Without wanting to sound like a man twice my age, isn’t this year flying, folks?
For all you #businessheads out there, we are through the first quarter of the year already and ready to take stock on our boxing profits and losses for March.
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That’s if profits are winners and losses are losers, of course.
Let’s get straight into a look-back at what March served up in the boxing world.
WINNERS
Moses Itauma
We’re going to ignore Public Enemy today and declare that in the case of Moses Itauma, we will believe the hype.
The fleet-footed heavyweight southpaw destroyed the previously unstopped Jermaine Franklin Jr. in five one-sided rounds at the close of the month, further announcing himself as the future of the heavyweight division.
The 21-year-old moved to 14-0, rocketed up the heavyweight rankings and is now a serious challenge for any of the beltholders in the division — but how quickly will he be moved?
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Oleksandr Usyk has made it clear — in rather charming form — that he wants nothing to do with the man who was born in 2004 (!!), so over the next 18 months the path will hopefully become clearer for Itauma to claim some version of the heavyweight title.
It’s not a matter of if, it’s just when.
The Fundoras
If I successfully navigate a synced present share on Christmas Day with my sister, it’s considered a big win in the Watson household. So what does that mean for the Fundoras, who both successfully defended their world championship titles in March?
Gabriela and Sebastian Fundora bested Viviana Ruiz Corredor and Keith Thurman, respectively, to keep hold of their gold, moving to a combined record of 42-1-1 (26 KOs) in the process.
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In the most impressive brother-sister showing since Ross and Monica Geller’s New Year’s Eve dance routine, the Fundoras have cemented themselves as pound-for-pound fighters and must-see television in the heightened age of entertainment.
And with the calm head of father Freddy in their corner, as well as a wholesome base in the family’s custom-built training facility in the shadows of California’s Tehachapi Mountains, the sky really is the limit as to how many more monthly check-ins like this — or even yearly — these two can win.
DAZN
There were plenty of raised eyebrows when DAZN moved into the boxing space in 2018, but fast-forward eight years and the streaming platform can now reasonably boast to be the “The Undisputed Global Home of Boxing.”
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That’s not an opinion, it’s just counting.
DAZN now hosts fight cards from lead promotional companies including Matchroom Boxing, Golden Boy Promotions, Queensberry Promotions and, as of March, Top Rank.
Bob Arum’s Top Rank has now signed a multi-year deal with DAZN, famously reversing his previous, harsh criticism where he labelled the platform the “Dead Zone.”
Life comes at you fast! Well, maybe not so fast when you are — checks notes — 94 years old!
Xander Zayas and Boots Ennis
Announced at the back-end of this month, unbeaten super welterweight stars Xander Zayas and Jaron “Boots” Ennis have proven that boxing can sometimes be so simple: If you want it, you can get it.
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They’ll meet for Zayas’ WBA and WBO world titles on June 27 from inside Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in what is a superb matchup of two guys whose stars are rapidly rising.
Boxing has a rich history of tripping itself up when it comes to these types of mega-fights, so the fact that the fighters and promoters have all managed to get this one over the line with relative ease should be commended.
The 154-pound division is red-hot at the moment, and the winner of this summer’s contest can lay claim to being the man to beat at the weight, with a sizable scalp on their record.
Xander Zayas (pictured) vs. Jaron “Boots” Ennis is official for the summer.
(Al Bello via Getty Images)
Carlos Adames
It’s probably time we started taking Carlos Adames seriously as a middleweight world champion.
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The Dominican has long been seen as a “beatable” beltholder at the 160-pound limit, but since jumping up to the weight in 2021, he’s gone near-perfect, besting the likes of Sergiy Derevyanchenko, Julian Williams, Terrell Gausha, drawing with Hamzah Sheeraz and most recently defending his WBC world title against Austin “Ammo” Williams.
Adames’ all-action, compact and athletic style means he rarely gets the credit for any guile in his performances, but after adding to his impressive run of victims inside the ring, we could well be looking at the best name at the weight class.
Janibek Alimkhanuly may disagree, but he currently doesn’t have a leg to stand on when discussing the middleweight landscape (see below).
LOSERS
Jai Opetaia
You put your IBF cruiserweight world title in. Your IBF cruiserweight world title out. In, out, in, out, you shake it all about …
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You do the Zuffa Boxing and you turn — OK, enough of that.
Despite lodging an official victory on his record in March, it’s hard to view Jai Opetaia as a winner of the month considering the confusion that has attached itself to the Australian’s move to Dana White’s new promotional company.
The latest update is the IBF withdrew sanctioning of Opetaia’s title defense against Brandon Glanton just days before it was supposed to take place on March 8 when, in their opinion, it became apparent that the Zuffa belt was more than the “trophy or token of recognition” that it was supposed to be. As a result, Opetaia was stripped of the IBF belt for the second time in his pro career.
Opetaia is an exceptional fighter and probably the best cruiserweight on the planet, but he’s going to find it increasingly hard to prove this with the red tape that appears to come hand-in-hand with signing for Zuffa.
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Within a space of months, his dream of becoming undisputed looks further away than ever.
Jai Opetaia is no longer a boxing world champion.
(Chris Hyde via Getty Images)
Michael Conlan
In truth, it could have ended a lot worse for Michael Conlan.
The standout Irish amateur never quite reached his level of promise in the paid ranks, and announced his retirement toward the end of the month following a fourth defeat in eight fights.
Conlan dropped a split decision loss to Kevin Walsh in front of home fans inside Belfast’s SSE Arena, putting a pin in the electric atmosphere and signaling his goodbye to the sport.
Conlan has suffered some damaging defeats to the likes of Leigh Wood, Jordan Gill and Luis Alberto Lopez, so to be able to check out of the sport with his health intact should be considered a big win for the 34-year-old.
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Still, it’s with a heavy heart that Conlan finds himself in the losers column. An Uncrowned tip of the hat to a fighter who has been an exceptional servant to boxing.
Janibek Alimkhanuly
Middleweight Janibek Alimkhanuly was stripped of his IBF title this month due to a failed PED test and the inability to satisfy his mandatory title defense obligation.
The Kazakh was withdrawn from a middleweight unification fight with WBA champion Erislandy Lara four days before they were set to meet in December after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium.
And so, without going over old ground when it comes to PED cheats in boxing, Alimkhanuly finds himself in the losers column without much need for elaboration.
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At the time of writing, he still holds the WBO title.
The Ali Act
The controversial Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act took a major step forward in March after receiving approval in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Lawmakers voted on the measure under suspension of the rules, a legislative process typically used when a bill has wide cross-party backing and requires a two-thirds majority to pass — a threshold the legislation successfully cleared.
Rather than altering the existing — and this month’s loser — Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act of 2000, the new bill seeks to add additional regulatory provisions to the current framework. Central to the proposal is the creation of United Boxing Organizations (UBOs), which would allow White’s Zuffa to circumvent the rules of boxing and operate with a structure closer to that seen in the UFC.
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Under the plan, promoters could sign fighters to exclusive contracts, establish their own rankings and championship titles, and oversee events within a unified promotional system. Or as one industry insider put it to Uncrowned in August: “This is a power grab.”
The Furys
Earlier in the month, John Fury, father of Tyson Fury, announced that his relationship with his champion son is “completely destroyed” and that “The Gypsy King” is “past his best.”
Tyson Fury (left) with father and former trainer John Fury in better times.
(Nick Potts – PA Images via Getty Images)
Normally it’s OK to ignore the ramblings of the polarizing 60-year-old, but his decision to turn on his son at this stage of Tyson’s career is pretty telling — and a possible warning sign for this final stretch of Tyson’s run.
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Or it could just be a big, old-fashioned PR stunt. Who really knows when it comes to the Furys?
Either way, for a man soon returning to the ring in search of a first win since 2023, it’s pretty unwelcome noise either way.
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