On episode 273 of The Neutral Corner boxing podcast, host Michael Montero gave his thoughts on the biggest news item of the week.

Last Thursday, news broke that Tyson Fury had tested positive for the COVID virus, putting his third fight with Deontay Wilder on hold. Fury dominated Wilder in their rematch last February, dropping him twice before scoring a TKO7 win. However, neither man has fought since. And the soap opera surrounding their contractually-mandated third bout has put the entire heavyweight division on hold. This latest postponement has many fans frustrated.

Originally scheduled for July 24, the Fury-Wilder3 bout will now likely take place in the fourth quarter of the year, possibly on October 9.

REVIEW:

On Saturday July 3, Chris Colbert defeated Tugstsogt Nyambayar in a PBC on Showtime main event from Carson, California. Colbert is now the mandatory challenger for Gervonta Davis, who currently holds the WBA 130-pound title.

On Wednesday July 7, Tim Tszyu scored a TKO3 win over Steve Spark in his native Australia. Tszyu is currently rated No.1 at 154-pounds by the WBO. He should be in line to face the Charlo vs Castaño winner in the near future.

Zurdo Ramirez’s body attack was too much for Sullivan Barrera. Photo by Sye Williams / Golden Boy Promotions

Last Friday July 9, Golden Boy Promotions put on a stacked card in Los Angeles. On the undercard, Seneisa Estrada collected her second world title and Mexican lightweight prospect William Zepeda scored an impressive win. In the co-main, Joseph Diaz Jr pounded out a hard-earned victory against Javier Fortuna in his lightweight debut. And in the main event, Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez dropped faded veteran Sullivan Barrera three times with body shots, earning a KO4 win. After the fight, Zurdo called out WBA 175-pound titleholder Dmitry Bivol.

PREVIEW:

Saturday, July 17, 2021

TGB Promotions, PBC on Showtime

AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas

Jermell Charlo vs Brian Castaño, 12rds, complete 154-pound unification (undisputed)

QUOTES FROM THE CALLERS:

“I like the possibility of a Bivol vs Ramirez fight,” said Danny. “I really want to see Bivol back in the ring. Hopefully that fight gets done because I’d love to see it.”

“Oleksandr Usyk is going to beat Anthony Joshua (in their September 25 fight)”, said Jack. “Usyk definitely has the power to hurt AJ. He hurt Dereck Chisora in the seventh round of their fight last year.”

“At the end of the day, I don’t care how much money the fighters are making,” said Andrew. “I care if they’re entertaining for me to watch. I tend to enjoy Top Rank’s cards because of the matchmaking on their undercards. Even if it’s not two top-tier fighters, they put on entertaining fights.”

“I’m telling you right now, Usyk is going to outbox AJ,” said Thad. “But he’s going to get Golovkin’ed and Kovalev’ed on the scorecards (against Canelo and Andre Ward in Las Vegas). The hometown judges in England will never score against Anthony Joshua for an outside fighter.”

“Josh Taylor should be ranked above Terence Crawford on The Ring’s pound for pound list,” said Chris. “Crawford is mainly ranked because of what he did at 140-pounds. Taylor did the same thing Crawford did, but his complete unification at 140 was a hell of a lot more impressive.”

“I want to know what’s going to happen with the landscape at 154-pounds after the Charlo-Castaño fight,” said Hannibal. “Errol Spence and Danny Garcia have talked about moving up (from welterweight), but could a Charlo vs. Spence fight even happen? They both train at the same gym! Who would Derrick James coach in that fight?”

“I think there should be consistency with The Ring’s ratings,” said Kento from Barbados. “I’ve seen a lot of talk on Twitter about the justification of a No. 1 vs. No. 3 fight for the Ring championship. I think the Ring belt should be on the line only when it’s a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup, no ifs ands or buts.”

TIME STAMPS:

@9:40 News and Notes

@23:30 Fight Review

@36:51 Fight Preview

@49:55 Callers

Michael Montero can be found on social media via @MonteroOnBoxing. His podcast “The Neutral Corner” can be seen every Monday on TheRingDigital YouTube channel, and heard on audio podcast platforms around the world.

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