Agree 100%. The evidence suggests he hasn't got a great chin and I don't think he's quite at contender level (he made a seven course dinner out of a 43 1/2 year-old Siarhei Liakhovich). But I'm sure better fights could be made for him, even if he's going to be the B-side. Like you said, either he or his people just aren't interested. Kean is 33 now and is totally lost at sea in the division - a fight with either of those guys would really raise his profile...though I don't see him having a prayer against Makh. If Makhmudov beats Takam (I definitely think he will), then I think at this point Makh will have moved beyond Kean as a meaningful opponent. Unless, of course, Makh can't get any fight at all - which is a possibility. My guess is that Takam is getting a bigger part of the purse than Makh is, because you'll need "pretty good financial enticement" to get anybody in the ring with Makh. Would there be an equivalent purse available for Takam to fight Kean? I doubt it.
Given all the legal problems Spong has had the past few years, it wouldn't shock me if there's something in his record that makes it impossible for him to travel to the UK. This is probably the chief reason that his career has stalled.
Neither BoxRec nor Tapology is indicating that Trey Lippe will be boxing on the August 27th Pedraza vs. Commey bout. So I expect his fight has fallen through. At no point did I hear of any actual opponent being named for him.
It's already been mentioned that Cassius Chaney will be taking on Shawn Miller in a 10 round (!) bout an August 20th card at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, USA. A fight that has "mismatch" written all over it - even it's clear that Chaney is not "contender material". Of interest here is that Chaney is no longer represented by Kathy Duva's "Main Events" promotions outfit. Chaney is now represented by New England-based CES boxing. The choice of Shawn Miller as Chaney's opponent is, unfortunately, pretty typical for CES contests; good matchmaking appears to be an afterthought. However, one possible upside of signing with CES, is that Joe Cusumano has also re-upped with CES. In fact, there is mention of Cusumano having sparred recently with Chaney in article on the "FIghtbook MMA" website. An eventual Cusumano v. Chaney fight could be good fun if/when it gets made - even if it does concern two fighters who aren't really good enough to be ranked by the sanctioning bodies.
I'm trying to think of the best fighter Kean could feasibly beat that would raise his stock enough to get a money fight. Maybe Lucas Browne, Babic or Kownacki? I could see those guys beating him but he needs make a move sooner than later.
Mireles stopped Reyes in the 2nd round of their July 23rd fight. He now moves to 4-0 (4 KOs).and is scheduled to fight Kaleel Carter on August 20th. I don't have much info. to share about his opponent other than that he holds a 2-1 record with his sole defeat coming by way of majority draw to another fighter that I don't know much about. By way of that, we can conclude that Mr. Carter is not really a step up from Antonio's previous opponent.
He's 33 years-old and going nowhere. I'm just guessing here, but I'd bet the long-term plan for Simon involves one of these: Hope a major strap changes hands unexpectedly and that Kean's record looks impressive enough to warrant being chosen as a voluntary defense opponent. Obviously, sanctioning bodies can manufacture a ranking for Kean out of thin air if they need to Expend Simon as "the opponent" on a televised step-up fight (maybe for somebody like Jared Anderson) for an emerging N. American contender. I think that until one of these two scenarios emerges (and it will probably be the latter) - Kean will just keep doing what he's doing helping to prop up those cards in Montreal, Canada.
Frank Sanchez is slated to fight on the Oct. 15 Wilder-Helenius undercard. Source: [url]www.espn.com[/url] I hope he fights a decent top 25 opponent.
Me, too. Sanchez's problem is that he is not generating excitement. He can give a boxing clinic to just about everybody (maybe Usyk or Fury excepted) - but he isn't producing notable wins by stoppage. He hasn't looked dangerous since he fought Brian Howard. I think he quickly assesses (whether that's in the first round or two or maybe even before the fight starts) whether the guy in front of him is a threat or not and if he decides he's going to respect him - he just focuses on outpointing him. Once he makes that decision, he seems to be "numb" to how the fight is unfolding in front of him. I can understand that approach for an opponent like Ajagba - who can just wipe you out with one big right hand - but it's not really forgivable when you've got a shopworn Christian Hammer in front of you. I guess Dominic Breazeale is a decent choice of opponent (and pretty well rested by now). He's in decline, but still considered fairly difficult to stop so if Sanchez could manage that feat - it would probably get some attention. Naturally, he'd have to try for that stoppage, though. The other fight that comes to mind is - don't laugh - Trevor Bryan. Why? Because Frank Sanchez isn't currently ranked by the WBA (it's the only one of the four sanctioning bodies that hasn't ranked him in the top-15) and - for reasons that only Don King and Gilberto Mendoza could possibly know about - Trevor Byran holds the #7 ranking. He's certainly stoppable. I suppose you can't rule out Chris Arreola, either, as he's beaten the odds to go the distance against Kownacki and Ruiz Jr. He is still a bit of a name, as "gatekeepers" go. Big heart, but less of a threat than even Hammer to stop you - so there's no reason for Sanchez to show him much respect. And, of course, Jerry Forrest is probably tailor-made for this sort of fight. Very marketable right now, though I don't buy the hype. Beyond those guys? Probably a guy who is long since past it like Eric Molina or Stiverne (who were both rumored to be in the running for Jared Anderson's next opponent - but those fights fell through) in the interest of producing a quick KO. I'd like to see undefeated prospects Mike Balogun, Stephan Shaw or Jermiane Franklin take the fight. Balogun is seriously on the clock (almost 39 years old) and needs to leap ahead in line. Shaw's career has stalled out through no obvious fault of his own. And Franklin needs to do something significant, or be exposed once and for all. Something tells me, though, that none of those fighters will be in the ring against Sanchez in October.
Very good post mate, and as you said, Sanchez whilst a good technician and very well schooled, he tends to just go through the motions in his fights. I'm not expecting too big an opponent for this fight, but hopefully PBC look at maybe putting him up against the winner of Ruiz v Ortiz next or something like that, but at the same time, he doesn't help his cause by being so one paced in his fights, hence why its hard to push him along and get excited about him.
This content is protected With Merhy and Estrada's vacations, WBA has almost completed it's goal of removing all interim and regular belts.
Joe Cusumano (20-4, 18 KOs) will continue his comeback of sorts on August 20th as part of the same CES Boxing card that includes the Cassius Chaney v. Shawn Miller bout. Cusunamo - who is now training regularly in Danbury, CT with coach Dave McDonough - is scheduled to square off against Dennis Ventura (4-1, 4 KOs) in an 8 round bout. Ventura is a disappointing choice of opponent. This is not only because he lost his 0 in a stoppage loss during his last bout against the unremarkable Vercell Webster - but also because the rumored opponent was Steve Vukosa. Cusumano fought Vukosa in an 8 round fight in 2019, ultimately dropping a unanimous decision to the 13-1-1 fighter. So Vokosa would have provided not only a better-quality opponent, but also a chance for Cusumano to avenge a loss. Whether that fight fell through because the now 45 year-old Vukosa had thought better of it or due to some other reason - I do not know. Look for Cusuamno to stop Ventura in just a couple of rounds.
