Those reports have been disputed by Turki Alalshikh, but they would certainly not have worried the top promoters in the world and suggests TKO may take an approach of signing up potential rather than bringing in established stars.
Of course those numbers could have been leaked so the organisers and Alalshikh can generate some feedback, while also being able to state that the reports are wrong, and there is still plenty of time before anything official has to be put out there. This time can be used to change structures and the approach, but for now Turki Alalshikh will continuing partnering the big promoters and use them to ensure Riyadh Season and The Ring events have the biggest names involved.
The full card for Canelo's next outing has been released and it is not exactly the depth of event that we have come to expect from those being held in Saudi Arabia.
That is not to say it is a weak card per se, but fans have been spoiled and so a feeling of being underwhelmed cannot come as that much of a surprise.
It is a big weekend with a solid event being run in Times Square on Friday before the Saudi event on Saturday and then being rounded out by Naoya Inoue's next American outing. The match ups on Saturday and Sunday may not be that appealing, but the Friday night card looks decent enough and fans will be hoping that bigger events will come out of those being run.
Nick Ball's win last weekend means he is a step closer to facing Naoya Inoue, assuming The Monster keeps winning, while the winners on the Friday card in New York City will be pitted together later in the year.
And we should also have an official announcement of Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford as long as the Mexican comes through May 3rd unscathed.
The next couple of weeks bring together another couple of solid cards before the move into April and the attention turning to Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn, at least for UK fans.
There are some important fights to come in April, including a Welterweight Unification, and so fight fans have to be very happy with the events being put together as we approach the halfway mark of the 2025 season.
Hopefully more events will begin to be announced over the next four weeks with some big nights expected in the summer as Boxing becomes a year long sport and not having an unofficial 'break' in the middle of the year as had become the norm.
Sebastian Fundora vs Chordale Booker
Almost exactly twelve months have passed since Sebastian Fundora came in as a late replacement and took advantage of an elbow that gashed open Tim Tsyzu as he upset the Australian on a Split Decision.
That means Sebastian Fundora holds the Light Middleweight World Titles for both the WBO and WBC, but suffice to say he has failed to really build on the momentum of that win over Tim Tszyu.
Some of that is not his fault- he wanted to defend his World Titles against Errol Spence Jr, but that fight was not signed off by the organisations and Fundora has effectively been sitting out.
He may hold two of the four World Titles in the Division, but there are plenty of naysayers when it comes to where Sebastian Fundora sits in the Division.
Making believers out of doubters is unlikely going to be the outcome of beating Chordale Booker, if indeed Fundora is able to win this fight, and there will be a real push to see him pitted against some of the bigger names in the Division. That is not likely to be against Interim WBO Champion Terence Crawford, who is set to face Canelo Alvarez, but Vergil Ortiz Jr is now the Interim WBC Champion in the Division and that looks like a fight that should be made.
Sebastian Fundora will state that he is willing to take on anyone, and he has shown plenty of heart in his showings, although the twelve month layoff is very disappointing for a 27 year old.
It is not expected to have an impact on Saturday when facing Chordale Booker who has been floating between Light Middleweight and Middleweight in recent outings and who has not really been in the ring with anyone of note since being blown away by Ammo Williams inside the First Round in 2022. The Booker story is an inspiration one and winning the World Titles would really make some feel-good headlines, but it does feel like he is the beneficiary of an opportunity that may not have come about just yet if Sebastian Fundora had been more active.
It is not expected to have an impact on Saturday when facing Chordale Booker who has been floating between Light Middleweight and Middleweight in recent outings and who has not really been in the ring with anyone of note since being blown away by Ammo Williams inside the First Round in 2022. The Booker story is an inspiration one and winning the World Titles would really make some feel-good headlines, but it does feel like he is the beneficiary of an opportunity that may not have come about just yet if Sebastian Fundora had been more active.
We know what we are going to get from Fundora- he will come forward, he will throw plenty of punches and Brian Mendoza and Erickson Lubin have both shown the tall Light Middleweight can be hurt.
However, that is not expected to be something that Chordale Booker can do without having to take some serious punishment of his own and Sebastian Fundora has broken through fighters of this level pretty quickly previously.
Inactivity is a factor, but Sebastian Fundora may be able to shake off some of the cobwebs and still secure a victory inside the first half of the contest before perhaps calling out some of the bigger names in the Division.
The undercard has a couple of fighters rebuilding after a defeat, but the focus for the Picks is on Jesus Alejandro Ramos Jr who is looking for a third straight win after losing to Erickson Lubin.
Around six weeks have passed since Ramos Jr was last in the ring beating Jeison Rosario and he has decided to step back to Light Middleweight for this contest.
It is a showcase fight against Guido Emmanuel Schramm, a fighter who comes in as a replacement having lost two in a row.
He was Stopped by Vladimir Hernandez in Six Rounds last June, but anyone fighting out of Argentina should be respected.
However, saying that, this is a fight that Jesus Alejandro Ramos Jr should be relatively comfortable as he moves through the gears and he is worth backing to secure a late Stoppage for the third time in a row having won his last two in the Ninth and Eighth Round respectively.
Matchoom are hosting another big card in Australia and the main event features George Kambosos Jr having moved up from Lightweight into the Light Welterweight Division.
Being a Unified World Champion in the 135 Division is a career highlight for Kambosos Jr, although he has lost three of four fights since the upset over Teofimo Lopez. Even in the victory over Maxi Hughes, there were plenty out there feeling the Australian was very fortunate to be given the nod on the cards and this feels like the last big run in his career.
A late replacement had to be found to keep the event going and that opportunity has been given to Jake Wyllie, another Australian and one who has produced fifteen Stoppages in sixteen professional wins.
Jake Wyllie was involved in a fight at the end of February which ended prematurely in a No Contest in the Third Round and he admitted he was attending this event as a fan. Being a natural at Light Welterweight will help, but this is a massive step up for the 24 year old and it should be a bout that George Kambosos Jr can roll through.
There is no doubt that George Kambosos Jr is an overachiever and not many would have tipped him up to have reached the kind of level he has. In saying that, he should be levels above someone like Jake Wyllie and the younger man could empty the tank early in his bid for an upset and it will be Kambosos Jr dominating proceedings.
We saw an overmatched Brock Jarvis Stopped by Keith Thurman earlier this month and there is little reason to believe that someone like Jake Wyllie will have a lot more of a chance to get into the second half of this contest.
The former Lightweight World Champion has not exactly been a dominant fighter, but George Kambosos Jr has long been above the level of opponent he is facing as a late replacement and that should show up.
An undercard with local, developing talent and some leading female fighters should make for a decent show for those attending, but the sole selection will be from the main event.
You have to imagine Skye Nicolson and Cherneka Johnson are both able to defend their World Titles- the former is likely to be comfortable, while Johnson may just do a little more to edge Nina Hughes for a second time. Out of the two, Cherneka Johnson is the more vulnerable, but Nina Hughes may have to do a bit more to rip the titles from the Champion after a controversial defeat when the two met previously.
MY PICKS: Sebastian Fundora to Win Between 1-6 @ 4.33 Paddy Power (1 Unit)
Jesus Alejandro Ramos Jr to Win Between 6-10 @ 2.00 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
George Kambosos Jr to Win Between 1-6 @ 3.40 Paddy Power (1 Unit)
Boxing 2025: 11-30, - 16.26 Units (50 Units Staked, - 32.52% Yield)
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