The rematch between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal has a new date and a new venue.
The second fight between the two former UFC stars was originally scheduled to take place on June 1 at the Kia Forum Arena in Inglewood, California, but has now been rescheduled due to other events taking place on that date. The boxing bout will now take place on July 6 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, multiple sources said.
It is reported that the main reason for the postponement of the fight was the reluctance of the organizers to hold the event on the same day as the UFC 302 tournament, in the main event of which Islam Makhachev will defend the belt in the lightweight division against Dustin Puryear.
Recall that in the first fight Masvidal defeated Diaz by technical knockout. The meeting took place in November 2019 at UFC 244.
Former world champion in three weight categories Vasyl Lomachenko admitted that the defeat from Teofimo Lopez helped him come to God.
"After the defeat from Teofimo Lopez then it seemed that I lost, but actually at that moment I won. At that moment I recognized god. That basically changed my whole life.
My goal now is not to be a champion. My goal is to become a better person, to be an absolute champion in life. Right now I'm very happy because I started to realize a lot of things that I didn't realize before the defeat. And speaking of defeats, I don't lose. I win when I lose," - said Lomachenko.
Recall that in 2020 Lomachenko lost to Lopez by unanimous decision of judges in a fight for the title of absolute world champion in lightweight.
Ukrainian super-heavyweight prospect Vladyslav Sirenko said whether his attitude to his famous compatriot Vasyl Lomachenko has changed in connection with his silence about the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
- Of course it has changed. Because when a person is silent, you do not know how he feels about it, and he, as a media person who is a leader of opinions of many Ukrainians, should be one of the first to express his position on the war in his homeland.
But he has not done that, unfortunately. Therefore, many people may have a lot of unnecessary opinions, including me. I have a negative attitude towards this moment.
- What would you say to him when you met him?
- Nothing. I wouldn't talk to him, I guess. That's all.
- Will Ukrainians forgive Lomachenko for this silence and will they cheer for the boxer in the fight with Kambososos?
- It is very difficult to answer specifically for all Ukrainians, but I think that some will forgive, and some will not. Here is a very abstract question. Personally for me, since he still represents Ukraine, I would like it to have a positive impact for our country. Of course, I would support Lomachenko. However, I don't watch his fights after I stopped understanding his position on the war in Ukraine.
Popular American blogger and boxer Jake Paul continues to fuel interest in his upcoming bout with legendary compatriot Mike Tyson.
It was previously reported that Paul and Tyson's fight, which is scheduled for July 21 in Arlington, USA, will be made official.
"It's war, and in love and war, all means are good. I love the guy, but since the fight will be official, one of us has to die. He takes the upcoming fight very, very seriously and that's what will make the fight awesome for all the fans.
Tyson is a killer. I'm moving up to heavyweight so he's going to have some advantages, but that's what's going to make the fight so exciting," USA TODAY quoted Paul as saying.
Former world champion in three weight categories Vasyl Lomachenko said that with age potential opponents became less afraid of him.
Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) and Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) will meet in twelve days, but Saudi Prince Turki Al Al-Sheikh has already stated that their rematch will take place on October 12 or 13. Al Al-Sheikh has been a supporter of the Fury vs Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) fight from the beginning and has also already scheduled their fight for March 2025.
Prince also wants to invite two big P4P stars, Saul Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) and Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) to his tournament. Their clash is scheduled for later in the year, in December or January.
"We have a strategic vision. When I started, promoters were competing with each other, but now we've managed to get them all to work together. The market has changed. Why has that happened? Because we have a purpose. We are committed to the long-term success of this industry. We will work with all stakeholders to develop boxing," said Turki Al Al-Sheikh.
Famous Ukrainian boxing veteran Taras Shelestyuk, following Oleksandr Hvozdyk, condemned former world champion in three weight categories compatriot Vasyl Lomachenko, who never made a single coherent statement regarding the criminal invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.
"I am doing my best, although I have much less influence than Lomachenko. I don't know why Vasyl doesn't want to support Ukraine more actively. It's hard to understand him.
I think he's been brainwashed. Lomachenko should study the history of Ukraine. It seems to me that since he has been boxing since he was a kid, he hasn't studied. It's easy to manipulate people who have no knowledge of history. The Russian church seems to be doing that to him. I think he needs to study the history of Ukraine, and then he will understand what is happening and why Ukraine is an independent and separate country from Russia," The Sunday Long Read quotes Shelestyuk as saying.
Recall that on May 12 in Perth, Australia, Lomachenko will fight for the vacant IBF lightweight title with George Kambososos.
At the Tokyo Dome Arena in Japan, undefeated "The Monster" Naoya Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs) scored an impressive sixth-round early victory over "The Panther" Luis Nery (35-2, 27 KOs) in a spectacular fight, thus defending his title as the overall champion in the second flyweight division. Inoue was knocked down in the first round, but was able to return that favor in the second and fifth rounds.
Former world light heavyweight champion Ukrainian Oleksandr Gvozdyk spoke out about the lack of civic position of prominent compatriot Vasyl Lomachenko.
"If someone is trying to make Lomachenko look like a Ukrainian hero, tell them, let them talk to Ukrainian coaches and fighters. They will give you a completely opposite opinion. Top Rank is probably trying to make it look like Lomachenko is supporting his country.
Today we have this bastard [Putin] who is killing and trying to destroy my country. After this war started, there is more bombing going on. People are under the rubble. People are bleeding, with limbs torn off. I don't support that. Because of this, many people do not like him anymore," - quotes Gvozdik The Sunday Long Read.
Recall that on May 12 in Perth, Australia, Lomachenko will fight for the vacant IBF lightweight title with George Kambososos.
Former world bantamweight champion Rolando Romero believes Mexican star Saul Alvarez has a duty to share the ring with David Benavides after defeating his compatriot Jaime Munguia.
"It was a great fight. Mexico won. Despite everything, it was a great fight. The knockdown played an important role. Overall it was a great card.
There's only one fight next for Canelo Alvarez and that's the fight against David Benavides. Everyone wants to see it, so we need to organize it," Romero said in an interview with YouTube channel Fight Hub TV.
Recall that on the night of May 5, Alvarez defeated Munguia by unanimous decision of the judges in the main event of the evening of boxing in Las Vegas.
