The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Boxing with Chris Mannix - Keith Idec and Eddie Hearn stops by
Episode Date: June 23, 2023Chris is joined by Keith Idec for a bonus episode to talk about the breaking news surrounding Canelo. Later, Eddie Hearn sits with Chris to talk about the latest with Matchroom Boxing. #Volume #HerdSe...e omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Special bonus episode of the podcast.
If you listened on Wednesday, you heard Ak and Barak,
join me to talk about all things Edgar Berlanga.
You then heard Edgar Berlanga, join me.
to talk all things, Edgar Berlangen.
So we had you covered on that front.
And I tracked down Eddie Hearn earlier in the day on Thursday.
Grabbed him for a 20-minute-ish conversation that I was just going to have stand-alone on this podcast.
But then Thursday afternoon, we got some big news in boxing.
Canelo Alvarez has agreed to a deal with PBC.
I'm being told this is a multi-fight deal with PBC.
it is almost certain to begin with Jamal Charlo in September of this year and we'll go into next year.
Maybe against David Benavides, we'll see what happens as things shake out with this deal.
But it seemed very worthy to get into.
So I texted the best insider I know, Keith Ideck, and he agreed to join me for a couple of minutes here on the show.
Keith, let's start here.
I mean, we knew Canello was talking to PBS.
We knew Matrum was still trying to put its best foot forward here.
You know, maybe dangle Berlanga in front of Canello.
If Berlanga had won this fight upcoming against Jason Quigley in spectacular fashion,
what was your reaction to the news of the Canelo deal?
The multi-fight part is the most interesting part here, Chris,
because it means that he's not doing, Canello's not doing what he did with the Caleb Plant fight.
It's not a one-off with PBC and Showtime pay-per-view.
he's here for the long term.
I mean, for, you know, I would assume at least the next year, 15 months or so,
because he's not going to fight until September.
If it's a three-fight deal, you know, he probably would fight in May and next September,
as he is apt to do.
And then I would see Benavitas probably being the third fight of that.
If that is indeed the case, then Benavitas would probably be the third fight.
I know that's going to be longer than people.
want to wait to see him fight David Benavides. But, you know, the Charlo fight is obviously
interesting. It's a fight that we thought was going to happen a long time ago. It probably
is going to be Charlo. It might even be announced as soon as tomorrow by Canello himself,
from what I've been led to believe. Assuming it's Charlo, yeah, the fight should have happened a few
years ago at Middleweight when he was the mandatory challenger for Canello's WBC title.
Charlo is of course moving up from 160 to 168, Chris.
But he's the big guy.
I mean, he's over six foot tall and he's much bigger than Canelo.
So it's not like he's going to be facing some.
So you mentioned David Benavides potentially being the third fight of this deal.
This was a fight that was reportedly offered to Canelo for September.
For whatever reason, Canelo opted not to go for it.
You hear a lot of stuff from Benavides's side about why that deal didn't come together.
But it is the most marketable fight for Canello at 168.
It's probably the most, I don't want to say lucrative,
because I don't know what Canello's guarantees are,
but it certainly has the biggest upside in terms of pay-per-view sales
and public interest in his next fight.
What's your understanding of why Canello's not going,
straight into a David Benevides fight?
Well, I just think from Canello's perspective,
he views it as the most dangerous fight on the PPC side.
You know, because Charlo's,
I'm not saying Charlo is going to be an easy fight for Canello by any stretch,
assuming it is Charlo.
But he has been off for two years.
He didn't look particularly good against Juan Macias Montiel.
Supposedly had an injury last year when he postponed his fight
or canceled his fight against Moshid's Sulecki.
And, you know, he's had some personal issues.
and everything and admitted to having some mental health struggles and everything.
So you don't know which Jamal Charlo is going to show up in September to fight Canelo.
But I think there will be a lot of public interest in that fight as well, despite his long layoff,
because Charlo is a talented guy, he's a big, strong guy.
I don't think it'll be an easy fight for Canello.
I would favor Canello to win more than anything because you just don't know what to make of
Charlo at this point in his career.
He's 33 years old now, although basically the same age as Canello.
Just that type of inactivity going into a fight that difficult is not good.
But Charlo is a very polarizing guy.
I mean, people have strong opinions of General Charlo one way or the other.
So I think there will be very, there will be great public interest in the fight, much more so than if he had fought Edgar Berlanga.
So from that perspective, I mean, you have a quote unquote star on the other side, not, of course, no one's as big a star as Canello.
But you have a star fighter on the other side who will help sell the event as well.
But the short answer there, Chris, is I just think he views Benavides as the most dangerous super middleweight on the PBC side.
Of course, Charlo is technically still a middleweight.
But yeah, that's probably why.
And I don't blame him because Benavita is a big, young, strong guy who never stops throwing punches, not saying that Canelo couldn't beat him.
But if you're trying to maximize your money, which obviously he is, that's the smartest play.
You know, you make DeVez that, I don't know who necessarily makes sense in the middle.
And of course, that's, again, assuming he beats Charlo, which is not an easy fight despite
Charles long now.
Yeah.
And with Benavides, maybe you make him work a little bit in the meantime.
I don't know where it stands with Benavides, David Morel, Samson Lukowitz is out there saying
it's going to happen.
David Benavides is out there saying, no, we don't have a deal.
Do you think that fight happens between Benavides and Morel?
Look, it's not, there's a reason that Benavides is saying that that fight is not happening next.
Again, not saying David Benavides couldn't beat David Morel, that's the toughest fight for him in the super
middleweight division other than Canelo Alvarez.
Some people might even argue that it's tougher than Canello Alvarez because he's a big,
young, strong Southpals, clearly not nearly as proven as Canelo Alvarez, but he's very, very
good. And if you're David Benavides, not that he's afraid of anyone or anything. And I've seen all
the things that Morel has been saying. His publicist has been sending out a release per day,
basically this week, falling out David Benavides, and understandably so. But you're not going to
fight David Morel next when you think that you have Canello hanging in the balance, even if it
means waiting a year from the Charlo fight. You're going to wait that out because David Benad is
only 26 years old. I mean, people, I wonder sometimes that people, that people,
realize how young he actually is because he started his career at 16. He's still a very young guy
and the very beginning of his physical prime for the most part. So he can wait. It's going to
bother him to wait. And of course, you're taking a risk against Charlo or what if Charlo beats him.
But there's a very good reason why David Benavita has specifically mentioned Jaime Mongia
because they think that that is a fight that they can put together or be a big fight among
Mexican fans.
They think maybe now since
PBC and Golden Boy have done
some business together and Showtime has done
some sort of business with the zone,
they probably think that there's
a pathway toward making that fight
happen. I don't know that you're going to convince
Jaime Mungia to do that.
Basically, a brutal fight that
you were just calling from ringside a few weeks
ago, Brigade Duravionchenko, but
it would be a fun fight.
And from Benavides's perspective,
a much safer fight, obviously,
Chris, then fighting David Morel Jr.
Yeah, and, you know, one of the, some of the fallout from Canelo signing this deal with PBC
takes an Edgar Berlanga fight off the table and maybe puts Berlanga in a position
to being available for a Mungia fight.
And if I'm Jaime Mungia, I want Edgar Burlanga before I want David Benavides.
That is a much more winnable fight for him.
And certainly a makeable one from.
the political perspective. They're both under the
Dezone quote unquote banner and there's money there
I think forward. I think that fight would do exceptionally well
whether it's Southern California, Las Vegas, New York.
You're probably talking about a pretty significant gate given these guys
popularity and
and you know, kind of the fan bases that they bring. If I'm Mangia,
that's the fight I'm having Fernando Beltron and the folks over
at Golden Boy push for or not the
Benavita's fight. That is
that to me feels like almost a sure
loss, whereas Berlanga, you know, at worst, probably 50-50 in my mind for Bungia.
Right.
No, I totally understand what you're saying, Chris.
I think Benavides would brutalize Jaime Mungia.
It's not what they just saw against Derevianchenko.
Yeah, it's a much safer play for him.
And a fight that he could win, as you said, because Berlang – I'm interested to see how
Burlanga looks against Jason Quigley on Saturday.
Does he blow Jason Quigley out or does he get extended the distance and look maybe like he did in some of his other fights to where he went the distance in the last couple of years?
I mean, if he can't get rid of, and there's no offense to Jason Quigley, tough kid and everything, but if he can't get rid of Jason Quigley and Demetrius Andrade, who's not really known as the biggest puncher at middleweight, you were there ringside in New Hampshire and just blew him out.
So Berlanga should be able to do something somewhat similar to that.
And if he can't, well, then if you're Jaime Mungia, why wouldn't you want to fight him?
I agree.
Last thing for you, people don't really care how the sausage is made in boxing.
But I found it kind of funny that you had Samson Lukowitz out there who is effectively a BBC promoter.
His money flows from the PBC coffers.
You know, what's apping Eddie Renoso offers to fight David Benavides while Eddie
Renoso is negotiating this multi-fight deal with Al Heyman?
You're more in the trenches on this than I am, but I thought, I've just found this whole
process to be kind of hilarious.
Like you knew Matron was out, at least in the short term, pretty early because a B-Vol fight
was never really going to come together.
And Burlang, it was more a pipe dream than a reality.
But what did you make of kind of the way the left-hand within PBC doesn't really know what the right hand is necessarily doing?
I'm not really sure if Samson did all of that without Al's knowledge.
I would find that highly unlikely.
At the same time, Samson then later said that he never said that he was offered $50 million.
I don't know.
But that is what he said.
Now, maybe he's backtracking because there was some backlash internally.
I don't really know.
I know that Samson was really pushing, obviously, for the benefit.
He's doing what he's supposed to do for his fighter.
Benevita has really wanted that fight next, so they tried to make it happen.
Of course, you know, this money that's being offered,
and ain't coming out of Samson Lukowitz's pocket.
It's, you know, Al-Aiman is the one who's giving the okay.
So they're working in conjunction, obviously, with the numbers that were being thrown at Canelo.
But again, you probably could have told him we'll pay you $60 million, and he just was not going to fight David Benavides next for the reasons we discussed earlier in this podcast.
So he's trying to maximize his money and strategically do the type of matchmaking that they think makes the most sense.
And that's why he's probably going to fight Jamal Charlo in the first fight of this deal.
Yeah, someone in that BBC universe texted me earlier today.
It's Al's world, and we just all live in it.
So it's all down to what Al Heyman decides is ultimately going to get done.
But look, I'm going to give BBC credit.
They're on a great run.
They made the Ryan Garcia-Tang Davis fight happen.
They made Errol Spence and Terrence Crawford happen.
And now, you know, they've attracted the most bankable star in boxing to be in some significant fights over the next 12 to 18 months.
So that's a feather in the cap of PBC, I think.
I don't know really what more they could have done on the BBC side to satisfy people who've rightly been critical at times for them not making the fights that the fans wanted to see the most.
I mean, we're going to see Tank Garcia.
Not that the Inouye Fulton fight has been building for years or anything, but we're going to see the great fight.
Great fight. We're going to see the Inouye Fulton fight and Spence Crawford within four or five days of each other late in July.
we're going to see the likelihood is that we see Spence Crawford twice within like a four or five months span,
assuming the loser activates his rematch clause.
And now, like you said, Chris, to have the biggest star in boxing, the most bankable star in American boxing in the fold for the next 15, 16 months, whatever that equates to, you can't ask for more than that.
At the same time, you know, a lot of these fights were fights that should have happened before now.
It's great that they're finally happening.
It's better late than never.
But it is a hell of a run that they're on.
And, you know, look, boxing fans complain when they don't get what they want.
And again, rightfully so.
You can't complain when you get what you want to.
Sure you can.
Sure you can in boxing.
You can complain whatever.
It doesn't matter if you get what you want.
Don't get you want.
You always complain.
But it is a great run that boxing's on.
Hopefully it continues in the second half of the year as well.
Keith Ideck, follow them at boxing scene.com.
We'll be all over this Canelo story all over the weekend.
Check them on on Twitter 2 at IDEC boxing.
Great to catch up, Keith.
Appreciate the time.
Same here, Chris.
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.
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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 Jette.
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.
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.
All right, Eddie Hearn is here.
Matchroom Boxing Tsar.
I call you a czar?
Is that work?
It's a good title.
You also, when I watched the interview back from the ring on Saturday, you call me the promoter in question.
A record, didn't I?
A record.
A record. That's right.
That's all.
Promoter of record.
I try to mix things up a little,
but you can't be like,
Eddie Hearn, promoter of this fight.
Eddie Hearn, promoter.
So you're the czar of Matchroom Box.
Sounds good to me.
It's a lofty title.
Yes.
It's pretty good.
He is in New York for this weekend's show,
headlined by Edgar Berlanga.
First fight for Matchroom for Berlanga takes on Jason Quigley
at the theater at Mass Square Garden.
It's a fight you can watch on Desone.
I've been thinking about this, Eddie, the last couple of days.
What would you, what is success for Edgar Berlanga on Saturday night?
only a statement, only a knockout.
You know, look, we saw last week with Regis a tremendous amount of hype,
fighting in your hometown, he even admitted to the pressure after the fight.
So it was disappointing, Zerrida didn't help,
but really the truth is, if we're going to talk about Canello,
if we're going to talk about Mungir, if we're going to talk about Golofkin,
he's got to be making a statement against Jason Quigley.
Quigley is a world-class fighter, not a champion, not elite, but has been there, has mixed it.
And what I like about the fight is there's a lot of people in boxing that feel that the hype is not real against Edgar Belanger.
They know the star quality, they know the ticket sales, they know the atmosphere, but is he actually any good?
We'll find out against Quigley.
And, you know, I'm not saying, like I said, that Quigley's going to go on and fight Canelo Alvarez, but Quigley will at least show the level that you're at.
If you are world class, you will go through him and you will stop him.
If you're not, you may struggle.
And there's a few people that think he may struggle this weekend.
And I've seen Ed Gberlanga walking around media, you know, float at the Puerto Rican
brigade last week.
The pressure's on.
Does Quigley's performance against Demetrius Andrade work against Quigley or work against
Burlangon this week?
Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, Demetrius always starts well.
He, every fight that he's been in that's gone to points, he's had the opponent
hurt. He's had them down. I mean, we saw it against Nicholson in the last fight.
We saw it against Soalecki. We saw it against Kaltendok. We saw it against, you know, so it's nothing new.
What Quigley did was decided to hold his feet and have a fight. And he also broke his jaw in the
process. And he also didn't have Andy Lee in the corner. So there was a lot working against Quigley
in that fight. Also, I think his days at 160 were very tight. I think he's going to enjoy it up at
168. But let's be honest, right now, Edgar Belanga is not Demetrius Andre in terms of, you know,
an elite fighter.
So we'll see the levels that he's at.
A lot of pressure,
a lot of focus.
But if he can make a statement
and go in and create a sensational knockout,
it's going to really help his momentum.
You have promoted the last half dozen or more
Canelo fights since late 2021.
You talk to Eddie Renoso,
I'm sure, semi-regularly.
Do you believe a Canelo fight is in play right now
for the fall for Edgar Berlanga?
I mean, probably not.
Look, if he, we know
Canelo Belanger sells
whether we, the boxing purists,
think that Balanga has deserved that fight
is another question altogether.
Let's be honest, in terms of his resume, he doesn't.
But that doesn't really matter
when you're making fights.
If he produces a sensational knockout,
jumps on the ropes, and screams
Canelo Alvarez's name, he at least
puts himself in the hat.
I would like to see that, I think that fight can be a monster.
The way it becomes a monster
is for Edgar Belanger to knock out chasing Quiggin
and then knock out a big name in the winter, Mungia.
Hey, there we go.
You're your favorite.
Well, that's an everyone's favorite.
Yeah, I guess if you're Keith Connolly and you're managing the career of Edgar Belanger,
you're trying to navigate the best way to Canelo Alvarez.
So what you don't really want to do is have too many 50-50s where you're tossing a coin to get the Canelo Averas.
Yeah, that's right.
Campo just one.
It's okay.
And also, see that the positive, the upside.
of the Mungia fight is if you go and beat Mungia, a fellow Mexican, all of a sudden, that
Canelo fight is a mega fight. You're doubling your own money going into that fight by beating Mungia.
But it's getting the mix right. You haven't got to convince me. You've got to convince sometimes
the handlers, the trainers, that that is worth the risk. And listen, I think Mungia against Boulang is a
mega event. I really do. I said this on a show earlier in the week. You can't name me two or three
better fights in the second half of this year than Berlanga against Mungia.
It is a fight that I think would sell out in Vegas in Southern California here in New York.
Main room here in New York.
Two guys with their own fan bases.
Two guys don't take one step backward.
It's hard to find a fight that's bigger than that.
And I think, frankly, Mungia would take it.
I think he would take it.
I think Golden Boy would take it.
I think Berlang's team are the ones you'd have to convince to ultimately take it.
I think that Belangis team is still feeling that there's work to do.
I think Saturday is going to put us in a good position to see what's.
next. But they can't watch, and look, Keith Conley represents Darvonchenko.
Like, they can't have watched Mungia Darvonchenko and think their guy would be overmatched.
Dervincenko, for all his talent, is 37 and is a middleweight.
Berlang is a full-fledged 168 with more of a more power at least than Dervenchenko.
That's a winnable fight for him.
Yeah, it is. It's still a 50-50 fight at the moment.
So it's just a case of, as you know, the business, whether they're prepared to take a 50-50 fight now.
What's the money? How big is that fight?
And then there's a discussion to be had.
I think Belangis team will have a lot more confidence come an impressive victory on Saturday.
Are you under the belief that Canello against Charlo is what's coming in the fall?
I guess so.
You know, I mean, the only conversations really I've had with Eddie and Sal is to let them know that we're not in a position to move forward with a Dimitri Bivel fight at the moment.
They've been having their separate conversations.
They need to plan their future in their fight for September.
And I think, you know, fight-wise in terms of what's out there.
there's benavides there's charlowe of course there's badu jack conversations as well for us you know
the other options i guess from a disown point of view are bivol if that gets momentum mungia which i still
think is a good fight and a big fight as well belanga subject to something crazy and impressive this
weekend so i think charlowe is the front runner but but you know where they're up to i'm not sure
what is the biggest reason that a dmitri bevo rematch isn't happening really the stubbornness of the
competitors.
You know,
Dmitri Bevowl says,
I've beaten you.
I don't feel like
it was competitive.
I'm not overly motivated
by the rematch.
I don't really care
about money.
I care about legacy.
So let me fight you at 168.
Let me fight for the
undisputed championship
and we've got a fight.
Canello says,
I don't want to bring you down
to 168 for the first time
in your career,
get a load of criticism
for beating you
when I want to beat you
on the same terms as last time.
It's very similar
in a smaller way
between Katie Taylor and
Chantelle Cameron rematch as well, you know.
So ultimately, the competitive stubbornness of both is probably what's keeping that fight apart
at the moment.
I don't think we're going to see it in September.
I think Bivol's going to probably defend in August, stroke September, and then face the
winner of Callum Smith against Bettebivv.
I think that's the most likely route.
Whether that opens up then the fight between Bival and Canelo in the summer on Cinco de Mayo
of next year could be interesting.
I mean, if Bivol gets undisputed at 175, all of a sudden,
a little different story.
Bivow against Canelo at 175 for undisputed is a mega event.
There's a belief in boxing that Better BVeeval can't happen
because the money just isn't there for those two guys.
Where do you stand on that?
I disagree.
You know, I think that, look, Better Biaf's never made big money.
That's the reality.
Bivow has, but only because he fought Canelo Alvarez.
I think that's a fight that could be a big fight in the Middle East.
It's probably the best fight in boxing,
but there's no point talking about it
because when Callum Smith knocks Betteb spark out in August,
all of a sudden it changes in terms of its location.
And I truly believe that Callum Smith will knock him out.
I can just see it.
I keep picturing it.
And if he does, that fight's super easy to make.
So we'll see what happens in August.
I heard you say with relation to Canelo
that you're thinking about January of next year.
Is that something?
Is he thinking about that?
We always discussed with Eddie Raynosa,
the possibility of a January-February fight.
the Saudi fight, you know, if you're planning a Badu Jack fight, September, I just think he's unrealistic, full stop.
You know, but if you're planning Anthony Joshua against Deonté Wilder in December, January, February, March is kind of like the period that he's open in the Middle East in terms of weather, in terms of, you know, prior to Ramadan.
So that could be an option.
I think January and February is only an option for Canelo Alvarez in the Middle East.
So those talks will be ongoing.
You told me in the ring last week that you plan to meet with Bill Haney with the Haney's this week. Have you done that yet?
No, I spoke to Devin yesterday.
He's due in to New York at some point.
And I said to him, you know,
he's very clear about Regis Progris.
This is not about luring Devin Heaney
into a five-fight deal with Matrim and DeZone.
This is just making a great fight.
So there's no excuse for Devin Heaney.
There's no contract that comes with it.
Do you believe you can beat Regis Progray?
Let's get it made.
Now, I've got to get the money up for Devin and Bill,
which is going to be fun and interesting in itself.
But also he's in discussions with the Middle East himself,
of which I said, we'll come.
You know, I want Regis Pro Gray to get a big opportunity,
you know, a financially big opportunity,
and if it means traveling, if it means fighting on another show,
if it means we have no problem with that at all,
because I don't want to see Regis in Zerilla fights.
I want to see him test himself and prove
that he is a real player and the best at 140.
What do you make of Skills Challenge,
the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, specifically,
not just looking to put on fights now,
but seemingly looking to sign fighters.
They sign Alexander Usick to a deal.
Devin Haney, you mentioned Deonté Wilder.
It seems like they're circling him.
What do you make of this?
It seems like a shift in what the priorities are over there.
Yeah, I don't feel that it's, you know, they're looking to put a year-round calendar
of fights and events.
Things do move very slowly there, but certainly they're looking to make a further investment
in boxing.
I think that they're open to those fighters fighting elsewhere.
Obviously, they want to stage major events in Saudi as well.
but also you have to understand
they're a huge boxing fan
so for Prince Khalid who's
you know the main man there in terms of the boxing movement
he's a huge boxing fan
so I'm not saying it's a hobby but also
at the same time he's very excited to
sign fighters of that magnitude
and it's one thing signing them
it's another thing servicing them
and that's the problem that all promoters
have so like we said
if those fighters do sign to skills
challenge we would be very happy to
bring our fighters to Saudi
Arabia like Regis Progray and help them deliver because as we know once you make that move it's
very likely that others will close the door so if they went to sign with skills challenge
top rank may say you're not getting to you're not getting to you're not all of a sudden there's
bad energy between those guys I'm saying welcome we've got the world champion you want to fight for
the WBC world title regis is ready to go so I think it's a good thing you know how glacially
they move over there it takes a lot for them to put a deal to have you expressed that to the
and said, look, we want to get Regis out.
Yeah, I mean, Debbie wants to fight in September.
And again, is that feasible?
Like, if you can come to a number, is Haney Progray realistic in September?
Yes, yes, definitely on the zone.
But it's just a case of, you know, is it realistic in Saudi?
I don't think so.
I mean, we're seeing the pace that they're moving for the December fight with AJ.
I'm confident it will get done because I've worked with them before.
If I hadn't, I wouldn't be.
But it does take time.
everyone in boxing got the press release from Demetri Salita suggesting Jarrell Miller for Anthony
Joshua. You've dismissed that as a possibility for Anthony in August. My question is kind of why.
Like you're going to get a guy in the top 15, but he's probably not going to be a big name or a big ticket seller individually.
Jarell Miller for all his flaws is a big mouth and he's got an undefeated record and he's got a history there.
Why is that not at least a consideration?
It doesn't really sit well with me. You know, and people can talk about.
that Conor Ben, it's very, very different.
If you look at the history of Jarrell Miller,
if you look at the way in which he failed his tests
and the way that those substances were consumed,
it really don't sit well for me.
And it caused us a lot of aggravation, a lot of pain.
So it is a little bit personal.
Also, it's seven weeks to go.
He's not enrolled in Nevada testing
that we would like to have in a standard Anthony Joshua fight
that normally happens 12 weeks before.
The time we got that fight signed
and the time he enrolled in that program,
you're probably looking at five or six weeks.
No, thank you, is the answer.
And I never rule it out forever
because I understand the size of the fight.
But I don't feel that Jarrell Miller is really
the guy that's going to prepare AJ
for Deontay Wilder and also to showcase the work
that he's been doing with Derek James
over the last 10 to 12 months.
So no to Jarrell Miller,
but who knows in this crazy game one day.
So you're not ruling out down the line.
If Jarrell can get his act together, get in that Vado program.
I just think the way boxing works is I've learned to rule something out.
You know, these interviews never go away, Chris.
Hey, maybe back in New York and two or three years.
Last thing for you is you just announced as we're recording this,
the Sonny Edwards, Bam Rodriguez.
You said that was going to get done, presumably for the fall.
Yes.
Yeah, we're looking at sort of end of November, early December.
there'll be an official announcement.
We want to try and get this schedule up and running from August to December on the zone
to give you the full announcement.
And that's going to be a big part of that.
One of the best fights in boxing, I think.
I mean, we've been working on it for a while.
There's a few little hurdles to overcome this week.
But great fight.
Great fight.
It's going to be in America.
Looks like it's going to be on the West Coast.
Fair play to Sonny Edwards.
Fair play to Ban Rodriguez.
It's exactly what we want.
The best be the best.
And time to see who is the very.
best in a flyweight division. What is your understanding of Jesse's
jaw, like the health and getting back at the gym? What are you starting to say his timeline?
He's back in the gym now. It's been a while since that fight now. I guess he's
going to be ready to spa, you know, maybe in about a month or six, seven weeks time.
He's got plenty of time to prepare for the fight. And that's, I think, another reason why
he deserves respect is because he's going straight from that injury into probably the
toughest fight in the division. But he doesn't want to hang around. You know, he went to
112 to unify and he's keeping to his word are you you want to get one champion in that division as
well how what are the movements on that so martinez yeah martinez has to fight a royo which
has been you're going on for again yeah yeah yeah and that will be hopefully in september in
mexico then we want to make the dalakian fight could even land on the same card um and then the winners
fight the winner you know one champion by spring 2024 is exactly what we want in the sport how easy is
that dalakian versus martinez fight to me there's nothing
else for him.
Yeah.
So really, it's just the case of negotiation.
I think he's got some association with Queensbury.
But what's the lacking going to do?
I mean, if he doesn't get in a mix, he's not going to make a penny.
So, you know, hopefully, and he wants to prove he's the best as well.
So if you get a sign-off to circle back to Edgar Berlanga.
If you get a sign-off on, you know, from Berlanga's team on Monday to make a
Mungia fight.
No, you're all over this, aren't you?
Well, yeah.
That's a great fight.
Yeah.
It's better than André Charlo.
Anyway with that.
How are you in Oscar Delahoea going to get along?
At the end of the day,
Mungia needs a dance partner.
And the thing is with Mungia in Oscar de L'Olojia,
let's be honest,
they don't really want to take any risk.
And they might look at Belanger as a winnable fight.
And that's why that fight could get made.
Because let's be honest,
they chose Dera Venchenko because he was old
and because he was done, really,
but still a name.
Good matchmaking, good fight.
But they never really want to fight anyone at note, do they?
So they might look at Belanger and go,
I mean, really, like,
Garnardi Golovkin, if he fights again,
Mungir Golofkin,
unbelievable fight.
Belanga Golovkin.
Have you talked to Galovkin's people at all?
Yeah, Frank spoke to him the other day.
We was going to go and see him.
I think he wants to fight again.
Really?
Yeah, and I think that, you know,
he's vacated the belt,
so there's no kind of outstanding pressure.
Yeah.
You know, time is ticking.
And it's about money.
And is those fights going to generate
the kind of money that's going to get Gennardi Golofkin out of it?
What's the fight that generates the kind of money for him?
Like, is it Burlanga?
Like, is it Burlanga?
Like, is it Mungia?
Like, you know, it's not going to generate the money he's used to.
Yeah.
But it has to come down to a little bit of desire.
You know, if it's purely money.
He's paid him pretty well last time.
Yeah, he's been paid very well for a number of years.
But, you know, if it's just about money, I don't think you'll see him fight again.
But you think, but based on those conversations, you think he's interested in doing it?
Yeah, I think he wants to fight again.
Yeah.
Eddie Hearn, Matron, Matron, Matchroom Boxing, Zar.
Appreciate it.
Thanks, Chris.
Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite, unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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 IHeart 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.
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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast.
Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan,
so we're celebrating May the 4th
with a brand new week of fun,
thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes.
Join us as we tackle science and culture topics
from a galaxy far, far away,
such as the biology of tontons and wampas
on the ice planet hot,
or the practicality and corporate business sense
of the Sith rule of two.
Listen to stuff to bowl your mind
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