The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Boxing with Chris Mannix - Heavyweight Madness

Episode Date: February 7, 2024

Mannix is joined by Keith Idec, senior writer with boxingscene.com to discuss Conor Benn's performance (5:16), the rescheduling of Tyson Fury-Oleksandry Usyk, if three months is enough time for Fury's cut to heal (26:45), Teofimo Lopez's Thursday night fight with Jamaine Ortiz, Keith's war against late start times and more; later, Lopez joins to talk about where he's at mentally after the win over Josh Taylor, what he's preparing for with Ortiz, why he will never unify against Subriel Matias and more. (53:21) #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Andrew Ruiz is the heavyweight champion. Hosted by S.I's Chris Mannix. That was my moment. Now with interviews, analysis, and everything going on in the world of boxing. When you have talent, you are given another chance. Here's Chris Mannix. Side to side, move your head. Watch him now, watch him.

Right, remember he's got two hands, right? Come on, Rock, it's not a game. You want to live in the hospital for five weeks this time? You thought I was tough? This jump will kill you. Come on, come on, get your head on your shoulders, man. Think about the fight, think about the fight. Club of Langs and he's trying to hurt you, Rock. He's trying to hurt you. Okay, here it comes.

Jabbing, he's jabbing. He's jabbing. He's jabbing. He's jabbing. He's trying to hurt you. Tomorrow. There is no tomorrow. And that was the voice of the great Carl Weathers, who passed away this week at the age of 76. One of the great actors of this generation, so many great roles that Carl Weathers played

in his time in Hollywood. Starring in Predator, Action Jackson, comedy fans will remember Carl Weathers as Chubs. from Happy Gilmore, which was a great, great character in that movie. But most people will always remember Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed and four of the Rocky movies. Keith Ideck, senior writer boxing scene.com is joining me at the top of the show. Keith, you know, I'm sure another actor could have been placed in the role of Apollo Creed and the Rocky franchise would have been successful. It's just a great franchise, a great story, all that. But I don't know that any actor could play the role of Apollo Creed better than Carl Weathers,

a character that was effectively modeled after Muhammad Ali. And you could feel the energy in Carl Weathers's performances in those movies. He was Apollo Creed. And Sybess Salone said this in the aftermath of Carl's passing. like, you know, this guy made these movies. Like his performances in these movies just added so much to them and made him so indispensable to that franchise. There probably isn't a Creed franchise in the aftermath of Rocky

unless Carl Weathers is playing that role. So I don't know if you had a favorite of the Rocky movies or a favorite Carl Weathers performance, but certainly lost a great in the sports acting space. Yeah, Chris, I mean, my favorite, It's probably the first Rocky. You know, it's an iconic film. He was amazing and all the roles that he played, you know, every one of the films in the

franchise. But my favorite is probably the first one. Of course, you know, the fourth one where he dies in the movie and Rocky comes and avenges his death and all that was incredible cinema, too. I think it was, I think I can remember actually waiting. I was in high school when the movie came out. I think it came out on Thanksgiving night and we're waiting in line at a movie theater in New Jersey to go see it.

And, yeah, I mean, really an iconic role that's unforgettable, really. And, you know, everyone, it always happens when people die. Of course, people come and, you know, praise them diffusively. But, I mean, it really did seem like Carl Weathers was a great guy. And, you know, you saw the things that Adam Sandler said about him. And, of course, Sylvester Stallone said his life wouldn't be the same had he not met Carl Weathers once upon a time. So, you know, tragic.

But, you know, 76 years old. not young necessarily, but not the oldest either. So tough. Yeah, and still acting up until recent days. I mean, I'm a Star Wars guy and he was appearing in the Mandalorian. He had a great character in that show. I mean, he was still at the top of his game in the acting profession. So unfortunate passing for Carl Weathers.

But, man, he is unforgettable, unforgettable in those Rocky movies. I don't think anyone could have played that role as well as Carl Weathers did. All right. Let's talk about this past weekend, Keith, where we saw Connor Ben in action. Conor Ben is certainly a polarizing figure in the boxing community. Second fight in about four months' time. Back in September, he won a decision against Rodolfo or Roscoe. That was after roughly a one-year layoff, actually more than a one-year layoff,

but one year removed from his suspension or is, I guess, not suspension. and his being caught using performance-enhancing substances, banned substances on drug tests. He returns just this past weekend, takes on Peter Dobson, undefeated fighter out of New York, some skill, goes the distance, wins a lopsided decision over Peter Dobson.

This was at a catch weight of 150 pounds. And, you know, if you believe Connor Ben, he's going to be continuing his move back down to 147 to hopefully get a significant fight. So what did you think of Conner? Connor's performance because there were a lot of promises about a big knockout coming in the early rounds of that fight. That didn't come to fruition. And even though the scores were wide, Keith, you know, this was not a walk in the park for Connor Ben. He had some tough moments in the

middle stages I thought of that fight. And, you know, didn't, I don't think even he would call it an A plus performance. Yeah, he said he would be, I think the word he used was disappointed with his performance when he went back and looked at it. And understandably so. because as you said, Chris, it looked like in the beginning of the fight that Peter Dobson was almost fearful of engaging with Connor Ben. In the first three rounds, he did a lot of covering up, and it looked like it was going to be a completely lopsided fight. Then Peter Dobson gained some confidence in the fourth and fifth rounds.

I thought he did fairly well and made it a real fight. He made it a competitive fight to that point. Now, I didn't think that he came close to winning, but I also didn't think that the scores were quite as wide as the judges had it. I didn't think that Connor Ben deserved that much credit on the scorecard. He comfortably won the fight, no doubt about it. But Peter Dobson did win some rounds. He landed some right hands.

I think in some ways maybe Peter Dobson did more for himself Saturday night or Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas than Conor Ben did. I mean, not that anyone's going to hold the performance against Connor Ben all that much. But Peter Dobson was, although 33 years old and had been a pro for seven or eight years, was virtually unknown. I mean, he had fought, you know, on undercards, off TV for the most part. No one was all that familiar with him other than some of the clips that were on YouTube. He and I spoke like a few days before the fight, and he was telling me about when he fought on the Keith Thurman Pachiao Undercard. And I'm like, you know, I don't really, I was there, ringside.

I said, I don't remember seeing you fight that night. And he goes, oh, well, it was after the main event. It was the walkout about. And I was like, oh, that's, I was at the press conference probably. That's why I don't remember it. But he had a really impressive knockout on that undercard against an undefeated fighter, which was his best win going into the Connor Ben fight. But I think Peter Dobson did well for himself,

and he'll probably get another fight out of it, you know, fight or two out of it against a unknown fighter. So good for him. And he, if he would have continued fighting as he did in the first three rounds, it would have been catastrophic for his career. But the way he performed over the last nine rounds, I think he did himself some favors. And again, we'll get a real fight out of it at some point down the line.

Connor Ben, if every, everything goes according to their plan, Chris, which you well know. They feel like they're going to win this appeal later this month. It hasn't been scheduled yet. But if the appeal happens later this month or sometime in March, they feel like he's going to get his license back in the UK. And then the plan is for him to fight in the UK sometime in the summer. The fight that they want obviously is rescheduling the Chris Eubank fight. It's the money fight for both guys. He's taking somewhat of a risk, even though Eubank has been beaten by Liam Smith since their fight got scrapped. He's still moving up. Well, they keep saying he's moving up two-way classes. Well, he never really fights at welterweight, so he's really moving up one-weight class, but I guess technically they consider him a welter-weight, so it would be two-way classes. And people still want to see that fight. It's a family grudge match and everything. So if the right amount of money has offered to Chris Eubank, which Eddie Hearn is insistent

that it has been thus far, and he's turned it down, I would think that that would be the smartest move for everyone involved. Well, let's unpack the issue of the de facto suspension in the, UK. It was just last summer that an independent doping board lifted the suspension on Connor Ben, which effectively allowed him to, you know, fight in these states in the U.S. The UK anti-doping agency and the British Boxing Board of Control have appealed that suspension. As you said, there is supposed to be a hearing on this in the next, you know, a few weeks. You know, I talked to Eddie Hearn. I talked to Connor Ben, too. They are very optimistic that they are going

to win this case. From what you know of it, should they be? Like, is this a slam dunk that Connor Ben is going to get his license back and, you know, be allowed to fight in the UK later this year? Well, I would think because the national anti-doping agency reversed the decision of his, of his suspended license,

I think he probably will get his license back. And it wasn't a life, it's not a lifetime ban. I mean, we're going on. It's well over a year now since this happened. I'm not defending anything here, but I'm just saying he probably will get his license back to fight in the UK. That's where it makes the most sense for him to fight, obviously. But of course, Chris, you know, with all the money that's being thrown around in Saudi Arabia,

although it makes the most sense for Connor Ben and Chris Eubank Jr. to fight in the UK, it really makes no sense for them to fight anywhere else. The way that they're throwing money at everyone for fights that really don't make a lot of sense to be in the middle of, the Saudi Arabian desert, that fight might as well go there too. Right? I mean, so I guess what I'm saying is if he doesn't get licensed in the UK and they still want that fight to happen, well, maybe it would still happen in Saudi Arabia or who knows, Dubai or somewhere like that.

Yeah, I think that's certainly possible. I thought it was interesting, Keith, how many fighters came out of the woodwork in the aftermath of Connor not looking great in that fight against Peter Dobson. You had Errol Spence coming out. you had Devin Haney coming out, of course, all of them, you know, referencing the positive drug test and the lack of power that Connor Ben has shown in the two fights since his positive drug test was revealed. I did think, though, Keith, the most interesting guy to come after Connor Ben was Gervante Davis. And I say that because Gervante, sometimes he tweets and sometimes he engages.

but I thought he tweeted and engaged more with Connor Ben than I ever would have expected. And, you know, of course, when Connor tweets back at him, Javante says, tell your boss, talk about Eddie Hearn to send the paperwork. Eddie Hearn apparently contacted him. Of course, Javent screen grabbed those conversations, posted them on social media. But, you know, right after the fight, I would have thought a Jervante Davis-Connor Ben fight was pie in the sky. But kind of seeing how publicly interested, Javent,

Davis seems to be in Connor Ben, are you opening the door at all for that possible fight? I mean, we've seen the reports that Jervante could fight in the UK this summer. Nothing really beyond that, but the possibility he could fight over in the UK, regardless of whether or not it's against Connor Ben. Do you think it's realistic that we could see Connor Ben against Javante Davis? I don't, Chris, because he's been reluctant to fight guys at 140 pounds. Now he's going to fight a guy who's fighting at one, you know, catch weights of 150. He actually weighed 151 for the fight against Peter Dobson.

And rehydrated to 170. Right, to 170. Right. So the guy's a light heavy. That's Zirto Ramirez type stuff. I'm not trying to pick on Javante Davis, but come on. He's not fighting Conor Ben because what purpose does it serve really? The guy was 170.

Look, he made Ryan Garcia come down to a catch rate of 136. Now, is he saying that he's going to fight Conor Ben if Conor Ben can make 140? I don't know. I mean, he didn't really specify, so I don't see that happening. And who really cares, to be honest with you? I mean, no one's clamoring for Jarvante Davis to fight Connor Ben. We would like to see Jarvante Davis fight Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney, Tiafimo Lopez, fighters like that.

If he's going to either stay at 135 pounds or consider moving back up to 140, there are plenty of contemporaries for Jarvante Davis to fight in huge events in which people would be boxing fans would be very interested. We don't, why, I understand why you ask the question, but why are we wasting time talking about him fighting Connor Ben, who, depending on who you ask, people think stinks. I don't think that he stinks, but he, you know, he's not really proven against top welter weights. He's a, you know, he's a contender of sorts.

I mean, he's ranked and all that kind of stuff. And he has a huge name, which is important in all of this. I mean, he, particularly in the UK, is a huge. following and all. You know, the Cosmopolitan, the Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is a small room that's not, you know, that's not going to do much fanfare there. But, but he is a big name in the UK. I don't see any, I mean, I guess Jervante Davis was bored on Saturday. I don't know. What else he makes? Because he's not fighting, I mean, they's got a goofy for it. Considerate the thing that he's fighting, not that you think that, but that he's fighting

counter Ben. He's not. There are a lot of other guys. And Jermonte Davis is such a huge. star in the U.S. I mean, he can pick whoever he wants to fight. It would be a, I would say that it would be an extremely peculiar choice if that was his real target, which I don't think it is. Yeah. So with Conner Ben, if it's not Chris Eubank Jr. in his next fight, these guys have been going round and round so often. There's no guarantees that's going to happen. I just spent the last couple of days kind of thinking about what big fight can Connor Ben be competitive in. I mean, quite frankly, after watching the Orozco fight and watching this past fight against Dobson. If Connor Ben fights Chris Eubank Jr., I think it ends badly for Connor Ben.

Not that Chris Eubank is great and he did get knocked out by Liam Smith, but I think the real Chris Eubank is the one we saw in the rematch against Liam Smith, where he's big, strong, skilled, puts it all together really well. I don't think Connor Ben is on that level, especially if that fight is contested. at 160 pounds. And I'm not really sure what level Conner's at right now. I mean, before the fight, Keith, I was kind of banging the drum for Connor to fight Alexis Roach, or not Alexis Rocher, fight but Virgil Ortiz. What I saw in that fight against Dobson, an Ortiz fight would end very badly for Conner. Ortiz is too big, too strong, you know, too active, too everything for Connor.

You know, a Freudian slip there saying Alexis Roach's name. I think if Connor doesn't get licensed in the UK and can't make a U-Bank fight happen, someone on the level of Alexis Rocha might make more sense, you know, for Connor Ben, because I have not come away from his last two fights believing that he's ready for world level competition. Nothing I've seen has made me believe he's ready for that yet. What do you think? Well, the one name that he mentioned to me, and he mentioned this after the fight as well, he mentioned Mario Barrios because he's ranked, I think Connor Ben is ranked fifth, and Barrios has the interim WBC title.

He's ranked fifth by the WBC. So he's at least in some sort of position to make that fight happen. Now, of course, you would have to make it worthwhile for Mario Barrios to come over. I would assume they wanted to come over to the UK where the fight would make more business sense because Barrios is a solid fighter. He has a fan-friendly style and all, but he's not like a huge draw, even in San Antonio, really. I don't see that happening because it would require Al Heyman to, do business with Eddie Hearn.

They might do that for a bigger fight than that, but I don't necessarily see that happening, them coming together for a fight like that. So that's who he mentioned. And that's like a realistic guy for him to fight. I think I would favor Barrios to win that fight. But that's not a fight where you feel like if Connor Ben got into the ring with him, he wouldn't belong there. Whereas the UBank fight, as you said, Chris, he's so big.

you know, the guy's fought at super middleweight many times. He's a much bigger guy. And of course, he would be a little bit depleted, I guess, if let's just say, it was at a catchweight at 157, 158 or whatever, something like that, he'd have to squeeze down. I think that's out the door, too. I think, I mean, everything Eddie and Connor is saying, like, let's do it at 160. I think even the catch weights out the window.

Chris, you know what it is? I think Connor Ben, maybe deep down, maybe Connor Ben feels like that's a tough, that's a tall odor for him, like literally. and figuratively because Ben is, I mean, UBank is so much bigger than him. But it's the fight where he's going to make so much money that even if he loses, he'll be able to say, well, I moved up to weight classes and I took the chance and I tried to avenge my dad's loss. And it was a huge event in the UK.

So that's why I think if they can get UBank to do it, that's the fight they're going to continually pursue, even if it's at 160 because that's the fight where he makes like way more money than he'll make for fighting anyone else. So I just think that that's the envelope they're going to continue pushing. And Eddie, Eddie Hearn even said after the fight, you know, the people from DeZone are even telling me at this point, please stop mentioning this fight. It's not happening. Eubank doesn't want it or whatever they're saying. Eddie keeps pushing it because he knows that that's far and away the biggest business they can do with Connor or Ben. Because to circle back to your question, well, who else is he going to fight that's going to make him anywhere near that

kind of money? No one. So they're going to keep pushing this envelope. open C if they can reschedule this U-Bank fight. Now, of course, Connor bends the tractors would just say, well, if you didn't fail this drug test, you would have fought him already, and we would have found out what would have happened. You would have made a lot of money.

Of course, he like every other fighter who fails a PED test, says he didn't do it, of course. But so that's kind of where they are. And if he's going to, is there another huge fight for him in the UK in the summer? If he comes now,

him fighting in the UK is an event, so to speak, because he has a big name and all that, but there's nothing bigger than the U-Bank fight, nothing even close. No, to your point, not for either of them. I mean, you heard in the aftermath of the negotiations falling apart, you know, late last year, it's like, U-Bank's going to fight for an IBO middleweight title, okay, not that that matters. You heard U-Bank calling out Janubeck, okay, I mean, get a couple of belts if you win that

fight, but there's no guarantee you win that fight, and there's probably not a ton of money in that fight. This is a fight he's a fight he'd be favored in. This is a fight. he would make the most money far and away. If Connor Ben gets his license back this month, Chris Eubank Jr. would be crazy not to push for this fight to get made. It sure sounds like they were pretty close financially end of last year.

And they obviously had a deal going into, what was it, October of 2022. They got to make that fight happen. If this Ben hearing goes well for Connor Ben, It makes too much sense for both sides to make that fight happen. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hart Radio app, podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

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A fight that has been rescheduled, Keith, is the Alexander Usik Tyson Fury heavyweight unification fight, which was postponed just a couple of days ago after Tyson Fury suffered a cut during sparring. There's been some video that surfaced a Fury catching an elbow on that cut, and apparently required 11 stitches to heal. very quickly in the last couple of days. The Saudi officials have rescheduled this fight for May 18th of this year. So effectively three and a half months, three months and changed from now, we will get Tyson Fury and Alexander Usik in the ring once again.

So a couple of things I want to get to with this. One, Keith, that was a pretty bad cut. And it was a cut in a spot that Tyson Fury has been cut before. If you go back to the Ottawa fight a couple of years ago. I've chatted, you know, conversationally with some cut men in the business. And to a man, every one of them has said that is a quick turnaround for a cut like that. That cut is not going to be 100% healed by the time Tyson Fury gets in the ring with Alexander Ousick. And he's not getting in the ring with Sephyr-Sephyr or Tom Schwartz.

He's getting in with a sharp-hitting, highly skilled, left-handed champion. So my first question, Keith, I mean, we've always said money talks when it comes to fights like this. Is it you're feeling that like money just talked too loudly for Tyson Fury? And he said yes to rescheduling this event in such a short period of time? Yeah, I found it sort of odd that it was rescheduled for that soon from now, Chris, because it's only three months, really.

I mean, today we're recording this podcast, whatever, what is in February 6th or whatever? So it's three months and a week and a half, whatever, three months and two weeks away. And the cut was pretty bad, as you said. And when is he going to be able to, I understand he was in tip-top shape and he had done a lot of sparring because the fight was almost here. But when is he going to be able to spar in any real way once that cut heals? Because as you said, it was a pretty, not as bad as the cut in the Waleen fight, but in the same general area, And then he's going to have to be very careful and sparring and everything. I don't know what was the rush, really, to schedule it that quickly.

I mean, it's not Riyadh season's over at that point, right? I mean, I don't know that that's true, but I suppose that's true. I don't know if that's true either. I don't know how Riyadh season is as long as they decide Riyadh season is. Right. Is it winter, fall, summer, spring, who knows? But the point is, it seems like it's entirely too fast of a turnaround for him to come back in a fight of this magnitude.

And I don't think there was much pressure from the sanctioning bodies. I mean, it would have been reasonable for them to reschedule this fight in July, let's just say, and that would have given them more time to heal. I understand the IBF part of it is a little tricky because, you know, there was no. I want to get into that in a minute. But yeah, we'll get into that. So, yeah, so I don't know what the impetus was to reschedule it for so soon from now, but it does seem a little ambitious, more than a little ambitious, actually.

Yeah, and I wonder if who's got anything to do with that. because when I talked to Ussk's manager, Agis Klemus, I mean, he was hot after this. I've been talking about how Usik had trained over the holidays. He admits the, was it the birth of his daughter? Like, you know, he had, he went through a lot to get ready for this training camp. And look, I'm perfectly willing to believe that Tyson Furey was cut accidentally. In fact, that's what happened. Like, Tyson Furey didn't cut himself.

Tyson Vury didn't do anything nefarious to get out of this fight. As you mentioned, he was in top shape. You know, some of the pictures we've seen. He looked a lot better than how he looked going into that fight against Francis Ghanu. Shit happens sometimes when it comes to sparring. And if I'm Tyson Fury, I'm pretty pissed off at that sparring partner who looked like he caught him with an elbow. Like, what are you doing, throw an elbow when you're in that close? But I wonder if there was some pressure from Usik saying, look, we got to get this thing rescheduled quickly because I'm not wasting my time here.

I have been talking about Usik a once a week, a once a year fighter for the last four years, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24. That is not the path that Alex and Usick wanted to be on in really what is the final chapter of his boxing career. So I wonder if there was some pressure from Usik's side saying, look, if you're going to reschedule this, we got to make sure it gets done quickly. That's why three months is happening. But look, that absolutely is going to be a variable on fight night. If I'm Alex and Ousick and you know his team is incredibly smart, incredibly well-schooled, he is going to be throwing left tans at that cut all night long. That cut, mark my words, is going to be a bloody mess on Tyson Furies over Tyson Fury's eye by the third or fourth round of this fight, if it even takes that

long. So, you know, I understand the pile of money is huge, legacy, all that that goes into it, but that is going to be a problem for Tyson Fury on fight night. I am sure of it. You mentioned the IBF part of this. And of course, so people that don't know, the IBF title that is owned by Alexander Usik is next in line for a mandatory title defense. Philip Hergevich, who fought back on the Day of Reckoning Card in December, is the IBF mandatory. Now, before this injury postponed the fight, the expectation was Fury and Usik were going to fight for the undisputed championship. And after that fight, the winner was going to vacate, which would either allow a rematch or, Another big fight, and Hergevich would fight the next highest rank contender,

Daniel Dubois, you know, Jared Anderson, whoever it may be that was on that list. This obviously changes everything. My understanding, Keith, is that the IBF told Usik and his team that they have until March 31st to make a deal with Hergevich to defend that IBF title or be stripped. Now you have the Saudi officials offering Hergevich a slot on the March 8th card against whatever contender he can find to face him, whether it's Daniel Dubois or somebody else. That's all well and good. Hergevich can do that and probably make good money doing that. The question is, what is the IBF going to do?

Because of all the sanctioning bodies, they tend to follow their rules more than others. It's the reason that Jay Apataya is fighting for his old title against Maris Bredis having to vacate it this past December because the IBF said you didn't do what we asked you to do, so we're going to strip you of that belt. Your IBF buddies down in Jersey, your pals in Jersey, Darrell Peoples, what's your sense of what the IBF is going to do, what they will allow? Because you already saw the Saudis have this belt. the undisputed championship belt. They're billing in this as an undisputed fight. Do you believe it will be an undisputed fight on May 18th? First and foremost, there are no way why buddies down here in New Jersey.

I know you're kidding, but. You're all state buddies. You're all garden state friends. Friends with the Sopranos and such, too. Absolutely. I'd love to be friends with a spruce. But in all seriousness, Chris, I think that the IB, in this case, in this case, I mean, look, he got hurt. The injuries are a part of boxing. Cuts are a part of boxing. No one

wanted this to happen. I mean, that's why people were, oh, Fury cut himself on. Come on. You sound like an idiot saying, stop it. I mean, come on. The guy's going to make an enormous amount of money. In his mind, he beats Ussick. And, you know, look, sure, there's doubt in the back of everyone's mind. Maybe he feels like this is a tough fight for him or whatever, but you're going to move forward with the fight. You're not going to get cut on purpose to try to get out of it. I mean, it's rather silly, but at the same time, the IBF does follow all its rules, but this is about money. Sanctioning bodies exist because they're paid in cases like these enormous amounts of money from these fighters' purses. And in this case, these two fighters are making more than most

have ever made. So I think the IBF will allow them to move forward in a full unification fight on May 18th. And then perhaps strip the winner. thereafter and give Hergervich his title shot. The thing is with Hergevich, too, you've got to be careful with who you match him against because you put him in the ring with Dubois. He could lose the Dubois fight. He could lose to somebody else in the top five or something. So you need to put him in there with someone reasonable because this isn't his fault either. I mean, he's waiting rather patiently for his title shot. So you don't want to penalize him by putting him in. They're paying a lot of money. I understand that. The Saudis are paying a lot of money and wants some bang for their buck. But you don't want to put him in too tough. And then he gets knocked off and he doesn't get his title shot. So it's a tricky situation for everyone involved, but I do think that because there's so much money involved and because it was an injury, a legitimate injury that postponed the fight, that the IBF will allow this to be a full title unification fight, which would then crown barring a draw or a no contest, would crown the first fully unified heavyweight champion of the four Beldera. Yeah, I think if Philip

Perkovich went to the IBF and said, I don't want to fight March 8th. I want the world title shot. I've been promised for over a year now. I think the IBF would strip Usek if he doesn't fight him. I don't think Herkovich is going to do that. I do think there's going to be a deal struck that lands Herkovich on that March 8th card. Because right now, the most powerful person in all this is Philip Hercovich. because the Saudis want a undisputed championship fight.

They have virtually unlimited resources. They can make Hergevich a sweetheart offer to get him to stand down when it comes to pushing for that IBF title. It can't be another Mark DeMori because that was embarrassing, you know, on the last card. But it can be someone probably less threatening, perhaps, than Daniel Dubois, which I'm sure Herkovich is going to push for because he wants to protect. protect his standing and his chance to win a heavyweight title. So my, my bet on all this, and I'm going to guess you'll agree, is that Hergevich fights March 8th and the Fury Ussic

fight goes forward as an undisputed championship fight. Immediately afterwards, if the winner chooses not to fight Hergevich, then the IBF will strip him of that title. That feels like the safest bet to me. I mean, I agree that Herkovich will fight someone reasonably better than Mark Demore, but not someone as good as Daniel Dubois, maybe on March 8th, just to remain active. But I disagree that the most powerful person in all of this is not Philip Herkovich. The most powerful person in all of this, and perhaps the most powerful person in all of boxing at this moment is Turkey Al-a-Sheek. Correct. Correct. He controls the purse strings, and he puts these fights together. Money has a funny way of doing all that, doesn't it? And I have a

feeling that Philip Hergevich is going to have a lot more money in his bank account on Mars the 9th. That's just my best guess in all this. Lastly, Keith, we got a good fight this week on Thursday. Tea Fima Lopez is going to defend his 140-pound title against Jemaine Ortiz. Jimane Ortiz, best known to people in boxing by now for a better than expected performance in a close loss to Vasil Lomachenko a year or so ago. You know, are you expecting a competitive fight, Jermaine moving up to 140?

Teafimo, I think the big question for me is Teofimo, which version of him shows up? Is it the version that we saw struggle against George Cambosis, struggle against Sandoor Martine, or is it the guy that we saw in his last fight just completely outclass Josh Taylor? I think if that version of Teofimo shows up, it's a big win for him.

If something less shows up, I don't think you can just dismiss Jemain Ortiz chances. Not the people are, but Jemain Ortiz is a good fighter, skilled fighter, and a confident fighter coming into this fight. So what are you expecting from Lopez and Ortiz? Well, I think a lot of this depends, Chris, not only on which version of Tiafimo Lopez shows up, and if the version of Tiafimo Lopez that beat Josh Taylor shows up,

it's going to be a long night for Jermaine Ortiz, maybe a shorter night than 12 rounds, because I think it really is dependent upon which, version of Jermaine Ortiz we get. Do we get the Jermaine Ortiz that we saw in the first eight or nine rounds against Vasilio Machenko? Or do we get the Jermaine Ortiz that we saw against Antonio Moran, who was hurt twice once in the second round and once in the fifth round, weathered the storm, almost knocked out Antonio Moran toward the end of the fifth round and then took complete control of the fight in the second half and won comfortably. But he showed some vulnerability. I mean,

he was hurt twice in that fight. And Tiafimo is a, Moran is a big puncher, not near is skilled as Tiofimo Lopez, but he's a big puncher, so it's not all that surprising that someone got buzzed by Antonio Moran because he can really crack. But Lopez is the whole package. If the Tiafimo Lopez we saw against Josh Taylor, as I said, shows up, the Tiafimo Lopez we saw in the first seven or eight rounds against Vasilio-Machenko, if that guy is in front of Jermaine Ortiz on Thursday night, I can't see him losing that fight. But if a lesser version of that than Tia Fima Lopez is in the ring, and we get the best version of Jermaine Ortiz,

who I spoke to Abraham Nova a couple days ago, and Abraham Nova is fighting Oshaki Foster the following Friday, yeah, like eight days later. He's been, he sparred a lot recently with, he has sparred with Tiafima Lopez in the past, been his primary sparring partner for a couple of his title fights, also has sparred a lot with Jermaine Ortiz and recently. Like he sparred almost 40 rounds of Jermaine Ortiz in Worcester

for this camp. And he said he's in incredible physical condition. And he's a talented guy. I mean, he's a volume puncher, pretty big, you know, pretty big guy. And fighting at 140 now, a full-fledged junior welterweight when he was really killing himself to make 1-35 and had outgrown that weight class. I'm sure that will help him a little bit. But when I asked Nova about it, who has sparred a lot, like I said with both guys, he's like, you know, I know the odds on the fighter, you know, pretty wide. I think Teofima Lopez, according to Draft Kings, is minus 700, which seems

pretty wide. But he said, I could see either of these guys win in this fight. He goes, I like both of them personally. It's hard for me to pick. He goes, but honestly, I see things in both of them that lead me to believe that either one could win. I'm sure that's the type of fight that ESPN wants, because as on the side, Chris, I mean, I understand. It's helpful on a variety of levels that ESPN is involved in boxing, all the promoting that they can do across all their platforms and everything. They've invested a lot of money through their deal with top rank over the last few years. Why, please, I need someone to explain to me why, other than that there's a college basketball game on before it, why would you, you're giving this fight a Thursday night, right?

And there's a pretty good co-feature as well. Kishon Davis fighting a two-weight world champion in Jose Padraza, who's on the back end of his career, of course. But it's a step up for- Yeah, and Kishon Davis didn't look particularly good against Nahar, Albright in his last fight. Albright's talented kid, but

didn't look that great in his last fight, which was changed to a no contest because he tested positive for marijuana, which is absurd in itself that that thing still. At the same time, it's a real test for Kishan Davis, right? So you got a good opener and you have a competitive main event three days

before the Super Bowl, in the shadows of Allegiance Stadium, right across I-15 right across the highway from where the Super Bowl will be played three days later. Perfect. Put it on at a reasonable time on the East Coast. And people are like, oh, you old bastard, you don't want to stay up. I was like, I'll stay up until 4 in the morning, if that's enough. That's my job.

I'll stay up and cover the fight. I don't care about that. The point is no one's going to see it. No one on the East Coast is going to see the fight if it starts at midnight on a workday. It's not, you know, I mean, the boxing degenerate. it obviously will, but if you're looking to broaden the audience, it doesn't seem wise to me to start this show at 1030. And of course, you have all the, you know, the pieces in between and, you know, Kregel and Tim Bradley and Tessator going on, you know, between the fights and all that kind.

It's going to take forever. And if the Kishon Davis-Padraza fight goes all 10 rounds, you're talking about possibly starting almost at midnight with Tiafima Lopez and Jermaine Ortiz, which is exactly what happened, unfortunately, when Shakur Stevenson fought Ed, Edwin de la Santos on a Thursday night in November. Now, everyone wants to forget that that fight happened and it would have put people to sleep no matter what time it started, but it started at 1215 on the East Coast. 1215. I mean, are you trying to get people to watch boxing or not? This is not top ranks fault at all. I mean, they have to put the fights on when ESPN tells them. I understand that. Who at ESPN thinks it's a good idea if you're trying to grow the sport in any way, and maybe they're

not. But putting that fight on at that time is just stupid. I'm going to get you a t-shirt saying start the fights earlier. That's what I'm going to get for you. You, this is your hill, my friend. This is your, your battle that you are ready to wage. I don't disagree with it either. Look, I thought, I thought the Shakur de la Santos fight started almost too late Pacific time. Like, it was like 915 on a Thursday and like, you know, you got, you got stuff to do, you know, the next day. You got, there are things happening on a Friday. Chris, this is our jobs. I mean, that's fine.

But for people, it's not their jobs. I mean, they might like boxing either casually or really passionately. You're getting the people leaving their TV on. Like after. You're not getting people. The ratings points. Yeah. No, I'm with you.

I'm with you. I, it doesn't make any sense. It doesn't make any sense to have a fight start that late, especially if you're talking about a midnight Eastern time start. You are getting the most die-hard audience, and that's probably it. and people to leave their TV on. I'm with you on that count. Last thing for you, though, Keith,

if Teafimo comes out with a win, he's called out everybody, you know, from Terrence Crawford to Devin Haney to everyone in between. Is there an obvious fight for him later on this year? Well, the most obvious fight would be for him to fight Devin Haney because they're rivals,

contemporaries, they both have titles. I think Devin Haney will wind up fighting Ryan Garcia and understandably there's a lot of, of money in that fight. I totally get that and they're both affiliated with the zone and promoters that are affiliated with the zone and all that stuff, which I get. So I don't know that boy, I mean, that's the fight really. That's, you know, if Tiafima Lopez could could fight Ryan Garcia instead of Ryan Garcia fighting Devin Haney, that would, but that's two really profitable, sensible options for him off the table because they're fighting each other. So then who

is he fight because Jose Ramirez who was with top rank and was offered the fight against Teofima Lopez on Thursday and turned it down, $2 million, by the way, and a $750,000 return fight. Now they have a plan. Rick Marigian and Jose Ramirez have a plan with Golden Boy and he's being paid very well for his fights on his own with Golden Boy. So they didn't feel like this was the right fight at the right time for him. But now that Jose Ramirez is with Golden Boy and he's no longer with top rank, Arnold

Barbosa, a rival of Teafima Lopez's who. Lopez says needs to earn the fight, which I get where he's coming from to some degree with that. He also, a Rick Merrigian managed fighter, has also signed with Golden Boy. So those are two 140-pound options that made perfect sense for Teofimo Lopez. If he couldn't fight Devin Haney and he couldn't fight Ryan Garcia, they're now not options. So then what? You know, the fight I would love to see would be Teofima against Terrence Crawford, but I don't see that happening. I don't see it, bud.

I mean, Chris, I commend Tiafima Lopez for wanting that fight. Careful what you wish for. I mean, dude, I mean, I mean, Terrence Crawfordism, even at 36 years old, he's a beast, man. Like, of course, of course he wants to fight Canello. He wants to make the most money possible before calling it a career, which I completely understand. A lot of people think he would beat Canello now all of a sudden, even though he's moving. That's been a nice narrative. I've heard like, I keep reading Keith like Crawford's got the length advantage.

He's got the skill advantage. Okay, maybe. Let's see what you look like when you have those punches coming back at you. That's my entire position on that. Completely agree, Chris. I mean, Crawford is really smart too. I mean, he, I mean, he's the whole package, even at this advanced age. I would not, if T. Afima Lopez wanted to fight him because,

Much like Crawford wants to fight Canello, what's about the money. I totally understand that. I don't see that as a fight. The Tiafima Lopez wins. No, no. It's a good fight, though. And I don't look at, look, I don't know what's the deal with Crawford at this point. I don't know what's to do with any of these PBC guys.

You got one fight announced for the end of March. Nothing at this point after that. We're waiting to see what is going to happen with Canelo Alvarez. A lot of these guys are in limbo at the moment. So if there's not a clear path for Crawford, maybe they can make amends and do a fight with top rank and get a Teofima Lopez fight because it is still marketable. I mean, Teofima will market the hell out of that fight and get the former undisputed champion at 135, a two-time undisputed champion or unified champion, I guess, 135.

Sorry, Teufimo. You've got some selling points for a fight like that. I don't know. I was asking that because I don't see a clear, obvious fight. Yeah, no, I understand. Chris, I could, yeah, now you're right, because it's, but then, you know, Terence Crawford's going to do business with top. I know he goes to a lot of top rank fights when Chikor fights and.

other guys' fights at Beaumac trains and all that kind of stuff. But he did sue Bob Aram and call him a racist and all. I mean, there's a lot of... I don't think Bob cares, though. I think Bob would do business with him again. Like, Bob would just be like that. Well, if they could make that... I'm 92, like, whatever.

Listen, I guess when you get to 92, what really bothers you at that point? I guess it's probably true. What are you going to do to Bob Aram at this point? Either give him more money or... That's about it. He's all about his pockets at this point and living his best life. All right, follow Keith Ideck on Twitter. at IDAC boxing, read his stuff over at boxing scene.com.

Keith, always good to catch up, my friend. I appreciate your time. Yeah, same here, Chris. Good to talk you, man. And when we come back, my conversation with Teifima Lopez. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay and I'm Alex English Each episode we pick it here unpack what went down and try to make sense of how we survived it Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill Waxing all about crack in the 80s To be clear 84 is big to me not just because of crack

I'm down to talk about crack on day But just so y'all know I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack so I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now So Thank you for finishing that. sentence.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tefima Lopez, WBO 140

pound champion. He will defend that belt on Thursday night during Super Bowl week in Las Vegas against Jermaine Ortiz. If you can watch live on ESPN. So Tefimo, how are we feeling about this one. Good fight. You probably were looking for big, big fights, but how are we feeling about this one? Feeling great. You know what I'm saying? It's great to be on here, man. I thank you,

Chris Mannix for this opportunity. Speaking about my fight, man, February 8 Thursday, on a Thursday at Mandelae Bay in the Mickelope Ultra Arena. I would just want to say thank you to the top rank and ESPN for giving me the opportunity and take over promotions, you know, as co-promoting. So this is a great opportunity right here, man. We have the best of the best fighting each other. And Jermaine Ortiz is willing to take this stand. This is a guy that wants to aim at greatness. And definitely I have a lot on my plate. So let's see how much I can eat. So what do you think of Jemaine Ortiz? Because the last time a lot of people saw him was in that tough fight with the guy you beat, Vassili Lomachenko. You think he's on a high level? You know, I think that Jameen Ortiz is a well-based fighter.

You know, I believe that he has the fundamentals. And when he's on, he's on, you know. So, I mean, he showed everyone his grit when he faced Vassarila Machenko. You know, that's why he's called the technician, you know, for a reason. And I don't think someone just names himself something that they're not, you know. So I faced Jermaine Ortiz prior to that nine years ago in the 2015 National Golden Gloves. And it was a great bout. It was a great fight.

And it was in the finals. One of the toughest tournaments you could win in the United States of America in boxing, in USA boxing and golden gloves of America. So, you know, that was something that we had familiar base around. And I know that he's coming in here with confidence, but let's see what he does when it's eight-ounce gloves in front of the world, in front of tens of thousands of people coming in to see. And, you know, we'll see what he does and what I do that night.

So I like to hop on YouTube from time to time. And whenever I search your name, there are Teifima Lopez versus this guy. If I have him a Lopez beefing with that guy. Promoters, fighters, networks. You're beefing with networks. Dea Pima sometimes. I am. Well, I love the zone.

I'm not beefing to do with the zone. I'm being doing with a promoter, match for boxing. It's a big difference. So what is with the beefs these days? Is that just part of the promotion or there's, is there actual beefs with you? No, there's actual beef with me. It doesn't have nothing to do with the network of the zone.

I was on the zone. like the zone. You know what I'm saying? However, you know, it's just with the promoter that's involved. I don't think he belongs in the sport of boxing. That's just my opinion. And hey, it is what it is. Whether people follow it. Great. If they don't, so it's so it be. I got to still focus on me and the great platform that I'm on and that's put me on as to takeover and that's ESPN. So what is your beef, though, with Eddie specifically? I know Eddie's taking some shots at the attendance. He says you did at the theater for your last fight, but does it go deeper than that? I believe it does, you know, most definitely. I believe that it does get deeper than what he is saying.

However, I'm not under his stable. So of course, the person that's under his stable right now, or at least co-promoted with him, is Devin Haney. So of course he's going to defend his fighter that's with him. However, I know that he's just coming from a place of a business standpoint, but you cannot lie to the media. You cannot lie to the public out there in the boxing world. You know, every time I fight, you know, when I fought here in Las Vegas, even though it was an event over here, Top Rain didn't really do much as far until I came on in Resort's World and we sold out, you know, so that speaks volume.

And that was on my return back from my loss against George Campbell's. So, you know, I fought three times in a matter of 10 months, you know, and these guys like him, people are going to listen to him because of his name and what he has done as far as signing multiple fighters, whether in Europe, whether in the United States. So I have to defend myself. You can't lie to the people just because I'm not with you. I can't respect a promoter like that. You know what I'm saying? And I can't respect mainly a man like that. I can't consider him a man in those moments, you know? So, you know, it's not only disruptive to my platform or to my career, but it's also endangering, you know, my son's future because that's something

more personal than them, you know, I've done a lot in a matter of 25 years. You know, I face and beat two linear world champions and two weight divisions, you know, that were considered the best in those both weight divisions, Josh Taylor and Vasilina Lomacheco, you know, so, and just in a matter of 25 years. So imagine, you know, I'm 26 now and I'm not here to consider and make more vinegar. I'm here to create more bees with honey. So, you know, and that way we make all, we all make more money. You know, it's all about that. If they want to say boxing's a business, well, then I am the business for boxing.

So you beat Josh Taylor this past summer, decide to retire after that. Did you enjoy your brief retirement? Heck, yeah, I did. I really did enjoy it. It felt great to feel like a normal person. It felt great to feel. And I think maybe that people won't take that. Maybe people take that to a fence, but normal person as far as like, you know, I could walk around and just be and try to see what it feels like to be a father, what it feels like to be a man, you know, a husband, all these things, a son, a brother, outside of just being the Tiofima, the boxer.

You know, so these were the things that I was missing out on because I was just Tiofimo to take over Lopez, you know, the professional boxer who defeated Vassila McChanko, Josh Taylor. Chacome, you know, the list goes on and on, but it's great and on. But I really, what I was really missing was my, my quality time as a father, which was new to me. And that was with my son, you know, who just turned two. I missed pretty much, Chris, I miss like pretty much a whole year without being with my son. I miss his, his first crawls, his first walks, you know, and, and even his first words, you know, so that's definitely, it weighs on me, even though to other people, you know, may not be. It's like whatever. but I'm young.

You know, I'm young and I really want to experience that too. So, you know, before I even, before I even signed this deal with Jermaine Ortiz, you know, it took me, it took me a while to sign it, you know, and to the point where Bob Aram even calls me and says, hey, are you going to sign today? What's going on? You know, we got all these things. Everybody's waiting on YouTube.

Well, but I was crying in those days, you know, thinking about it because it's tough, you know. It's like I had peace in my life for once, you know, and then coming back and forth. all this is always the same BS, same noise, same conspiracies of me being crazy, mentally ill, which is kind of messed up, you know, because, you know, I'm not mentally ill. However, there are people out there that are, you know, so why are you throwing that on to me? You know, so me it was more peace than anything else. But, you know, something, Chris, I gained that back through my son, and that's why I'm back here now. The, um, from the outside, that win over John.

Taylor, it felt like it brought you all the way back. Like you are all the way back from where you were in the immediate aftermath of the win over Lomachenko. How did it feel to you? Did it feel like that brought you back? You know, what brought me back was the fact that I never left my father and who was my trainer. And what brought me back was the fact that I just had fun. And we figured out what was my problem in my last fight against Sander Martine, you know, and, and what was. was my issue on not performing at the level that everyone expects me to perform. You know, so what do I do? You know, I go back to the drawing board and that's what the team does. You never switch teams. You just go back with the people that you started with and you work on that and you figure

out what was the problem. And we did. And that's why you guys got what you got with Josh Taylor. You know, I performed. That was my best performance thus far. And I say thus far because I have so many more ideas. I learned, you know. See, every time we fight somebody in those high elite levels, like Josh Taylor, who defeated everyone, a clean sweep of 140 division, a junior welterweight division, and is the king pin, right? At that time, when you face guys like that, you'd learn something from them after that fight, you know, and I learned a lot. I learned a lot about myself. I learned a lot of why Josh Taylor defeated every fighter out there, and that was the greatest example of being a champion. You know, you fight the best.

The best of the best is always the greatest of everything. Yeah, and I always, look, I called the Sando-Martine Mikey Garcia fight. I was ringside watching Sandoah fight you. I don't think there's a fighter on earth 140 pounds and under that's going to look good against Sando-Martine. It is impossible to look good against him. But did that, I mean, I know you, go ahead. When I face Sando-Martine, it's very hard to say someone beat me when it comes to it, where they're just running the whole time.

It's not really interacting with me. Every time he came in to interact, I caught him every time. So he was just fighting on his back foot. I mean, Bob Aaron, no matter how old he is, he's been around boxing. He's promoted Muhammad Ali, the likes of Muhammad Ali, George Foreman. I mean, the list goes on and on. The four kings, Tommy Hearns, Robert of Duran, Marvin Hagler. So he's been around the sport, and he said it himself,

that I won that fight convincingly. It's very hard to face somebody that didn't come that night to fight, you know, and that's the thing. So point example, Shakur Stevenson and Edwin de Los Santos. Shakur didn't come to fight. So it's very hard to have that foundation or base to stop a fighter when they're not there to interact at all. You need a fighter to come in a little bit to show that he's still there. Right? That's part of boxing.

I mean, that's why we lace our gloves and that's why we go and spar and we practice. We don't go there to not get hit all the time. No, we get there so that if we do get hit, how do we react to it? So, you know, my whole thing now is that's in the past, and I've done much better ever since. And I need a fight like that to learn. Yeah, look, I guess Sandor is now the mandatory of Devin Haney. I would be shocked if Devin Haney fights him. I would be really shocked if Devin, maybe if he's forced to, I don't know.

But that would surprise me. I think it'll be, I think if they were to fight, it'll be a, it'll be a track race. Who will be the fastest at running? Probably not a TV-friendly fun. I think everyone would agree. I don't think it'll be pay-per-view.

I don't think they should do pay-per-view. Just a pointer to the zone right there. No, I'm very big. I don't think that I, I don't, I'm not a big fan of pay-per-view. I'll be honest. I think that the fans and to the people in the public, especially after COVID,

I believe, and this is why I'm very grateful to be on the platform like ESPN. You know, it's free to everyone out there. as far as it goes, no pay-per-view. And we get the whole world to watch. You could download the app, the ESPN Plus app, whether it's for six bucks now or ten bucks, you get that. And you get to watch. No matter what, what's ten bucks to watching the greatest showman fight on, you know, ESPN.

So my whole thing, it's all about, you know, I wish I could say no more pay-per-view. We're in the streaming app phase now. However, you know, people are not going to listen to me. what do I know, right? You know a lot, DeFimo, best about the boxing game. I know nothing, John Snow. I know nothing.

John Snow knows nothing. Last question for you. I mean, you want a big year. You want to be in big fights. You've always said that. You've always tried to make them happen. What's a big year look like for you? Like, what is,

you want to win Fighter of the Year again in 2024? Like, how do you get there? What fights get you there? What fights get me there? You know what? It's up to these other fighters. is other champions. If they're considered champions, why not fight the king pin of the weight division, right? And that's the only way. So whoever's in my weight division, that's the champion,

let's make it happen. Let's roll. And if we can, then I'll look for fighters at 147. I'll look for Terrence Crawford, Terrence But Crawford, you know, whether I catch weight at 147 or 154. You know, but my main objective right now, we can't really go too far into the future or to the near future. We got to focus on Jermaine Ortiz. It's a couple days away. And I'll look forward to giving everyone a great show. I've heard some Subreal Matias chatter, though, for New York in summertime. To be honest, Puerto Rican Day. To be honest, top rank, we try to give them an offer and they overpriced himself on top of

warning pay-per-view and all these extra things. And it's like, you're not the champion, you know, you're not the lean-your-world champion. This is why it's the ring. It's for a reason. You know, we call the shots. You have to either take it or leave it, you know, and they're under whatever they want to be under. They have these beliefs. And the only reason why people are starting to hear about Sabrio Matias is because he's been mentioning Tio Fima Lopez. So let's just keep it straightforward here.

I'm not going to entertain that fight. I'm not. There's no need. I tried. We try to make the fight happen for Super Bowl. And if anyone knows the magnitude of this fight, fighting on the week of Super Bowl, and it's a super fight, it's not Super Bowl, you know, fight, but it's a super fight. You know, you know how much you gain out of that? You know what I'm saying? And they didn't take it. You know, acts Bob Aaron. They overpriced it.

They asked for $5 million. Ridiculous numbers. You know, how are we going to pay an IBF champion that has not done really anything? You know, you got to understand. Matchmakers are going to set the guy to look invincible. But, you know, that'll probably be one of my easiest fights, though, had it came to it. But I don't really want to entertain it. There's no need.

I help him. He doesn't help me. you know, I actually want to look for bigger fish. And who is that? Terrence Proffered, who has done similarity of what I've done from 35, 40, and he's now done at 47. So I'm looking to get a triple crown, just like he is looking to get a triple crown against Saul Canelo Alberts.

You know, so. Well, I'd love to see it. I think a lot of people would love to see it as well. It's good to see it back in boxing to Afina. Boxing is better when you're in it, my man. It's always good to have you back in these points. Let's make boxing great again. Let's make boxing great again.

Let's make boxing. I think they come in hats. I think we can make them like that. Oh, I already did. I got a copyright and everything. Too late, guys. Dea Fima, good to talk to you, man. Thank you, my man.

Take care. Love you. Peace. Appreciate it, brother. Take care. That's it for this week's episode. My thanks to Keith Idaq and Teafima Lopez for joining the show. As always, subscribe, rate, review this podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you download podcast.

And I'll see you next week. Thank you so much. Go sleep. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the I-heartedly. Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.