While next to no actual fights have been happening at the start of 2018, they are getting signed for the first half of the year at least. This time we have a finalization and broadcast details of the crossroads fight between Devon Alexander and Victor Ortiz, a nice co-feature for it, an update on the increasingly inevitable heavyweight three belt clash between Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker, and more.
- The previously discussed fight between former titleholders Devon Alexander (27-4, 14 KOs) and Victor Ortiz (32-6-2, 25 KOs) is officially a go for February 17th. It will be a PBC on FOX card and air in the evening before that night’s PBC on Showtime card headlined by Danny Garcia and Brandon Rios. This is a well matched fight, I guess, but it is hard to get excited about these two as a network television main event in 2018.
- The evening show also has a co-main event in PBC super middleweight prospect Caleb Plant (16-0, 10 KOs) in against Rogelio ‘Porky’ Medina (38-8, 32 KOs). Porky may have gotten smashed by David Benavidez, but he is a good fighter with power and heart. We will learn a lot about “Sweet Hands” Plant here. I like it.
- March 1st’s bantamweight title rematch between Luis Nery and Shinsuke Yamanaka for the top of the division has another world title fight as its co-main event. Ryosuke Iwasa (24-2, 16 KOs) will be making the first defense of his IBF super bantamweight title against little know Ernesto Saulong (21-2-1, 8 KOs) of the Phillipines. I have no idea what the Filipino has done to earn a title shot exactly, but here he is.
- Anthony Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs) and Joseph Parker Joseph Parker (24-0, 18 KOs) are still on course to unify three of the heavyweight titles come March 31st. Reportedly Parker’s team is in the process of flying into the United Kingdom to finalize and announce the deal this week. This is obviously a huge, huge fight and I will make sure to give it its own article when it is official.
- Finally, not a booking really, but the WBC has ordered a junior middleweight title eliminator between Vanes Martirosyan (36-3-1, 21 KOs) and Maciej Sulecki (26-0, 10 KOs). The winner gets Jermell Charlo. As a fight, this is nothing to have a big reaction to either way. It’s a competitive matchup between two guys I don’t think anyone really has any particularly strong feelings on.
