Notes: Lee eyes fall return and big names

Thursday, June 23, 2016

i Andy Lee hasn’t fought since December, but the former middleweight titlist is ready to get back in the ring this fall. Chris Farina/Top Rank

A few notes from around the boxing world:

  • Former middleweight world titleholder Andy Lee (34-3-1, 24 KOs) told ESPN.com he hopes to return to the ring this fall. “I haven’t anything in the works at the moment but I hope to return in the fall,” he said. “I took a little time off as the last three years have been intense. Now I’m looking forward to returning to the ring refreshed. I’ve kept ticking over in the gym and when I return I’d like to fight [secondary titleholder] Danny Jacobs or have a rematch with [titleholder Billy Joe] Saunders. My ultimate goal is to regain a title and challenge [Gennady Golovkin].” In December, Lee, of Ireland, got knocked down twice in the third round by Saunders and lost his title by majority decision. In 2014, Lee, 32, was scheduled to challenge Golovkin for his title but when Golovkin’s father died — just as the deal was being wrapped up — the fight was canceled while Golovkin returned home to Kazakhstan for his father’s funeral and to be with his family.
  • The date is set for the fight between cruiserweight world titleholder Krzysztof Glowacki and mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk. There had been two options, but it will take place Sept. 17 at Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland, organizers announced on Wednesday. The sides made a deal two weeks ago to avoid a purse bid for the fight, which shapes up as an action-packed match. The 29-year-old Glowacki (26-0, 16 KOs), of Poland, who won the belt in dramatic comeback fashion by knocking out long-reigning titleholder Marco Huck in the 11th round last August, will be making his second defense. Usyk (9-0, 9 KOs), 29, who won the 2012 Olympic heavyweight gold medal for Ukraine, has moved quickly as a professional but will be taking a big step up in competition against Glowacki.
  • All-Star Boxing promoter Tuto Zabala announced that he has signed featherweight Matias Adrian Rueda (26-0, 23 KOs), of Argentina, to a promotional agreement. The 28-year-old is scheduled to face Mexico’s Oscar Valdez (19-0, 17 KOs) for a vacant world title July 23 (HBO PPV) on the Terence Crawford-Viktor Postol card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. “I’m thrilled to have signed with Tuto’s company,” Rueda said. “[Zabala and] Mario Margossian of Argentina Boxing Promotions will take my career to another level in the United States.” Said Zabala: “We had Matias on a ‘Boxeo Telemundo’ show last October and he looked impressive. Working with him and longtime friend Mario Margossian made it a no-brainer. He will be the next world champion of Argentina.”

www.espn.com.au/blog/dan-rafael/post/_/id/16209/notes-andy-lee-eyes-fall-return-and-big-names

|||||||||||