The Ariel Helwani Show - Ariel x Ade, episode 39: Moses Itauma's trainer Ben Davison talks massive win and next fight, Mick Conlan and Dan Canobbio join, more

Episode Date: August 19, 2025

Ariel Helwani is flying solo for this episode of Ariel x Ade, but he’s bringing three guests with him.First, trainer Ben Davison joins to discuss Moses Itauma’s first-round stoppage against Dillian Whyte, Itauma’s seemingly limitless potential, who the phenom might fight next, whether it’s too soon for the Oleksandr Usyk fight, and he gives an update on Anthony Joshua’s status (02:59).Next, Dan Canobbio stops by to give his own take on what’s next for Itauma, Joseph Parker needing to be next for Usyk, Daniel Dubois splitting from trainer Don Charles. Plus, previews of some upcoming cards, including Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford, and more (28:03).Finally, Mick Conlan calls in to talk about his September return in Dublin and weigh in on other topics including whether Anthony Joshua vs. Jake Paul would be bad for the sport of boxing, if it’s too soon for Itauma vs. Usyk, the potential of fellow Irishman Callum Walsh and more (48:04).Ariel closes the show with a look at the upcoming schedule, before celebrating an anniversary with the Parting Shot (1:07:08).       

Hello and welcome to a brand new edition of Ariel and Ade right here on the Undisputed Global Home of Boxing, D-A-ZN. That's the zone. I'm Mario Hawani inside our New York City studio. Let me just say our uncrowned New York City studio. Yes, home of the number one unbiased combat sports outlet on the place. planet and my friends on this particular Tuesday edition of the program. I am riding solo. Why? Because our good friend, my co-pilot, my partner in crime, the one and only

Adeo O'Diolidibo, who is usually introduced at this moment, is on vacation. Well, yeah, it's usually right here. Like, and he usually flexes and he's got a cool hat and a cool shirt on. No, he's on vacation. A well-earned break. He was a part of the broadcast in re-ad-this, weekend, which of course we shall be talking about at length on today's show. So I am writing solo, but it's not just me sitting here for the next hour plus talking to all of you about

the sweet science. No, when I ride solo, I stack the show. Back into the program, we're going to be talking to Mick Conlon. Mick Conlon, who of course is an Irish boxing legend. He is returning on September 5th at the three arena in Dublin, his first time fighting as a pro in Dublin. Of course, hailing from Belfast, Northern Ireland, he has fought there, but never before at the three arena, the famed arena, which has seen the likes of Katie Taylor as of late, compete in twice, back-to-back fights against Chantelle Cameron, a big opportunity for him. As he admittedly states, he is in the stretch drive of his illustrious career, perhaps one, two, three, we'll ask him how many left. Mick Conlon will join us back into the program at about 545. Eastern, that's 1045 over in the UK. One of my favorite boxing pundits is also going to join us on today's program. His name is Dan Canobio. He is the co-host of the Inside Boxing Live show,

the podcast hosted by himself, and the great Chris Algeria. I enjoy it. They put it on twice a week. I listen all the time, and we'll talk to him about all the comings and goings in the world of boxing. There's a lot going on right now coming off this weekend. He'll be a part of the two MVP shows that are going down this Friday and Saturday in Orlando at the famed Carribe Royale. Looking forward to that very much in what is another busy weekend. There's a Queensberry show. There's a matchroom show as well down under.

So all the promotions right here on DeZone. We'll talk to Dan Canobio about all of that, perhaps a little Moses Satama talk as well, and perhaps a little Terrence Crawford, Canel Alvarez talk as well. or I should say, Canel Alvarez versus Terrence Crawford. In a couple of seconds, in a couple of minutes, we are going to be joined by, in my opinion, one of the very best trainers in all of combat sports, regardless of the combat sport,

but of course, we all know him and love and respect him for the work that he does in the sweet science, in the world of boxing. He was right there by Moses-Aumas side on Saturday in Riyadh as he absolutely destroyed the body snatcher, Dillion White. One minute and 59 seconds. That's all. took 20 years young, well on his way to becoming the next face of the heavyweight division,

the next face of the UK boxing scene, the one and only Ben Davidson, who has seen them all, who has trained them all, he knows the thing or two about putting together a superstar career. He's kind enough to join us right here and now on the program. Hello, Ben. How are you? Good, thanks, Ariel. How are you? Pleasure, as always, to talk to you. Really appreciate the time and appreciate you joining us, especially it's a little late over there. So thank you so much. Congratulations to you and the team on the win on Saturday.

Saturday. Can you be honest with me? I think a lot of people thought your guy Moses would win. Did you think it would be that quick? I think we knew that it had potential to go that quick, but dependent on how Dillian was going to approach the fight. And it just so happened that he approached the fight in a way that, you know, we thought surely he can't go about it like that. But he did. And, you know, it's hard to. to defend against it the best of times. So, yeah, the moment that certain things were happening, Moses was able to process that. It worked on certain things that were happening, and he was able to execute. Gosh, it's mesmerizing watching these highlights.

He is such a joy to watch. Can I ask specifically when you talk about, you know, Dillian doing things that maybe you thought he shouldn't have done? What are you referring to? We're not going to go into too much. That's detail. Fair enough. But, you know, I thought he may take a certain type of approach to try and make himself

a bit more awkward and get a chance to have a look and just try and maybe slow the far starter down. But he didn't quite take that approach. And, you know, when people talk about the tendencies that we base our work off of, people often ask me, yeah, but what if the fighter comes out and has a different approach well that's not the type of thing that we look at we don't look at oh he's going to come out on the front foot or he's going to come out on the back foot or he's going to sit and wait to counter the things that we focus on are things that happen no matter how they approach the fight because then we know in these scenarios they're going to react like this this is what they're going to do so those are the type of things on that that we look at and

lee wiley does a fantastic job every single time they're putting together the scout and reports we go away we take a look at it we create some drills and uh and then we just it's just repetition and um moses for all the talent that people call it he's a tremendously hard worker he loves the sport of boxing and he's an absolute pleasure to work with because he's so focused he's so committed anything you're asking to do he'll go in and try and do that's what allows him to go in and execute. It's not talent, it's hard work. So what was so interesting about the buildup was it was almost like a tale of two approaches. Both you and Lee, it has been talked about at length. You love to prepare. You study,

you come together and you have game plans and you do your homework. And then on the flip side, you had Dillian's head trainer, Buddy McGirt saying, I've never watched a clip of this guy, which blows my mind when you have a phenom about to stand in front of your guy. How do you not do your homework? Do you believe him? Do you believe him when he says that? Do you believe that they didn't watch anything on Moses heading into the fight? And if so, if you do believe him, how insane is that to do as you're preparing for

a fight like Moses? Yeah, look, buddy's a very experienced coach. He's been in some massive fights and he's got his own way of doing things. He's a former two-weight world champion and perhaps when he was a boxer, he didn't take too much, too many looks at his opponent. So whatever he

feels works for him, you know, we like to take our approach that we feel works for us. But Buddy's also had many successful nights as well and with his approach as well, so. Do you believe him? I do, yeah. I do believe him, yeah. When you heard that, were you shocked? No, because I know a few guys that have worked with him and he's not the first time that he said that. So, yeah. Okay, fair enough. It was very clear that Dillion was trying to get under Moses's skin a little bit, play some mind games in the buildup to the fight,

especially on Fight Week. Could you tell us how is he handling everything behind the scenes? He's just 20, biggest opportunity, biggest fight of his life, so much expectation, such a big spotlight. What were you seeing from Moses' Fight Week in Riyadh. Yeah, it truly is at Walter Off of Ducks Back, you know. I think, again, going back to how much of a hard worker he is and all the ability that he's got on top of that, because there's lots of young fighters that.

that have got ability. But what's allowing him to do what he's doing at such a young age is his emotional maturity, which is so rare. That in itself is something that's spectacular. And that's what's allowing him to do what he's doing at such a young age in such convincing fashion. And almost, you know, as if he expects it to happen as well, you know, being 100% honest, he was almost slightly frustrated after the fight on Saturday.

Wow. Because as much as everybody talks about, you know, they want to see him get pushed and get tested you know he's putting himself into it in a build-up expecting to there to be a certain level of resistance and you know when the opponents are not able to do that i think you know he almost gets a bit of an anti-climax to be honest so what do you say to him in those moments when he shares that frustration with you after the fight i just said to him look the performance might have looked easy but it wasn't easy you know you put in a really tough training camp. You're putting a hell of a lot of work to put in a performance like that.

And in the post-fight press conference, he actually said, you know, I've done a 12-week training camp to go out and put a performance on like that. But it's not, you know, he started boxing at such a young age. He's been 10, 11 years worth of work for him to be able to go out there and deliver the nights and performances he's delivering at the moment. You know, something that always impresses me every time I see him is, A, he doesn't look like a 20-year-old, he doesn't act like a 20-year-old, especially not one who is. is enjoying all the success. Even in the post-fight interview

without a, he's not bigging himself up. He's just kind of having fun and taking it all in stride. And I'm wondering if at any moment, are you ever worried, are you ever afraid, do you ever have to talk to him about not letting all this get to him?

Does it ever sort of seep through and you start to notice the head getting a little big? Does that ever happen with Moses at this stage? Not so far. I haven't seen anything like that. I think he's very well grounded.

He's got a very good family around him. He's always been very grounded, to be honest with you. And I think if there was any signs of that, I think the family would be the first ones to have something to say to him, but there is no signs. He's a very well-managed young man,

as are all of the family, so clearly a representation of the work that their parents have done. And, yeah, there's no signs of that, which is great for us to see as well. I'm not suggesting you do this, but I have seen others suggested as well. And I would never expect you to do it because you've got great fighters

and you're stable. But some I've seen say, like, he is such a generational talent. It is so clear that he is such a phenom and he has such a great successful career ahead of him, 15, 20 years. Who knows the world is a oyster. Ben Davidson should drop everyone else and just focus on Moses and just be in the Moses business because this is a once in a lifetime fighter. You're not going to do that, I know. But as a trainer, when you get someone like this, you know, in your grasp, what is going on your mind? Like, this is a generational talent. This is a guy who has all the makings

of one of the all-time best. And I know there's a long way to go and we're not trying to put the cart before the horse. But can you describe the excitement, the emotions when you get to go to work with someone like him who's doing so well, so early? Yeah, to be honest with you, you know, I'm just in a fortunate position where I get to do something

I love as a job for a living. And every single day we go in and I, you know, I wouldn't waste my time and I work with all the lads in the gym that when we ask them to do something or we work on something they're coming in the next day and they're practicing it

or you ask them to go into their next bar and make sure that you're in this situation we want to see you reacting like this or doing a little bit more of that they do that and that's great for us to see and again with Moses it's very exciting

because the passion that he brings the excitement he's got for it he wants to get it right So he wants to get extra reps in. He wants to make sure that it's on points that the next bar is able to get it off. And, you know, he's willing to put himself in uncomfortable situations to practice on certain areas of his game.

And, you know, that is the enjoyable part. I don't look at the end possible result. I look at that excites me each day. I know he's going to work on that today. Or that thing that we worked on these last few days, that got put into practice today, that's exciting. That makes my days enjoyable because, you know, that's what it's all about. Not, not, the journey is the destination, as they say. So enjoying it and enjoying it in that manner, I don't think you can ask for anything

more. Not for me anyway. So you linked up with him around mid-20204 after his eighth pro fight and he told media last week the independent in particular that linking up with you regained his love for boxing and it's a bit of a surprising thing to read because he's doing so well he seemed to be on this trajectory where was he at when you first met him and were you sensing that this was a kid who was falling out of love with something he was so good at I think there was a lot of change from going from an amateur to a professional I don't know I'm guessing here I'm not putting words in his mouth I'm saying it from maybe how I'm

being. Yeah. I think I think there was a big change for him. I think that he probably felt like he was looking for something he hadn't quite found at that point in terms of himself developing. Can I keep developing? What areas of my game can I work on, etc., etc.? So I think when he came,

and I think his eyes got opened a little bit to oh actually there's all of these other areas that I've got lots of improvement I can still continue to make I'm as good as I am and he's very aware of how good he is but I've still got all these areas that can make me even better

I think that drove excitement for him and I think some of the things about the sport the business that may have been getting him down we had a few conversations about that and I think it might have changed his perspective maybe on on, you know, how he looks at those things, perhaps. And, yeah, I think that may be the reasons why it reignited his excitement for coming

into the gym. Because I could always see, he loved it, because the moment we went to show him something, he would go in and practice it. And the moment he went in the practice it and got it off, I could see that excitement. And he'd go over his spars and sometimes late at night. an early sleeper. So sometimes later, I'd wake up early in the morning and he would have been texting at two, three in the morning, going over his sparring or watching a fight. Is this more what you want to see? Is this an example of what you want, etc., etc.? And that screams out

to me, someone that enjoys their job. And that's great because that makes it a pleasure for us as well. Okay, so now the big question is, where does he go from here? I mean, we are not wasting any time. Turkey Al-Asheikh saying, I want Usik. He mentioned the likes of Cabayel, Parker, others have mentioned Bacoli. I mean, these are all the big names. It doesn't get any bigger than this. If it was up to Ben Davison, which direction are you going in with Moses next?

I think one of the things that, you know, if we was to, just the fight that everybody says, oh, it's out of reach, is Alexander Usik? Yes. Correct. Correct.

If we was to put him into that Usik fight and he was to lose, if I was to look back on that situation to say what probably should we have done differently or gave him more of to have stood a better chance in that fight it would be rounds and I think we need to find somebody

that's able to deliver rounds because as much as people claim that he's never fought anybody like Usik which is correct I strongly am of the opinion that Usik has not boxed somebody like Moses receiver. Somebody with the IQ that could match anybody at any way. Somebody with the agility

coordination, speed and power that he has. You know, it's a fight that intrigues me, but I think to give him the best chances, I think, you know, rounds is what we're looking for. And yes, of course, the most recent opponents that we've been trying to get, we've been looking to deliver rounds. But we've got a couple opponents in mind. We're going to sit down and have a conversation to see where the team are at. And I'm not going to mention any names because I think that can drive the price up. So I don't want to upset Uncle Frank. But yeah, there's a couple of opponents in mind. I think rounds is something that we really need to deliver at the minute. And it's going to take, I've got one or two in mind because if there's any sign of a leaky

defense, there's a good chance he's going to take you out. And he's very, very hard to go rounds with, to be in there with and to last rounds with. So like I say, I've got one or two in mind and we'll chat to the team this week and see what's available and see where they're at as well. I won't press you on specific names, but the Ring Magazine did come out with their top 10 today, as far as the heavyweight division is concerned. Usik, of course, Fury, Parker, Kabayel, Dubois, A.J. Hergevich, Wardley, Zhang, Bikoli, 10, Moses. Did I mention one of the names? Is the name that you're thinking, did I mention them? One of them's in there, yeah. Okay, okay. Would you feel comfortable, as his head trainer, would you feel comfortable if

some way, somehow, the star is aligned, and it is Usik next, as Turkey has said, you know, you want your guy to go in there, safe, healthy, prepared. Would you feel comfortable with that? I think we wouldn't be giving him his best chance possible, but I would not be shocked. I wouldn't be, like, he's in for a chance of winning that fight without a shadow of doubt. He probably has the best chance of anybody to beat Alexander Roosie. Right now. Yes. Of any other heavyweight. There isn't a heavyweight out there, in my opinion, that has a better chance than him of winning that fight. Wow. However, I still think there's things that we could deliver

to allow him to have even better chances of winning that fight. So, yeah, look, like I say, we'll sit down. And people might say, you're mad, but... I love it. I would explain it like this. There is not another heavyweight on the planet that if before Saturday was matched up with Dillian Wyatt, not one other heavyweight would people have said

it's going to be a two, three round job for. it turned out to be a one-round job and I think that in itself sums up what people truly think it's hard for them to come out and say could he but I don't think there is another heavyweight that has a better chance than him

Is this happening quicker than you thought when you first linked up with him were you expecting in sort of mid 20, 25 a year or so later to be in these types of talks meaning Ussick next potentially? No, to be honest, there was, there was, there was, the possibility of breaking Mike Tyson's record very nearly come about, very nearly come about.

It didn't quite come off, but I was, you know, I thought there's a chance of this coming off here and breaking that record. And once that was done, you know, that fight may have come about. so like I say there's not there isn't you know when people mention names there isn't one heavyweight that I would say oh I don't like that for him not one all I'll say is which is the same for anybody it's just risk versus reward that fight's just as hard as that fight but that fight's got more reward to it that's it really by the way why didn't that situation pan out meaning him trying to become the youngest heavyweight champion of all time breaking Tyson's record

Why didn't it work out? There was a situation where some of the beltsmaire got fragmented and it just didn't quite end up happening because timeframes ended up changing, et cetera. So once timeframes changed and it wasn't going to happen before with the opportunity to break the Mike Tyson record, the foot just got, took off the gas and, well, it's no rush now, you know what I mean? Sure.

This time next year, August of 2026, where's Moses? in your opinion? I believe he'll be a world champion. Undisputed? We'll see, we'll see. More than capable of. If the opportunities and the stars align, yes, he will be.

Okay, wow. Can't wait to see how that plays out. I do want to ask you about some of your other fighters, namely Anthony Joshua. It's heating up this Jake Paul stuff. I know you've been asked about it a little bit. For our audience, are you in favor of this? Would you be comfortable with AJ fighting Jake Paul,

given the discrepancy in resumes, let's just say, an experience. Yeah, I just think, like, my opinion is this on it. Francis and Garner was more qualified after his fight with Tyson Fury to box Anthony Joshua. That being, him being one of the most durable men on the planet, and we saw what happened there. I think for Jake Paul to go in against Anthony Joshua, you know just picture just picture that that situation what we saw against france and garno and then picture frances and garno versus jake paul even just from a physical standpoint in itself but there's talk of are jakes more qualified than unganu based off of

franzangano as the better boxing performance out of those two guys hands down with with the Tyson Fury fight. So I believe France and Ghana was more qualified, better equipped physically, and that still happened, what happened. So, yeah, make of that what you will, I think. Could I ask who you would like to see AJ fight next when he returns? I think the world of boxing's always wanted to see the Fury fights,

but, you know, know, whatever really. I think his goals to become a world champion or to do the Fury fight again and, sorry, to become a World Champion again or to do the Fury fight. So, yeah, look, I don't know. I don't know what the right next step is or when that step is. I know there's a lot of talk of this Jake Paul stuff, but, yeah, I suppose we'll see. Do you think we see him again this year or is the clock running out?

on that? Possibly, possibly towards the back end of year, maybe early starting next year, maybe. Okay. By the way, since you did obviously fight Francis and study him, he told me yesterday he really wants Deonté next. How do you think that plays out, Deonté Wilder versus Francis Inganu? It's hard to say because I don't know how Deontes. Do you know when people ask how do you have to see this fight for?

going, how do I see that fight going? It often depends on the approach. And if I've seen enough of the boxer, I can go, against that style, I typically think he will approach the fight like this. But with Deonté Wilder, I just don't know where he's at. He's not what he was, obviously. So, and after those losses that he's had, that may, well, I think it will be an honest, impact his approach to the fight.

And so therefore, I don't actually. know how he would approach it I mean he's very explosive, very dangerous from a low Deontay Wilder almost lower you to sleep

explosive quick one too which I think Francis would struggle to defend against but if Deontay goes into that fight too concerned about what's coming back and too defensively minded

I think he could get run through to be honest with you wow he would have to be committed ballsy and confident

to execute. And I don't think Deonté Wilde is capable of taking the same approach as Anthony Joshua to set up those situations. But then again Francis and Garno

defensively I think could struggle if he if Deonté Wilder is confident and committed very explosive but yeah I don't know it depends on how the guys approach but it is a fight that would intrigue me if I'm honest yes certainly two heavy hitters I'll ask you one more you've got a great stable of guys shout out to Alois Jr as well doing big things seems to be on his way as a cruiser wait I do want to ask you the fabio wardly knockout of

justice Hooney as far as a a experience as a trainer is concerned have you ever experienced a range of emotions like that before because it's like we saw eddie in the corner it seemed like things were not going well until they went spectacularly well in his favor um a i'm just curious what's going through your mind as you're witnessing this take that left turn and b when do we think that we will see uh fabio back in against two fabio's going to have some news really soon and in terms of have i been through those emotions unfortunately i have i think i don't have you remember but i was part of leewood versus big oh yes of course noddingham's own yes of course that was incredible, yes.

Tyson Fury versus Deonté Wilde did the first fight. So, yeah, I've had a few dramatic. You're 32, but really, as far as those experiences are concerned, perhaps maybe like 60 boxing has turned down. I think you're starting to show as well.

Well, it's all working out. It's lovely to see, especially the work that you're doing with Moses, both you and Lee, doing an incredible job, getting your flowers. My condolences to Lee's family. I know he lost his mother recently. That's right, yeah. If he is out there watching, my condolences to him, I know it was...

Really appreciate that. Thank you. As a mama's boy, I feel for him. And I just want to say congratulations to you and the entire team. Huge fan of what Moses is doing, what you're doing with him, and it's great to see. So congratulations on all the success. Thanks for staying up late. You mentioned you're an early sleeper there, so it made me feel bad that you are up.

No, no problem. So thank you so much, Ben. All the best, and we'll talk to you soon. appreciate it. Thank you very much. The great Ben Davison joining us. What a stable he has. He trains his squad over at the Ben Davidson Performance Center in beautiful Essex, both he and Lee, known to be two of the very best in terms of game planning, research, preparation. They do it all. And they took the Inganu fight with AJ very seriously. They did not dismiss them. And so when you hear Buddy

McGirt say before that fight as White's trainer, yeah, yeah, I'm not going to watch anything. mean you're not going to watch anything. Nothing? You're not going to do anything, no prep whatsoever on this guy. He's a phenom once in a lifetime, 20-year-old sensation. The juxtaposition of the two approaches was very glaring, in my opinion, and you see how it all plays out. All right. Still to come, the aforementioned Mick Conlin, who was part of that fight. But first, want to say hello to one of my favorites in the game, as I said at the top of the show, co-host of one of my favorite, dare I say, my second favorite boxing podcast, this, of course, being the first. If it doesn't include me, it is.

is number one. I've been watching and listening to it for quite some time well before we ever did this. It's called Inside Boxing Live. Does it twice a week with the great Chris Algeri. He's the one and only the big unc himself, Dan Kenobio. Hello, Dan. How are you? My guy, Ariel, how are you, my friend? It's good to get you out of the, I mean, you're partying out there, you're on the shore, you're living life, so I'm sorry for taking you away from all of this. Thanks for giving us some time. Well, listen, I've known you forever, like going on like 10 years now. And I've had you on my show numerous times and I finally got the call last night I jumped I left the beach I got in my car I cruised to the city I set up I'm a little you know I got a little sunburn um but I'm ready I'm

ready to talk boxing with with my friend okay well I hope I didn't ruin any plans but I do thank you for being here it is great to be here with you we were just talking to Ben Davidson about Moses Atama and so the big question coming off this weekend is where does he go from here turkey saying let's do usik others are saying yo let's chill a little bit credit to ben He said, happily take the fight. I think he wins the fight, but I'd love for him to get just a few more rounds because he'll be even better in a year or two.

If you're Frank Warren, if you're, you know, the whole Warren family managing him, if you're Ben Davidson as well, which direction are you taking Moses? First of all, Ben Davis in his pajamas. That was a great. That was a look. He's a friend of mine,

and so it's Mick Conlin. So this is awesome to be sandwiched between those two. In terms of the Yatuma, is this like a really cool thing we have right now in boxing where everyone in the boxing community has their claws into this kid because they want to see how he should be handled. You have the old, like the Luda Bells of the world saying, this is how I believe I would handle him. Then you have the young guard saying, all right, let's just put him in there with Usik.

So I feel like he's the bluest of blue chip prospects. He's almost like an A-list celebrity. And you can't afford to put him in like a bad movie because that might crater his career. So you might not be able to afford to put him in there with Anusik because it might upend his career. And this is different than acting. You're actually taking punishment. and you could get really hurt inside of it there. But I think Frank Warren is taking the right approach here.

This is a guy that's a survivor, literally. Frank Warren has seen it all. He's one of the best promoters in the game, if not the best promoter, in boxing right now. He knows what he has right now, and I was really refreshing to hear Davison kind of say, you know, we're not going to jump into a noosec fight. As bad as, as tempting as that may be,

put him in there with some around. We need to see more rounds from him. We need to build him up a little bit more as a puncher. There's a lot of lore around him, It's almost like Iron Mike in terms of him going in the ring and blowing these guys out. But we just see a little more. We need to build a Tuma's profile up a little bit before he steps in there with the Nuzik.

But the only thing, Ariel, is that Usook is 38 years old. And it's not old because that's how old I am. But it's old in boxing. So it's like, Yusuk is running out of time because I do want to see the generational talent or the generational icon going up against the phenom. I think that, you're a WWE fan. That's like the storylines that. we we pray for in boxing we have it right now it's just how are we going to go about the timing

of it okay so he's now in the top ten according to the the ring magazine they they put out their heavyweight rankings today uh usick fury parker cabal dubois Joshua hergevich Wardley Zhang Bacoli he comes in a 10 you didn't give me an answer you got to give me a name who you're booking him against hergovic okay coming off his win yes i think hergivic is a perfect opponent for him Did Davidson, I was kind of half-listing? Did Davidson say that his next opponent is in this ring top ten? He did. No, he didn't say, he said, I have a name.

I don't want to say the name because I don't want to drive the price up. I read him the top ten, and he said, yes, the name is there, but he didn't lean in a certain direction. Okay. I think it's one of the three. It's either Hergevik, Bik, Bikoli, or Zhang. Those are the only that makes sense to me. Those are guys that already have losses. Those are guys that are, I wouldn't say, are entitled contention just yet.

McCulley's coming off of the loss to Parker. Zhang has had some missteps. And Hergevik only has one loss in his career, and that was to Daniel Dubois. And Hergevick, I believe, is the most durable of those three. He was taking some shots in this fight right here against Adelaide,

like big time shots. And I think we need to see how his chairman hold up against Moses Atama. He's got power as well. Just like a few years ago, Hergivik was considered the boogeman. He's definitely a step up over the Dillian whites of the world. And I'm terrible with ages. I'm looking at it. He was 33, Hergevik. So, you know,

he's still somewhat in his chronological prime. I like that one. If I was Frank Warren, I would be calling up Philip Hergevick right now and saying, you know, here's a boatload of money to fight my pheno. Do you think he ever fights Usset? Or do you think Ussick retires before fighting him? Not to suggest that he would duck him, but he doesn't really need to do this fight, right? He said he has one or two left. There's plenty of guys to fight before Moses. I think Usick is on he's called out Fury after the fight which I found a little bit uncharacteristic for him

because he's really beat him twice so he had to stare down with Jake Paul so I think Usick is kind of entertaining like big money fights as he should at this stage in his career the thing is I just mentioned this before it's a timing thing if Usick was four years younger

if Usick was 34 we would have a little more time to let this fight marinate but we don't we only have a year or two because in an ideal world, Moses Atuma would fight for two years and fight the Hergiviks, the Zhangs, the Bikolis, maybe Akabayel, maybe a Dubois, and that gets him to about two years in the current boxing schedule, or although I believe he should be fighting like four or five times a year, like Tyson did, even more. But in the current landscape, that will get him about two years. And in two years, Ussk's 40. And I don't know what Ussk will be at 40. He hasn't showed any

signs of slippage, because I believe Ussk's last performance against Dubois was his best at age 38, which is crazy to think. I do think they fight. Wow. And in a year, in a year, it's still interesting to me. After a year, then we're starting to say, is this the best version of Ucic? Because, you know, father time is undefeated. Right.

I love that fight. I would be intrigued. We all would be. It would be a spectacle. I'm worried about my guy Joseph Parker getting screwed here. It has to be Joseph next for Usik. And when I saw that stuff come out on Saturday about Usik, I'm like, are they really going to bypass this guy? I feel like already he got screwed in re-ed when he didn't fight Dubois and all that weirdness happened with Bikoli coming in on 24 hours notice.

Do you agree that Parker has to be the one who fights Usik next? Yes. I mean, meritocracy really doesn't exist in boxing, but we're starting to see somewhat of a structure here in the sport. And the obvious fight is Usik versus Parker. Parker has a slew of great wins He's weighed in his turn It's a new fresh fight too Because look at Usik

He's running the block And he's beating these guys twice He's beating these guys twice He's beating Joshua twice very twice Dubois twice He hasn't fought Parker yet Parker is very deserving Boxing fans are calling for it

And it's hard to get boxing fans On the same page All the time But I believe the consensus At heavyweight What fans want to see Meritocracy wise would be Usik versus Parker

By the way, some heavyweight news came out earlier today from the U.K., Daniel Dubois, splitting with his trainer, Don Charles, who a lot of people thought was responsible for turning things around for him. That run that he was on, obviously, before this last loss, was pretty damn great. And then there was all the weird stuff with the party, and then there was weird stuff before the AJ fight as well, and then his dad. Are you surprised that Dubois made this call? Not really. I feel like these fighters change trainers all the time. like I think some change had to be made after the party. I don't know if the trainer had anything to do.

The trainer would probably be the guy to say to get the hell out of that party. Usually it's the dad. Like how do you fire your dad? Like it's a boxing is a father's son sport. We've seen fathers ruin the careers of sons. I'm not saying that's the case here. But it's really hard. It's a really delicate partnership between a father, son, trainer, son,

manager son so uh something had to give because um those that party scene looked pretty crazy um really bad idea in hindsight um yeah so i'm not shocked and because i think his game plan was a little strange uh he decided to stand in range against usick which i just thought was ridiculous uh so maybe there's something there but i believe there had to be some type of change and it's very rare we see fighters fire their fathers even though they should sometimes right right right no uh obviously that probably does not happen. Kind of going around the world of boxing here. And one guy that I'm super high on is Zander Zayas.

What a performance just about a month ago here in New York City. And obviously, the future of top rank, a little bit up in the air. But I saw Oscar Delahoya just yesterday saying, let's go. Zandar Zias versus Virgil Ortiz. He's mentioned that fight. He's mentioned boots. He's mentioned Sebastian Fondora. He, to me, youngest champion in boxing right now is an absolute stud.

Like, he's got the whole thing. He's got the package. He's got the look. He's got Puerto Rico. He's got Bad Bunny and Amanda Serrano behind him. This is a guy that top rank should be hanging their hat on. Who would you like to see him fight next? Zayas?

You know, Fondora Zayas have been flirting with a fight for a while now. That was supposed to be the fight. And we went to Perspid, I believe, or they couldn't come up with a deal. Anyone at 154, there's probably the best division in all of boxing, but it's the most frustrated division in boxing currently because you have four singular champions. There's no unifications. That's a little bit of politics going on,

even though we're living in a boxing world where seemingly any fight. can be made at any time. Like, I would like to see Zay's fight Virgil Ortiz. I like to see Zay's fight Fondora. I like to see Zay's fight Bachram, who is just probably the most avoided champion right now, the IBF champion of 154. Guy has in fought since last October when he knocked out Tim Zhu.

Can't even come close to fight. No one wants to fight the guy because he has zero profile is not a big money attached to him. So 154 is like a very fun division, but it's also frustrating because these are really, really good fighters, and they're all great matchups, which doesn't seem like we're getting them just yet. Terrence Crawford made a pit stop at 154 last summer and now has zoomed all the way up to 168 to fight Canello. We're about three or so weeks away from this fight on Netflix, maybe a little bit

more, if my math is correct. You get the point. September 13th, Allegiance Stadium, massive deal, Zufa boxing, all this stuff. Your level of excitement, less than a month out, Crawford-Kinello fight we, for the longest time, thought would never happen? It's gaining steam. It's gaining momentum. Slow build, fair to say? Slow build, slow builds. Listen, boxing needs these types of events.

They need two or three of them, being a little greedy. But at least one. We need one mega event every year, so people don't forget that we exist. And Canello Crawford is this one. It's on Netflix. Canella, everyone knows Canello. My friends, I don't follow boxing, no Canello. For the most part, my friends know Crawford after beating Spence.

you can't discount the fact that it's going to be available on so many more homes on on Netflix you can't discount the fact that it's an interesting fight because can't Crawford do this the can the little guy beat the bigger guy can you know Canello is kind of on the back nine and he hasn't shown the the focus or he hasn't shown the explosiveness in a lot of his past fights especially in that skull fight that left a lot to be desired many believe that Crawford is just jumping up too much like we're getting closer to September and the closer we get I'll tell you what anything I put on social media or anything I put on YouTube. If you put

Canelo Crawford in there, tons of engagement. I think it's starting to, fans are starting to pick up Steam, and this fight's starting to pick up Steam. I would say it's at like a 7.8. Okay. Have you made a pick yet? No, I don't do that till Week of. Week of. That's a thing. You don't stray.

No, because we want to, you know, you know how it is. Yeah, no. Are you leaning in a direction? I have a lean. Algeria likes to flip-flop. You know, he's got many other jobs. We'll go on one show, he'll say Crawford. We'll go on another show, so they can you did the spence crawford i caught him he was going all over that media room making different picks so therefore he had he had he thinks he's slick he had different picks out there so

he can go back to that tape and say oh wow i picked i picked crawford all along that's a veteran move veteran move he's a he's a media guy now yeah yeah no for sure um zoofa boxing will it succeed what's your what's your level of expectation here i want everyone to succeed uh and and by the way to be clear i'm not saying do you want it to succeed or not do you think the UFC model will succeed in the boxing world? I think it will. I think there's enough smart people involved. I think the sport does need some structure.

The Aaliyak stuff is a little disconcerning. How do you feel about that? Good or bad? Because they're trying to position it as this is only good. It's revival. There's them getting things like health benefits and looking out for the smaller, fighter um if that range true if that becomes true where uh a guy can have a somewhat of a salary type

of a deal and he gets health benefits and he gets access to uh performance centers and all that then then good if it prevents big fights from happening and if it lowers the the bigger purses out there which is something that boxing fans are very proud of and it's also something that boxers are have become accustomed to um then we're going to is going to be some issues. But the fact, I think it's like such a far ways away, too, to see the actual impact that it will have. I feel like this is like a five to seven year plan that they have in place.

But they have the time. They have the resources. You know, they have wrestling, pro wrestling, and now UFC under the same banner, you know, boxing, it didn't take long for Turkey, Al-Sheek, and Saudi Arabia to kind of scoop up the entire sport. It would take like 18 months. So they have a plan. and those guys know what they're doing.

I agree with you on the people behind it. I mean, what they're doing right now in those two worlds, wrestling and MMA in particular, they're on fire. I know this sport is different. I know there's a lot of people giving them a bit of the stiff arm and saying there's an old guard here and you can't change this or that. I think they're going to be very successful

and I think that they are very influential and persuasive. They're going to be able to have great success. How do you feel about the way the card is shaping up? I think that was one of the big questions. Okay, who's going to be on this card? Callum Walsh, Fernando Vargas Jr., Christian M. Billy is someone that I'm very excited about him getting an opportunity in a platform like this. Do you like what they're putting together for this particular card? I think for the first time they're showing that there is a budget and there is, they're using some restraint here, not saying that these are bad fights, but this isn't like, for instance, these ring cards have been stacked on November 22nd. There's a ring card with Devin, Brian Norman, David Benavides, Arthur Rederviev. I'm probably forgetting some fights because there's so many fights being made now. But I like the undercard because I think Christian and Billy versus Lester Martinez could steal the show.

Lester Martinez is not really well known, but he fights on Pro Box. Chris has told me great things. I've watched some of his fights, offensive-minded fighter. And Billy is one of the most underrated fighters, underrated action fighters in the sport today. So I like that. I kind of harkened it to putting Taylor Serrano 2 on the Tyson Paul undercard. It was all blood. It was all guts.

I think we'll get something similar to that on the Canelo Crawford undercard. So if you're a casual fan, if you're not even a boxing fan, you turn on the fight a little early, you're going to see some action. As for Callum Walsh, I could have bet if there was odds on this guy, this kid ending up on this card, I would have took him because he's always been aligned with Dufa or Dana White. What also I'm hearing, too, Ariel, I don't know if you saw this, is it's going to be like a three-day event. So a big baby Miller, I believe, is fighting Michael Hunter, Sergey Boa-Chuk. really exciting fighter at 154 is fighting Brandon Adams I've heard

Jared Anderson too right I think Jared Anderson might have left the discussion and also left the sport he's done that's it

I don't know I've heard Don King had an issue with Hunter's involvement no has that been cleared up well the only the only time I know Don King's still alive

is when he files in junk that's true and so he had his moment in the sun to say I'm not letting this fight go on and then I think Turkey will just pay him an absurd amount of money and then he won't hear from from don king but i like the idea of like a

three-day festival oh yeah it's great make it fun uh MVP did that uh we put fights on at the oculus the world trade center one of the coolest venues i've ever called a fight for um i think it's becoming a trend now in boxing where these open workouts which could be kind of stale you know the fighters get in there they barely even break a sweat so let's put some fights on there let's uh you know make it a little more exciting so i believe i like that aspect of so you might not have the most stacked undercard for Canola Crawford, but I think we're going to get a lot of quantity. Yes, and if

you're a fan of All Things TKO, they're doing a big wrestling event that Friday in Vegas as well. Oh, I'll be there. All things TK. Worlds collide at the Thomas and Mac. You're off to Orlando. Two-day MVP event, the first ever MVP Fight Night, also a most valuable promotions event

as well on Friday. What should we be looking out for? The Coroner Fight Island. I just saw that. I'm in the group chat with all the the young MVP employees. Oh, yeah, my favorite account, HQ. They call me. Somehow I've become unk in life.

Life comes at you fast. 38 fighters, 19 fights across two nights, world title fights on Saturday night. You got Yankeel Rivera fighting Angelino Cardova. That's a vacant flyway title fight. Lucas Bodhi returns. He had one of the greatest knockouts of 2024 when he knocked out Ashton Silp.

Ioannis Tellez is fighting on this card. He's rumored to be fighting Boots Ennis. Next, Stephanie Hahn. She's rumored to be fighting Holly Home. I believe Holly Home will be in attendance. I heard Jake Paul is coming. If Jake shows up, I will lose my mind. I will just lose my mind.

I'm excited, man. I never called two fights in a back-to-back nights. I think it's 19 fights that I'll be on the call for, along with Wade, Plem, Tarver, Donair. I think we have some more surprised guests on the commentary team. So I'll be bringing some Manuka honey for my throat. Oh, yeah. Love that.

Joseph Parker, a big fan of that as well. Thank you very much, Dan. Great job. Check out the podcast, Inside Boxing Live, twice a week. Yourself, Chris Algeris, some breaking news episodes as well, some post. Yeah, there it is. A little merch. Great, great stuff.

Keep up the great work. And good luck. Oh, more merch, more merch. Good luck this weekend. Oh, okay. Oh, man. One last thing. Oh, wow.

Bobblehead. That looked nice on the desk. Not going to lie. It does. Yeah. All right, Ben. Thank you for having me. I sure I'll be on

another team. Don't worry. I'm not, we didn't want to bring up Yankees, J's, A-L-E like that's... Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. You love talking baseball in August. Let's see in October. Yeah, whatever matters. All right, we'll see you then. You guys are there. See you, bro. There he is. Dan Kenovio, joining us the host of Inside Boxing Live. If you haven't watched it, go check it out. Great, great stuff. All right, let's move along. We mentioned him

a couple times on the show today. Always great to catch up with the legendary Mick Conlon. He returns to action on September 5th in Dublin at the three-year. arena, his first time fighting in that venue, in that city as a professional. He returns on September 5th, a big show, and it is being billed as return of the Mick. Is he there or not? Am I wrong? Oh, there he is. Hello, Mick. How are you? Oh, good, Earl. Hars things long. Hey, my friend. Yes. Sorry for keeping you up late. I know it's late over there in Ireland. Are you in Northern Ireland? Are you in Belfast? No, I'm in Sheffield in training camp, mate. It's not the most glamorous place in the world,

especially considering I've had training camps where I was in L.A. for a long time. And then I was in Surrey during Bessad, London, which the weather was always lovely. Then I was in Malmy. Now I'm here in Sheffield, which is very unsuming compared to where I've been. Well, it doesn't, it's not a glamorous life, right? It's the fight game. It's the prize fighting business. It's work. That's right. like fighting at the three arena in Dublin first time as a pro fighting in Dublin first time at three arena

how do you feel about this opportunity? I'm very excited, Earl. You know, I've fought everywhere in the world I've never fought in Dublin. I forged most of my career in Dublin as an amateur and now I think of Quebec

and fate there is going to be really special, something that I've longed for my whole career. You know, I have a sports personality in the state of Ireland and now that, you know, I would consider myself a bigger name in the South than I am in my own city in Belfast. So when I fight Belfast, 50% of my tickets are bought from the South of Ireland. So it's going to be great.

And it's going to be great for the traveling fans and I have to travel as far. So it's something I'm excited about, well. You will be making history. You'll be the first fighter to headline the SSE Arena in Belfast and now the three arena in Dublin. So I know that's a huge deal for you. and they're calling this return to the Mick, and you have talked about this sort of being the final chapter, just to be clear,

it's not the final fight, though, right? No, definitely not the final fight. No, you know, I says when I come back, it's the last rule of the days. You know, I'll rule them and see how far they go. And if I'm going to be honest with you, Earl, I know that people say, like, this is the best training camp I've had and all this.

I'm not going to say it's the best training camp I've had ever, but it's the best at being insane, and I'd say the ring mentally and physically and I'm in a great position you know I have no no weight in my shoulders no kind of worries you know what will be will be

and I'm at peace with us so there's no pressure I can just go in and enjoy myself and that's what I plan to do for the rest of this career you know I want to get a world title still I'm aiming towards that I think I can still do it I believe I can still do it and you know I'm showing now back in the gym working hard working

that is still there. So I'm excited for me. It's, it's no pressure. Just go and enjoy yourself. And that's why I'm taking everything there. So, 2020, obviously, was a tough year with the two losses. You took 24 off, came back in March of this year, won that fight. First, can I ask, why did you take 2024 off?

Was that your call? Did you think you needed some time off? What was the decision-making process there? Well, I was in two means whether or not that was still box. I ended up taking some time off just I didn't say nothing I didn't, you know, in the immediate after my last defeat

I was like I was going to write that's me done but then I says no hold your tongue because you might regret this and thankfully I did because in that time off you know I ended up running a marathon and stuff and just doing crazy stuff throughout that year which is really good just to

kind of break because I'm in boxing now 27 years it's a lifetime. It's more than life and jail. So the fact that, you know, I took ear off, got refreshed, got ravelized and I've come back. I've come back with my goals, which have always been there, but kind of refocused and the aim towards them, knowing that if I was the losing game, that's it done. And I can just enjoy myself and just do whatever I want. I've been very smart outside of boxing, you know, I've set myself up with different businesses and different kind of outlets and different pathways

which they can walk into. So it's not that I need boxing. It's that I have goals that I believe I need to achieve and I'll do everything I can to get them. And so going into that fight against Khan in March, were you thinking, if this doesn't go well, I'm done? Were you putting that pressure on yourself? I don't see there's pressure.

I don't. Really? It was just like, you know what? It was the first time I'm actually going to the effect. I was not nervous at all. I'd be nervous every fit I ever had. bar that one and because I was nervous

I actually was nervous for that reason I was like what's good on I've never not been nervous in the F8 you know nerves I always thought

was a good thing but it was just a moment of peace where I was just like whatever happens happens and in that train again I'll be honest

that was like I forgot out of the box taking the ear to the ring has like I was out of the gym completely I was running yes but in terms of

boxing training and tame and distance and everything like that even punch selection i was like where has it gone so the training i was like oh have i forgot and then it started to kind of come back towards the end of that at and again got the job does the routine kind of go in and get the rounds get get moving get back to the field of it all and you know i've came into this training game and it's like a completely different person that

went into the last one so wow that exceeds me that really exceeds me and and i feel great I'm probably stronger than I've ever been as fit as I've ever been and my mindset is definitely in the right place for this. Do you think that means you'll be nervous on the night? Yeah, I think so, yeah. Okay. And why do you

is it because you're in Dublin? Is it because it's starting? Why do you think so? It's just because, you know, I know the work I've put in and you want to make sure everything goes right. It's normal, it's natural, that's the natural thing. You want to, when you're a kind of perfectionist when you're in the ring, You want to make sure you do everything correctly.

And it's just them little nerves to kind of get you fired up. And, you know, realizing that everything is back, I know I've got to be on it. So I will be on it. Do you feel like your confidence is back? Do you feel like your mojo is back after the win? Oh, 100%. 100%. You know, everything is working again.

And the train to have the sparring I've had, I've been fantastic. So, you know, even the coaches go on and can't believe the difference from the first training camp that his training camp and he's going, I said the first training camp, I'm not this, but I'll just let you know. He says, I know you're not doing the other ring a long time. And then he said to me last week, or a few weeks ago, he says, I can't believe the difference.

He says, I told you I wasn't shit. And he laughed. And he says, I never thought you were shit. So don't worry about that. But I says, no, but it was just, it just needed to kind of woken up of it. I would say your resume speaks for itself. So I don't think anyone thinks that at any point.

Jake Bateson is getting the biggest opportunity of his career by far what a shot for him how did you land on him being the opponent they put a few opponents to me and I says listen get them a figure and I'll fight anybody so it doesn't really matter

and we end up getting there on the end and you know it was happy it doesn't matter Jack is Jack Scott you know he's good fader former team GB athlete the European medalist and stuff in the amateurs and has done okay as a pro this is his big opportunity

this is his world title fate and you know most people who in the fight me always kind of have that kind of goaler if I've been him and I'm in a big fate because the matter of he's lost he's still a big name

and you know that's something that I've had since day one so it's it is what it is I'm good with it I'm looking forward to because I'll have the best Jack Bates in front of me I'm fighting it which means I've got to be the best

myself and you know how everything has went this this camp you know i'm in a great place to do that uh and by the way we were just talking about jake paul my apologies to jack i call them jake bateson jac i am i'm still i knew that because i was listening and thank sure to be dan dan's a good friend i've known down a long time uh a great guy nzaboxin's fantastic heaven chris or or top top top guys so um you know that dan's always sending me stats over after i think oh yeah i always appreciate dan punch that stuff i love it yeah of course He's from the great CompuBox family.

Pompie box, yeah. Yeah, his dad died. I know his dad and stuff. You know, I met him's had drinks and everything after some of my face in New York and, you know, some special times. By the way, can I ask Jake Paul versus AJ? We were just talking to Ben Davison about that. Crazy or are you into it? Crazy.

Crazy. I'm into it. Listen, it doesn't matter if it's crazy, I'm into it. But, you know, it's very dangerous because look with AJ done to you. Nunganu, who is one of the most dangerous men on earth. Jake Paul is not even that level. You know, he's done well in what he's doing. I'm not even going to say pro-boxer or nothing.

He's just done well in what he's doing. But, you know, I have to respect him. They're going to come into the game. I find the guys he fought and handled him, how he's handled him. He's done a great job. But AJ's, man, he's different. he's an animal and he punches so hard and knows boxing, nose technique, Jake Paul's not a heavy with, he's a cruiser weight. It's like, come on, what do you do? Don't do this, please. Because

for the sake of boxing, I don't think it's a good thing for boxing. I don't think it's a good thing for Jake Paul's health. And, you know, the thing every fader wants is to get out of the game very healthy. And I do not think that will be a good option for him. Just while we're on the topics of some things we've talked about on the show today, everyone glowing over Moses Atama and debating how quickly they should push him to the very top. What do you think? As someone who's been in this game for so very long, do you think he should get put in there against an Alexander Usik or is that a little too soon? It's too soon. Way too soon. Because Usik is the master and I've called it, I called the winning

went pro and I called he would take over a heavy from 2018 when he was still cruiser with

you know this Moses is special but he's a baby and he doesn't

understand boxing like an Alexander Rousie yes he can beat some top guys right now

100% but he is so young so you got to take your time with people like him you don't

need to be rushing it you've got loads of time he's got a long career ahead of him why would

you put him in, to lose, probably get exposed a little bit in terms of whatever weakness he has, which I don't think there will be much, but you didn't think a young man's confidence and hurt him that way. There's no need. You can take your time, and that guy can be a pay-per-view star in a few years, not even loads of years. He's going to be a pay-per-view star very soon. I don't think there's a need of Russia. Who do you think he should fight next, if not is sick? Well, listen, if they're talking about who seek, my opinion would be Hergevich. Yeah.

Put a moment with Hergovich. Now, Hergovich, in his last fight there against David Adelaide, and I know David aren't friendly enough with David, you know, he, Hergavish, for the first time, showed unbelievable fitness, which was amazing to see. Obviously, I've done a great job there up in Big Bear. But when Moses take him out, who knows, it would be an interesting one. But who am I thinking here around the heavy division?

There's Hergevich, there's Cabayel, there's Bacol, there's Bacoli, Parker's name has been thrown out as well. I wouldn't put him in with Parker. I wouldn't put him in with the second part. Cabell, Bacoli. I wouldn't put him with Cabell. No, Cabell is amazing. Gilles-Lijang.

Jee Le-Jang would be a good test. You know, the former Olympic medalist. Boy, yeah. massive man and a term is probably one of the smallest heavyweights so be an interesting clash but again there's still no need to rush

them guys are still a bit more experienced than you know being around the pro game a lot longer take your time can I ask over the weekend I saw your old full Lee Wood with Eddie Hearn talking about potential comeback

fights and maybe linking up with match room still to this day you versus him a couple years ago, one of the greatest fights that I've ever seen. I know it didn't go the way in which you planned. Is it possible we see that again? I know a couple of months ago there was talk of maybe running it back. What do you think? Is this something that is a possibility at this point in his career? Yeah, definitely. Definitely. Listen, if it makes sense, we can do it. You know, my aim is to get back towards a world hit us. So the rematches secondary out. If I can get a world hit and shop before that, I would take that. But that's a

fact. You know, I wanted the rematch. immediately. His coach, Ben Davis, who he had on the show today, this didn't allow it because he took a little

bit of stick in the press conferences. But, you know, it's something that I would definitely run back, something I would love to do again,

him or Josh Ryan would like to fight Josh too. And I have respect for both men, both good fighters. But, you know, I've got to come free beats him first.

So, you know, once I did that, you know, I'd be in a position to say what I want. But until then, you know, I'll sit back

and I'll watch and see what happens. Fair enough. I'll ask you about one more Irish fighter. There's a young man named Callum Walsh that Dana White is very excited about. He's fighting on this Crawford-Cinello card. He's getting the push.

Like you, he got to fight St. Paddy's Day at the theater. They brought him to the three arena. What do you think of his skills? And in your opinion, what's his ceiling? I think Calum's a fantastic fighter. A great mom. And, you know, he can do big things in boxing.

He's got the back. I have Zufo boxing as you said and they've been kind of behind him with Tom Loffer from the start which has been fantastic and you know he's probably more well known in UFC audiences than boxing audience because he's been putting on faith pass a lot

but I think he's the real deal. I think he knocks out Vargas so I'm going to be honest I don't think Vargas is the best of the brothers I think Emilio I read that kid so highly he's a fantastic fader and I would say

Fernando is the Fernando's second he's the second best and then our motto last you know I watch it I like to watch the kids they're good fetters but I do think

column is probably a little bit ahead at the minute and looks good doing the job on while we're making picks Canella Crawford like that

I'm like it's hard a flip flap if I go too early but you know when I watch the the face off and I seen

Bud stepped to him and I seen Canello's face I leaned towards Bud now Yeah me too I leaned At the start

I leaned towards Canelo because he is so big and the better big man beats the better smaller man usually But

Bud is just so game and one of the best fetters pound for pound of our generation and I like him as a person

He's a great guy I think bud just has that edge now i think canelo is probably starting to kind of go on the slate but not not much just he's still an unbelievable fighter one of the best of this generation as well it's an interesting fight but something about that face off me and me go bud's got this i felt the same i think the big narrative was he'd be too big for him canel be too big for him now of a sudden you see them face to face not that much bigger the body language the wake i think people kind of forgot who Terrence Crawford was because he hasn't been so active. He just had the, you know,

the Magimov fight last year and then the year before was the Spence fight and he was, I mean, that was one of the greatest performances ever in a title fight, at least recently. So I think people have forgotten. Like you said, Earl, the body language. Yeah. Body language, that got me when I've seen the body language and I seen how Bud was just standing smelling. Cannella was so serious, but Bud was just laughing and like stirring him down. I was like, he's a scurry douche man. He has a smearling his face. He's a scurry dude. He can fight both stances.

He's the smaller guy, but also he's carried his power from late with right up. And you're going, can he still carry it up? It's a question. Pakey, I would do it. Can't budd dude? We'll see. But, you know, Canelo, an unbelievable fighter, one of the best of the generation, as I said. Could be too big.

But something about that, that posturing where they stood face to each other, made me say, Bud's got this. Mick, you're the man. So great to see you back. So great to see you getting this opportunity in Dublin. What a scene it's going to be on September 5th. It's going to be a tremendous return for you. I love that they're doing this. I love that you're getting this opportunity. There was that lull there. No real major boxing events in Dublin for so long. Katie comes back. It seems to have opened the door for the likes of you to get these opportunities and it's been well deserved and well earned. So we wish you the best. Thanks for staying up late with us. Really appreciate it. I appreciate it. And you mentioned Kitty Taylor. she's the best Irish fader of all team. Much respect, much respect. Thank you, Mick. All the best to you and good luck on September 5th. Good one. Thank you. Take care of all.

There he is. The great Mick Conlon returning against one Jack Bateson, not Jake Bateson. That's a different person. I don't even know if that's a real person, but that should be quite the scene. When he fought here in New York City at the theater, I remember just a few years ago, it was right before. Wow, it's a long freaking time, probably 2017. Connor McGregor showed up to walk him out, went up to the media on Press Row, was talking about that he's going to fight Floyd Mayweather and all that. Mick has always been so great, and I love his insights on the world of boxing. Let's get him on a broadcast.

Let's get him on his own show. Come on now. He's tremendous. Really great stuff from Mick Conlon. Earlier in the day, we talked about Daniel Dubois splitting from Don Charles, who everyone, I know if Adé was here, he'd be going crazy over this because everyone thought that Don turned the whole thing around and was a huge part of this great run that he was on leading up to the Alexander Usik fight. Earlier this morning, he posted on social media the announcement.

Here it is in case you missed it. I'd like to thank Don Charles for the hard work and effort he's putting to me over the last 18 months. But now I feel like I need a fresh change and a new start for this next phase of my career where I look to become two-time heavyweight champion of the world. Oh my. I'm very curious to see where he goes from here. You know, I wanted to ask Ben about it, but I don't want him talking about, you know, he's been there before. He's had high profile splits and this is very fresh. And so let's see how it all plays out. There's certainly a plethora of great trainers for Daniel Dubois. His next step, his next move is going to be a really interesting one because he's still a top-rank heavyweight, former IBF champ, just lost the belt to Usik en route to becoming undisputed for the second time. The next move is going to be interesting. not just who he links up with, but I mean the next move in terms of who he fights. They have to be very careful here. That was a bad loss. And once again, the doubts over his heart, over his will, over his determination, over his chin are starting to creep up once

again. People saying that he quit, all this crazy stuff, the talk of the party and who was behind it, and should he have been there, should he not have been there? Was the dad? All this stuff. There's so much noise surrounding him right now. The next move, in terms of who he hires as his new trainer and where he fights and against two. All going to be very interesting to see. We spoke very briefly about Holly Home. Yes, in fact, it is true. She is now ranked as a top 10 lightweight by the WBA and IBF.

She's going to be at that event this weekend in Orlando to take a good look at Stephanie Han. And perhaps if Han wins, they will do Han versus Home. What a story that would be. Boxing Hall of Famer leaves the sport Becomes a UFC champion now In the Swan Song, if you will Not to suggest she's done by any stretch Definitely don't say that to her

She'll get very, very offended Here she is gunning potentially For one last title run In the lightweight division, incredible stuff So looking forward to that And looking forward to what should be A great weekend of boxing with those two events Let's roll through the schedule here

Here it is Friday in Orlando You heard Dan talk about this card. I love the poster, by the way. This is a prospect show. Then we'll move over to Saturday. Down under. You've got the homecoming for one Sky Nicholson. Love it. Early Saturday. All right here on the zone. Then we'll move forward. The great Mark Chamberlain is back. Queensberry card. Queensberry doing some big shows and then we'll round out the night with the Yuanis-Tales fight on the zone, MVP fight night, their very first for the WBA interim world super welterweight title. That's 154 pounds. So four pretty big events this

weekend right here on the undisputed global home of boxing. Boxing. Time now for everyone's favorite segment of the week. It is time for our parting shot. And you know we could play the Talman knockout, but I feel like by now you have seen it a thousand times before. Kyrgyvich Adelae had a great fight. Nick Ball, Sam Goodman, had a great fight as well. Rayford. Good stuff, good stuff in Riyadh this past weekend. But you know, sometimes I like to go into the history books.

Sometimes I like to flex a little bit. And I'll be honest with you. I didn't realize this this morning, but I was looking around this day in boxing history. And then it hit me 30 years ago. today. August 19th, 1995. Young Helwani, 13 years old. And I was a big Mike Tyson fan. Who wasn't? Punch out this, then. The other was confused. This man's in jail. What's going on? Is he going to come back? He's convicted of rape. Is he actually going to fight again? And then you start to find out in the spring summer of 1995. I'm heading into eighth grade.

Mike Tyson, Iron Mike is coming back And he's fighting a young man at a Massachusetts Called Peter McNeely Oh my dear, what is going to happen here I was so hyped about this They would play commercials On TV, hyping up the fight And they would also say

If you call now 1-800 Mike's back You can not only get the fight But you can get the program I bought it Bought the program There it is bought it now that's not my exact program but i do have it at my parents house in

Montreal not only did i buy the program i bought the t-shirt i kid you not i have not seen that t-shirt i looked it up today in years love that shirt in fact i played tackle football my friends at hamsted park in montreal and a friend of mine tried to tackle me and rip the shirt i was so mad a couple years later i had it it was a good run anyway i was hype i was there it was a great scene it was a great show and peter mcneely's pre-fight interview in the locker room with Jim Gray is an all-time classic. If you've never seen it, take a look. Peter, we have you for just a moment before you go out into the ring.

Your thoughts before you get in with Mike Tyson. This is for my grandfathers, my grandmothers, my father, my mother, Curley, my three brothers, last but not least, snobby. yeah mr mcneely what was it that you have told your son and last but not least medfield yeah shout out to snubby anyway that was a great pre-fight interview my brother was up in his room and he said call me go get me when the fight starts so i waited i waited i waited i didn't call him when when the ring walks were going down

I don't know why I waited to the very, very beginning of the fight. I kid you not, my friends. I ran upstairs, and by the time we ran back down, the fight was over. I missed the whole thing. It was that quick. Let's relive it, at least some of it together. Here it is.

Mike Tyson, Peter McNeely. It was feverish, as you can see. It was absolutely chaotic. Look at this. Shout to Mills Lane. Third man in the ring Legend, let's get it on Oh yeah

This is vintage Mike Oh, that uppercut right there Oh yeah, know yourself In the end It lasted just a minute and 29 seconds The team jumps into the ring The official

ruling is a DQ You can't quite do that the fight wasn't technically over, but they ran in there and they said no moss, we're done. Either way, probably for the best. Mike Tyson went on to fight Buster Mathis, Frank Bruno, on and on it goes. But what a scene that was exactly 30 years ago tonight at the world famous MGM Grand Garden Arena. I missed that venue. It's been a while since I've been there, and I thought it would be very fun to relive all of that.

So happy anniversary to both Mike Tyson and Peter McNeely and Jim Gray, too. for that very, very memorable pre-fight interview. Snubby, I think he said. Shout out to him. My friends, we're out of time. Thank you so much for watching. Hopefully Adé is enjoying his time off. I saw him chime in in the chat. Shout out to the chat as well. Shout to everyone who's been supporting the show.

Who's in the chat right now? Just to prove that we're live. Shout out to Twiddle, Mark, Ellie, Jasper There's a turkey here I don't think it's the same one But shout out to you as well Timmy Ellis

Crazy X-Man AI Cheeks All of you Shout out to all of you for the sport Thanks for watching live We're not going to be with you next week We're all going to be off But God willing we'll be back with you

On the 2nd of September That's the day after Labor Day And there'll be plenty to discuss The Mick Conlin fight coming up that weekend And then, of course, we'll be inching closer to the massive Canel Alvarez versus Terrence Crawford fight at that point, 11 days away. So buckle up, my friends. Enjoy all the fighting going down this weekend. Next weekend, by the way, on the zone 30th, the zone pay-per-view, Misfits 22, Luke Rockhold against Darren Till.

Also, Tony Ferguson against Sal Poppy. What a scene that's going to be. And we'll talk about that as well. For now, though, for Aday, for myself, for our team here in New York City. Thank you so very much for watching. Enjoy the fun. Thank you.