's a nice little, you know, it's a nice little thing on the resume to say three-time undisputed champion, three different weight classes, first ever to do that in men's or women. But as we discussed last week, it's got be savannah marshall i know she talked about layla ali she talked about chris cyborg even cecilia breakus uh earlier this week said she

would love to end her career against against clarissa but this continues to be the problem with clarissa right she's just so good there there aren't a lot of equals for her because she's so good and so big yeah she's so good at that weight loss so you're right anything from 160 and above that there's there are no dance partners apart from Savannah and let's not forget that Savannah fight wasn't just it wasn't a one-sided beatdown Savannah won some rounds it was actually a competitive fight I mean we saw the way Clarissa celebrated after you don't celebrate like that unless you know it's a tough fight it was was a good fight. Let's do it again. I feel sorry for Clarissa. I mean, as you say, she's a free time or free weight now,

undisputed champion. She's not going to get the credit she deserves for that fight on Sunday, just because Daniel Perkins only had five or six fights, 42 years of age. She shouldn't have been in the ring with her at all. I mean, Clarissa, Clarissa coming out of the Olympics in her first fight would have beaten Daniel Perkins quite comfortably. Let alone this Clarissa now who's full of confidence and clearly carries the power up at the heavyweight classes. It's got to be Savannah. I think I saw Clarissa call out Hannah Gabriel,

who she fought back in 2018, who's now a heavyweight, who, as I said, fought Clarissa back in 2018, which is, what, seven years ago. Gabrielle's had four fights since then. Four. So there's just no one for her to fight apart from Savannah. Insane that Savannah's not been busy either.

Savannah's been obviously, you know, perfecting her MMA craft. Get your boxing gloves back on, Savannah, and chase Clarissa, whether it be in America or the UK. Clarissa clearly doesn't want to come to the UK, so go to the US and fight her. It's the only big fight to make because there's nothing else. And I don't want to see Clarissa

try and kill her body to get down to 147. She's not, she's fighting at 175. She can't cut 30 pounds. No, no. She can't. I don't like the idea of her fighting Amanda Serrano. The cyborg fight is kind of interesting, cut 30 pounds no no she can't i don't like the idea of her fighting amanda serrano the the the cyborg fight is is kind of interesting but i think that she would be way too good way too slick to

fight someone like i mean she's she's just been doing this for way too long and cyborgs on the back nine of her career so it doesn't really do it for me it's the savannah fight that's that's the one there's a built-in storyline i really want to see amanda nunes i was so wanting to see amanda when amanda kind of said okay no more mma i was like okay amanda let's see what you can do in boxing a little bit she doesn't have that technique she doesn't have those skills she's not no she she she doesn't fight like a you know there are some fighters out there that you could say you know know, like I think back in the day, like a Rose Namiunas, like she had a nice jab. She boxed. Amanda's a brawler.

And I don't think that that technique would translate to boxing, especially against a Clarissa Shields. Yeah, I get it. Yeah, it was more for the crossover appeal. At the time, Amanda was so big in the UFC. She was a big name. Many consider her the goat of MMA, female MMA. And I thought at that time, I thought, OK, this is a perfect fight for Clarissa because this is more eyeballs on Clarissa and Clarissa would comfortably beat her.

But it was more just for that appeal as opposed to a competitive fight. I'm just desperate for Clarissa to fight someone, someone of note. And unfortunately, I don't know what Dimitri Salita can deliver. I mean, I keep saying Dimititri Like he can sort of pluck out A special 168 talent There's just no one out there She's having to kind of rerun the lap again And it's just a shame

Alright so there are questions about her future And also questions about Anthony Joshua's future Because we thought it would be the easiest fight to make now In 2025 It would be Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury But we just spoke to Frank Warren Top of the show And he's maintaining that at least for now And you could tell he's hesitating a little bit, at least for now, Tyson is done.

And so AJ's not going to sit around and wait forever. I believe he said something similar to you, and there was a story that came out, not so much a story, I saw a video. I believe your friend Spencer Oliver of TalkSport was talking to Ben Shalom and Martin Bacoli, and they said, yeah, we're going to the Congo and we're going to fight AJ there. But now I see earlier today on BBC, Eddie Hearn saying there's nothing to this. There's really nothing in the works right now for AJ. And so my initial question to you was going to be like, are you buying or selling this idea of Bacoli versus AJ in in Congo and if not that who does AJ fight if it's not Tyson Fury yeah Martin Bacoli and his team so that Ben Shalom and um and that Billy Nelson they're almost trying to wish this into existence I mean I spoke to I spoke to people close to team AJ and they're like what are you talking about they have no idea

where the stories come from so look I can't blame Martin Bacoli for wanting this fight. It would be an incredible fight. I've been sort of beating the drum and pushing the idea of a big fight in Africa. AJ versus Bacoli in Africa would be just enormous. Honestly, it would be enormous. And it's something that African boxing needs. But if I'm Bacoli,

just focus on FAA Jagba. I hate when fighters overlook fighters and start talking about other dream fights. I've seen that banana skin thing happen too many times. So Evan Bercouli and Billy Nelson and Ben Shalom, get past FAA Jagba first, who's not that easy. It's not an easy task. And then start talking. As for AJ, who he fights next, Tyson Fury.

Oh, you're still holding out hope. I'm still 100. Did you not see how Frank Warren started through your question? Yeah. for AJ, who he fights next, Tyson Fury. Oh, you're still holding out hope. I'm still 100. Did you not see how Frank Warren started through your question? I mean, I saw a shoulder roll. I saw a bit of this. Tyson Fury. I mean, there is no one else for me. I mean, I don't want to see Deontay Wilder. I don't want to see

Dillian White. I would love Martin Bercouli. I mean, that would be the dream one, but Daniel Dubois. For me, it dream one, but Daniel Dubois. For me, it's Tyson Fury or Daniel Dubois. That's it. I know Frank said, sorry, Daniel Dubois versus Usyk, but I almost feel like AJ,

the ego that AJ has, he would want to run that back with Daniel Dubois. So if Daniel Dubois comes through Joseph Parker, I can see more Daniel Dubois fight than a Bacoli fight. But I'm still holding hopes, please, that it's Tyson Fury in the UK. I just can't see how that fight doesn't happen. I just wonder if he gets anxious and just wants to move on.

He doesn't want to be the one who is viewed as sitting and waiting for Tyson Fury. And I know, you know, he last fought in September and he's coming off a knockout. I mean, he could fight next September. And so we have some time. But I just don't think AJ wants to be viewed as the bride at the altar waiting for her man.

You know what I mean? And so there might be a part of him who's like, all right, screw this guy. I'm not going to be played here. I'm not going to be a pawn in your game. I'm going to move on. And then the question is, who are you moving on to? And so if Bacoli, you know, is available, we saw them, you know, playing around with

that face-off over there. Maybe that's of interest. The Wilder Fund. I mean, it doesn't really, I don't know. I think Jarrell Miller's the one then. If you're going to do anything, I think you do Jarrell Miller. Him and AJ just seem to despise each other. Some bad memories that come up

when you think of Jarrell Miller and AJ. They have for years, right? And then Jarrell Miller looked, I thought, pretty good against Andy Ruiz. I thought he won that fight against Andy Ruiz. Jarrell Miller's looking for a fight. We know he was supposed to fight Chisora. Issues with his promoter,

that fight couldn't happen. AJ versus Miller in the UK, wherever, does big numbers because there's so much heat between the two. I mean, there's this face-off that never in the UK, wherever, does big numbers because there's so much heat between the two. I mean, there's this face-off that never saw the light of day that everyone would love to see, which was filmed, I think, by Johnny Nelson with the two. So that would be shown again. I think Jerome Miller is a perfect name. I think Andy Ruiz, potentially, the trilogy could be there as well. I mean, AJ has so many dance partners. I mean, AJ's still sort of the big ticket seller

when it comes to heavyweight boxing. Now that Tyson Fury's retired. So there are so many good options for AJ, but my first option potentially would be Jharrel Miller if AJ doesn't get the Fury fight. And so if you do think that the Tyson Fury fight happens, when do you think it happens? Do you think it happens this year?

Yeah, this year in the summer. In the summer. There is no big tournament. There's no big football tournament for us, sort of UK sports fans. How dare you? The Club World Cup, live and exclusive around the world on DAZN. No subscription required.

How dare you? The 32 best clubs. It really should be 33 if we count Nottingham. How dare you? I'm calling up the bosses right now. That's a new tournament. The Club World Cup? It's a new tournament. Don't you dare ask to work that. I'm talking about you.

I am, I think. I'm talking about your traditional. No traditional. It's 2025. It's Club World Cup time. How dare you, Mr. Football. How dare I? The club world coming to America.

So I think, I think, yeah, you do AJ in the summer, Wembley Stadium, 100,000. And then we move. Going up against the club world cup. Are you crazy? A month later. After the club world cup. Yeah. Late July.

Late July. Yeah. And then after you got Crawford Canelo and then after that, you got so many other fights. But, you're right. Yeah, yeah. Late July, late July. Yeah, and then after you got Crawford Canelo, and then after that you got so many other fights. But yeah, AJ Fury, play that true or false game with you. AJ Fury, does it happen true or false? By the way, I love a good true or false question

because you can't dance around it. You have to give an answer. You see he wanted to dance around it, but I'm asking true or false. I say true. I say true. So there you go. You still believe it. Yeah. It's or false so uh i say true i say true so there you go you still believe it yeah okay it's almost because i want to believe it because it's right

there and it's the fight that makes the most sense for both of them and in this why is fury doing this to us why is he doing this to us you know what's the most annoying thing about it every fight is being made now like there's no fight that isn't being made right and it's the one that was never made that we always wanted to be made, in an era where everything is being made, can you just give it to us? Just give it to us. Give it to us as your last fight, as the crescendo, as the parting gift. And by the way, there's a great

story to be told about everything over the last 10 years, but both men have their backs against the wall. Everyone would love it. No one would care. I don't even remember the Dubois fight anymore. It's old news. And AJ, you know, he's a legend. And Fury was in there against the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Arguably twice, two close fights. He survived the hellish ninth round in May. Came back with a great fight in December. Just do it. One more fight. I don't understand the Dick Turpin thing. I don't, yeah, I'm fascinated by that as well. He said it with such conviction. What was he trying to tell us? Has no one talked to him? I don't know. He't, yeah, I'm fascinated by that as well. He said it with such conviction.

What was he trying to tell us? Has no one talked to him? He hasn't done anything, right? He has done nothing. I saw him do something crypto. He's phoned me yesterday. I was like, is that it? You know, I saw an Insta story and I was like, oh my God, Tyson.

And then it was like, yeah, crypto. I was like, yeah. But look, both of them have given so much to British boxing. I mean, what they've done in the last decade for British boxing is insane. So for them to have, as you say, the last crescendo, the last dance, right? I'm stealing lines from other fights announced recently. But for them to have that moment together,

considering what they've done, and to get paid as much as they should get paid, and to sell out Wembley Stadium. I know you'll be there for this one, Ariel. Oh, hell yeah. It would be just, can you imagine the first battle for AJ Fury? And Fury's trying to deny us this? How dare you? Yeah, how dare you?

How dare you, Fury? Please, I'm begging you. It's very rude. Just come back for one more knock. It's just, we've been so close to this fight so many times. I remember when Fury announced it on Instagram. Like, yeah, it's done, AJ Fury. And then Fury went off to fight Wilder.

I think Wilder took him to court or something to make that third fight happen. Can we just get this, please? God damn. Well, we don't know if that last dance is going to happen, but we do know that Derek Chisora's last dance, dot, dot, dot, in the UK is happening this Saturday, February 8th. Apparently, you're going to be there. What, just as a fan? You just watching, or are you part of the crew? is happening this Saturday, February 8th. Apparently you're going to be there. What, just as a fan?

You just watching, or are you part of the crew? Well, I'm just as a fan, but there's no doubt they're going to ask me to say something just because I'm that guy, and why would you not want to have a on your TV screen? So I'm going to go there. I'm Team Chisora on this one. I'm going to go backstage, eat some Five Guys. That's what Chisora does.

But I'm there to cheer on Chisora, man. Chisora's a great guy. I've known him for a few years. I know him outside of boxing, and he's an incredible guy. Always gives me word of advice, which is strange because I'm older than him. I know you wouldn't know that, but it's true. I'm older than him. So I do look at him like an older brother, strangely.

But yeah, there to support him. That is weird that you look at someone who's younger than you as an just maybe because of his size and he's quite intimidating and he looks the whiskers if you want to blend in in the in the crowd i can i can send this off to you if you if you want to wear you know just so that no one notices you you know no let me know because was it really a rubber that design oh yeah 20 Oh yeah, 20. This is a fantastic, I mean, you know how much, I'm ashamed to say how much this costs. I mean, it's like three paychecks for you. It's crazy. It's crazy.

Go on, say it. No, I can't even. I mean, I'm embarrassed. I'm bashful. Okay, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. True or false? Above a thousand. No, let's not get crazy.

I mean, I don't roll like that. I mean, let's not get crazy. I mean, I don't roll like that. I mean, let's not get crazy. I think you do. I think you do. Let me also tell you that on February 8th as well, BKFC is in Newcastle. So if you want to do a double dip there, I don't know.

How close is Manchester and Newcastle? Is it close? About an hour and a half away. So it's not too bad. 90 minutes. 90 minutes ain't far. So perhaps you'll show up to that one. Okay, very easy.

Carl Thompson versus Rob Boardman, if you're interested. Go check it out. But then the big one, and by the way, when did Manchester become the fighting capital of the UK? Because in seven days' time, February 15th, back at the Co-op Live, massive one for Jack Catterall against Arnold Barbosa Jr. Love this fight.

Love the promotion for it. They're doing a great job i saw barbosa tweet earlier today that he has landed in the uk and that it smells like victory is manchester the uh the fighting capital of the uk now i feel like all the big fights are going there i feel like it's turned that way yeah it was the uk for a time it was liverpool when you had the smith brothers and tony bellew and now it's man Manchester Pat Brown as well who everyone's excited about that a match room have signed he fights very soon I think he fights March 28th if I'm correct so Manchester is the hub right now which is good I'm very disappointed with Eddie Hearn by the way um about this fight so Jack Cattrall Barbeau is a

fantastic fight Eddie Hearn is doing a live face-off of the two oh I didn't get a phone call and i'm like one second what's going on here why is eddie doing this oh he's the one in the middle he's the one in the middle what does a live face-off mean what does live face-off mean like in front of a crowd in front of a crowd i'm guessing oh like but isn't that what they're doing with the press conferences sometimes like i see frank smith in the middle eddie in the middle is that really like a face-off per se no no, no, no. We're talking face-off. Like the way in which you see me do a face-off, we're talking a face-off with the two. And look, Eddie's great at doing it. But if I'm Barboza, I say no.

You're team Jack Cattrall, Eddie. You need Oscar in there. I want Oscar on this thing. You need Oscar on this stage. Maybe we'll get him. Just let me do it. Okay. Just let me do it.

All right, well. Just let me do it. Put it out there. Try to manifest it. I'm putting my hand up for it now. I want to do it. All right, well that Just let me do it. Put it out there. Try to manifest it. I'm putting my hand up for it now. I want to do it. All right, well, that comes up. Good fight. I like this fight.

Oh, I like that fight a lot. February 15th. We can talk more about that next week on the program. At a time now for everyone's favorite segment of the week. It is my personal favorite, and it is sponsored by no one. But we are working on it. Okay. Still?

Yeah, we're working on it. We're working on it. What is Yeah, we're working on it. We're working on it. What is this, episode 10, 11? 11, 12, who knows? I mean, we might even get a graphic at some point for our parting shot. Here it is, and it's a double dipper, Ade. And you know I love these

because you don't know what they are. We even have music now. Yeah, shout out to Mysterious Frank. You don't know what it is. So let us go back to Flint, Michigan, Ade. And let's go to an unbelievable showdown. Yes, this happened in the co-main event. I'm trying to speak very, very slowly.

Okay, here it is. Oh, there it goes. Yes, there it is. Thank you, guys. What about this scene right here? Did you see that? This is Brandon Moore versus Skyler Lacey. They knocked over the DAZN cameraman.

Shocking. That's embarrassing. This was weird. And then the cameraman gets on the... I'm surprised that doesn't happen more, if I'm honest with you. Yeah, because they're right up in there. The cameraman on the apron, I'm like, yeah, Eden. Look at this poor guy.

I'm surprised that doesn't happen more. He's like, yeah, yeah, I'm good. Please stop showing me. But then things got really fun. On Saturday, we had the Royal Rumble in Indianapolis, but Moore and Lacey had their own version of a Royal Rumble. In fact, I believe there was a spear

through the middle ropes and out. That's ridiculous. That's worse than Liam Cameron, Ben Whittaker. He actually speared him. Did he get disqualified for that? No. He speared him? No.

What? Yeah. Look at this. Why is the ref counting? What's he counting for? That's the best part. How's he doing? The ref is counting. Stop counting.

The ref is counting. Referee Steve Willis is counting, and he gets to number 16 for some reason. Wait, what? What? You can get to 16? It was like. Wait, what do you mean? I'm so confused.

Yo, it was like pro wrestling where they... And then he's determining, all right, the fight is over. What is going on? Steve Willis loves himself. He loves doing this kind of stuff. Look at him. Wait, wait, did he try and jump back in the ring to say, I've won, I made it in the ring? I don't know what is going on.

What is going on? I was watching this and I was laughing so loud at the lunacy of it all because it was like pro wrestling where they both fall out of the ring and then you have 10 seconds to get back in and he gets back in. I don't even know if it's in the rules to count. And if you are counting, I've never seen a ref go past 10. I don't know where he came up with 16 to wave it off i don't know oh my god in the end brandon moore won the fight i think because he got back in the

ring first wait okay there's so much wrong with this clip there's so much wrong so a he should have been thrown out for spearing the guy that That was a spear. Counting to 16. And then the other guy to jump in the ring and say I've won because I made it first. I don't understand. It was quite the show over there in Flint. Between that and some of the other action, and then of course the mismatch of all mismatches in the main event.

I say we need more of these Flint shows on a Sunday night. Yes. Talking about mismatch. Talking about mismatch, talking about mismatch. Did I see KSI versus Dylan Dennis? You know what? You know what? I skipped over that one.

Oh, sorry. No, honestly, thank you for bringing it up. If only because, you know, the audience here on the zone,

they get very upset about some of these. Oh, especially on this show. They want to protect the sanctity of the sweet science, the circus that is. Here it is. I like the, I love the poster.

Very Godfather-esque, isn't it? No, no. Is it, wait, is it Godfather or? Scarface.

Wait, Scarface. That's it. Sorry. ASI Dylan Dennis, March 29th. Again, in Manchester,

AO Arena. You in? I don't know. You like it? What am I in as in, am I going to do it? No, no, no. Are you, I don't know. You like it? What am I in? Am I going to do it? No, no, no. Are you into it?

Are you watching? Dylan just, I mean, I was there in America. I don't know. I can't remember what state I was in. Austin, Texas. Yeah. And Dylan threw coffee in my face. Yeah.

I don't know what it was. Me and Wade got sort of just splashed with coffee or something. And then he had a fight with Anthony Taylor and then didn't fight pulled out. Nothing happened like two weeks before. I don't know. Yeah. And then obviously the Logan stuff was crazy.

Um, I'm surprised that fight happened. Remember he threw something at Logan. Was it a Mike and it cut Logan? Yeah. Dylan's interesting. I mean, look,

you know, Dylan Dennis way more than I do. I, I, I, I'm not going to hold my breath. Here's why I think it happens. I didn't think the first fight against KSI was going to happen. I think this one is going to happen for this reason. A, he doesn't have the same juice that he had back then, right?

He was the bad boy. There was this mystery about, okay, can he fight? He's calling everyone out. Can he actually box? He hadn't done it yet. And so I think he had that, that juice. Number two, there is this ongoing lawsuit with Logan Paul and his wife and him, who knows, you know. Is that still ongoing? That's a thing. That's a real thing. And so that's at play as well. And let's be honest, the Logan Paul showing wasn't great.

And so I think he needs to build himself back up. He has signed a deal with this upstart global fight league, this, this MMA promotion. Okay, let's see what happens there. But here's a, I would presume, a pretty good payday. And I don't think he has the same type of leverage that he had a couple years ago. What's going to be interesting is, remember, KSI was supposed to fight Wayne Bridge, right? And Wayne Bridge pulled out 48 hours later because he said it got too personal off the jump. No one makes it more personal than Dylan Danis. And so has

that opened the door for Dylan to get super personal like he did in the build up to the Logan Paul fight? And we don't have a lot of time, right? This fight is in six weeks or seven weeks, eight weeks, whatever it is. It's March 29th. That's in less than two months. So I'm curious to see

how he builds it. i do think he shows up i just think it's really interesting at the you know at the beginning of the show we're talking about jake paul canelo alvarez and we're talking about ksi versus dylan dennis one of these things is not like the other right yeah i feel sorry for ksi in this circumstance i know for a fact that they reached out to so many different fighters so many different personalities that would have maybe still not been anything like Canelo Jake Paul, don't get me wrong, but it would have been a lot bigger than Dylan Dennis. This certainly wasn't number one choice.

I don't think it was number five or six, but he's gone down the line. And, you know, the name next was Dylan Dennis. And as you say, Dylan Dennis doesn't quite have the juice he once had, but he's still got some juice. He will go in, he'll sell the fight, he'll promote the fight, he'll do something crazy. He will talk as much smack as possible. And let's see. Let's see. I don't know with Dylan, man. I'm not quite sure. That fight against Logan Paul was horrendous. The buildup was fantastic. The fight was horrendous. And I just hope that he's been practicing a bit more boxing since then,

because I haven't seen Dylan hit any pads since that moment. So hopefully he's been working on his boxing craft. Yeah. Who knows? Maybe Alex Pereira is going to be in his corner. By the way, shout out to the YouTube chat. We are live on the DAZN Boxing channel.

Shout out to the chat who are telling us that if you fall out of the ring, you get 20 seconds to get back in, going back. Okay, now here's the thing. Why did he stop at 16? Why did he stop at 16? Because I think he realized no one was getting up. Well, I know.

You still got to go to 20. I'd love to know how quick that guy got in the ring. Did he make 20? No, because he waved it off. He waved it off. How long after him waving off did the guy get in the ring? Yeah. I'm fascinated to know because that guy jumped in the ring like he achieved something.

He jumped in the ring and put his hands up like we did it. Like he won. Yeah. And I'm like, what did you do? I don't know. I've never seen that before. Have you ever seen that before? I didn't know 20 seconds was allowed.

I've seen that. I mean, I remember Bernard Hopkins fought a few years ago and fell out of the ring or got pushed out of the ring. I can't remember the name of the guy. seen that before i didn't know 20 seconds was allowed i've seen that i mean i remember bernard hopkins fought a few years ago and fell out of the ring or got pushed out the ring i can't remember the name of the guy oh i've seen people fall out of the ring but i've never seen both guys and then the referee start counting no never i've never seen i've never ever seen the referee count it's very wwe-esque yes it is yeah like normally we both go out that's it fight's done yeah yeah yeah yeah it's great though it's done. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So it's great.

It's great stuff. Amazing. 20 seconds. Didn't know that. Yeah. Well, you learned something new. How about that? Shout out to the chat.

Thumbs up. Thumbs up. Ade, a pleasure as always. Enjoy your trip to Manchester. What is that? Like a two hour train ride? What is that? In my car about an hour and a half.

Wow. Must be nice. I take that back. I'm not speeding. I'm not speeding. I take that back. Yeah. M6 the M9 what is that oh look at you M6 is it the M6 I totally made that up I legit made that up yes I just threw that number out that's amazing yeah I could be wrong but I think you're right it's what it's because this jumper I'm feeling myself you know what I'm saying you should you should unfill yourself very quickly because don't wear that again, Ariel. Don't wear that again.

Even your kids would probably tell you this. Oh, they love it. Oh, they love it. They absolutely love it. And I love you just the same. I love you too, brother. Great stuff as always. Enjoy the fights on Saturday.

Enjoy the fights, everyone. Thank you so much for watching. We'll talk to you next week. you