Sherdog Boxing: The Weekly Wrap

Top Rank Looking at Amir Khan-Terence Crawford rather Than Collazo-Crawford

Bob Arum must have heard from boxing fans or ESPN executives about how little excitement they could generate for a Luis Collazo-Terence Crawford matchup, because this week they began talking about Amir Khan fighting Crawford in Madison Square Garden on Mar. 23 instead. This would be a huge improvement both competitively and financially, as Khan is a far better fighter and a far bigger name than Collazo ever was. “Bud” would still be a huge favorite, and because of Amir Khan’s glass chin would likely knock out the Brit sooner or later, but Amir Khan’s hand speed will -- and has -- given everybody he’s faced fits at some point, and we haven’t seen anybody give Crawford issues since the first couple of rounds with Yuriorkis Gamboa. Let’s hope it happens.

IBHOF Adds Curry, Jackson, McGirt (as Fighter), Demarco and Atlas (as Broadcaster)

The International Boxing Hall of Fame announced its 2018 class, which featured Julian “The Hawk” Jackson, the middleweight from the US Virgin Islands who is considered one of the hardest punchers of all time, Donald “The Lonestar Cobra” Curry, the former welterweight who beat Marlon Starling twice, Buddy McGirt -- who was elected as a 73-6 fighter, not as a trainer -- Toney Demarco, the Italian fighter from Boston best known for his battles with Carmen Basilio, and Teddy Atlas, for his work as a broadcaster, not as a trainer. Fighters who did not get in include Ivan Calderon, Rafael Marquez, Fernando Vargas and Meldrick Taylor.

Alvarez-Kovalev 2 Announced For Feb. 2 in Frisco, Texas

After getting knocked out by Eleider “Storm” Alvarez, Sergey Kovalev has accepted the rematch on Feb. 2 in Frisco, Texas. While many think that Kovalev has lost something in being stopped by both Ward and Alvarez, Kovalev’s promoter Kathy Duva said the problem was that he did not adapt his training techniques to the reality of being 35 years old. She believes that Kovalev switching trainers to Buddy McGirt will remedy this situation, and compared Kovalev to Evander Holyfield, who had (okay) success at an advanced age. Punching power always translates into being dangerous at an advanced age, but stamina issues at 35 are more than likely a result of getting old, not of a poor training routine.

Frank Warren Claims Usyk-Joshua on Apr. 13

Take it for what its worth, but Frank Warren, the British promoter who represents a slew of great British fighters but not Anthony Joshua, claims that on Apr 13, Joshua will be fighting undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. Who knows if that’s true or not, but if it is, oooh boy would that be exciting.

It would also allow Joshua and Fury to have their rematch. This week, Wilder watched a replay of the fight and was frustrated by how slow he felt the referee’s count was, how he did not capitalize on the knockdown, and how many rounds he felt he won and was not given credit for on the judges’ scorecards. He noted that he suffered an arm injury during camp that he never brought up to anyone until this week. He also expressed that after weighing only 209 pounds for the fight, he would like to bulk up to around 245 for the rematch. That’s a lot of weight to gain and may point to a lack of confidence in his ability to beat Fury despite his loud bravado.

Demetrius Andrade Arrested for Carrying a Gun without a Permit

Jermain Taylor was not arrested this week, which is newsworthy in itself. Unfortunately, Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade was. Andrade apparently had a Glock 19 in a Louis Vuitton bag in his car, which he said he carries for protection as a result of his celebrity. Andrade does not have a concealed carry permit, something Providence, Rhode Island requires in order to have a gun in your car. Andrade was initially pulled over for blocking traffic with his car while he talked to a friend in another car, then police noticed how nervously he kept peering over at the bag.

Edmond Tarverdyan-Trained Vanes Matirosyan Signs up for “Cage Boxing”

Vanes Matirosyan, the “GGG” knockout victim best known for being trained by former Ronda Rousey trainer Edmond Tarverdyan, has signed up to compete in “Cage Boxing.” Based out of Virginia, International Championship Boxing spent two years designing a cage for their boxing promotion believing that a cage will force more action than a ring, and the man in charge of the promotion, Jack Fulton has also said “The ICB cage doesn't force a boxer or an MMA fighter to make a choice; it offers them flexibility."

Boxing in a cage would let MMA and boxing fights coexist on the same cards far easier, but this idea is incredibly stupid. The cage is not the problem in boxers transitioning to MMA: motivation, money and ground fighting are. And when MMA fans talk about why they prefer their sport to boxing, the cage is not something that gets brought up often. At a time when Fury-Joshua just had the eyes of the world on boxing, arguing that “something about boxing needs to change” is kind of a joke. That being said, this is tailor made for Chris Algieri, the greatest caged boxer of all time.

First Transgender Fighter to Make Debut This Weekend

And finally, this week Pat Manuel, the first “visible transgender man to enter the ring as a boxer” will make his debut when he fights Hugo Aguilar in a four-round bout at super featherweight. While Manuel deserves credit, so does Aguilar. Manuel almost qualified for the Olympics as a female, and it’s unquestionable that tons of guys would never get in the ring out of fear of embarrassment and ridicule or blatant transphobia. Manuel will get all the headlines, but Aguilar deserves a round of applause as well for treating Manuel as an equal both in and out of the ring.