Ring Magazine Awards Ceremony, Goodman Pulls Out of Inoue Title Fight Again, Angelo Leo in Japan, Spence-Fundora Scrapped, Haney Return Confirmed?

The 2024-2025 Edition of the Ring Magazine Awards, hosted by boxing's newest rebel Turki Al-Al-Sheikh, has generated quite the buzz on social media platforms. The event was held at The Old Royal Naval College in London, and the who's who from just about every division attended. Lennox Lewis, Devin Haney, Teofimo Lopez, Israil Madrimov, Roberto Duran, Amir Khan, Lawrence Okolie, Ray Ford, Gabriela Fundora, Canelo Alvarez, Chris Eubank Jr., Dmitry Bivol, Conor Benn, and many more were all present and gave interviews on their current situations.

One of the trending stories from the event was the appearance of the disgraced Ryan Garcia, who is still serving out a competition ban. This situation stems from his fight with Devin Haney on April 20th, 2024. After testing positive for ostarine, Garcia's win over Haney was overturned to a no-contest. The New York State Athletic Commission's findings resulted in a ban, followed by the WBC, as well as the NYSAC, banning him and revoking his status in their WBC Clean Athlete program.

Despite his controversial status in the sport, Garcia was all teeth and palms with the upper echelon of the industry- with the exception of the Haneys, naturally. A highlight for Garcia was his chance encounter with the number two ranked WBA world challenger at welterweight, Conor Benn. Benn has found himself between a rock and a hard place as of late, due to his status in the welterweight division as well as a freshly-announced clash with IBO Middleweight World Champion Chris Eubank Jr.

As Benn was addressing the media, Garcia happened to be passing by and initiated a confrontation between himself and Benn. "How does that go? That left hook won't work on me," Benn started as Garcia walked up and placed his arm around him. "You know it. Stop talking sh*t in my city." Garcia laughed, smiling as he quipped back at Benn. He removed his arm and looked Benn directly in the eyes, raising his chin. "I'm serious. Come on now. Your city?" Benn challenged him directly with more aggression. "Yeah, my city." The cameras gathered quickly as the two men escalated beyond what was supposed to be a friendly meeting. "You really don't think I'm gonna hit you with that left hook?" Off camera, Benn and Garcia were shaking hands.

Quickly, Benn yanked Garcia back and forth with their hands still clasped together. People thought that Benn had shoved Garcia, which led to security appearing behind both men. "I've dropped many fighters like you with that left hook," Garcia continued despite the anger oozing from Benn. His expression and tone changed yet again, but his volume remained the same. "Go on, go for it. Go on." Benn raised his right hand and Garcia's personal security detail stepped in front of Benn, placing his hand on his arm. Benn quickly pulled his arm back. "Get your hand off me," the 29-year-old Greenwich native barked. The security detail quickly released Benn and ushered Garcia away. As Garcia dashed up the stairs the microphones caught him jokingly shouting, "Lovely chat, Conor!" When asked after the Ring Magazine Awards Ceremony about their static-charged encounter, Garcia had much to say. "It's classic Conor Benn," Garcia flashed his typical smile to the cameras. "It was fun. I think I knock him out." Again, Garcia was quickly whisked away, this time into a Cadillac. Aside from Conor Benn and Ryan Garcia's run-in, fighters such as Shakur Stevenson and Teofimo Lopez who are in the immediate weight vicinity offered comments on their contemporaries. The awards show was truly a spectacle, bringing fighters from multiple eras and multiple countries worldwide together. The results for the 2024 Ring Magazine Awards were as follows -

Fighter of the Year: Oleksandr Usyk

Female Fighter of the Year: Gabriela Fundora

Fight of the Year: Ray Ford KO 12 Otabek Kholmatov

Event of the Year: Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury I

Trainer of the Year: Robert Garcia

Prospect of the Year: Moses Itauma

Round of the Year: Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury (Round 9)

Upset of the Year: Bruno Surace KO 6 Jaime Munguia 

Comeback of the Year: Billy Dib

Knockout of the Year: Daniel Dubois KO 5 Anthony Joshua

Lifetime Achievement: Don King

Congratulations to everyone who won an award on the night. This year is sure to bring many more exciting encounters in the theater of truth.

[Angelo Leo Returns vs. Tomoki Kameda On May 24th!]

The newest IBF Featherweight World Champion, Angelo Leo, has booked himself a ticket to Japan. The Mexican fighter was last active on a Top Rank card featuring himself and Luis “Venado” Lopez. Lopez, known for his hands-down unorthodox fighting style, was brutally knocked out by Leo in a clash for his IBF title.

The finish occurred in the ninth round after Lopez threw a jab from the left while his rear hand was low. After Leo blocked the shot with his right hand, he threw a brilliant catch-and-counter left hook that separated Lopez's consciousness from his body. Leo's knockout of Lopez earned 2024 Knockout of the Year honors from ESPN and Forbes.

The spine-chilling knockout caused Lopez to fall near-lifelessly, bouncing his head against the canvas twice. Many fans feared for Lopez's health after he was knocked out, but after a reassuring message on Instagram, he dispelled rumors of any cataclysmic injury. Having previously held the WBO belt at 122lbs, Leo's career nearly unraveled after defeat to Stephen Fulton in 2021, with just one bout in the following 34 months. However, with the help of ProBoxTV, Leo rebuilt his career at 126lbs. Leo's next opponent, Tomoki Kameda (42-4, 23 KOs) is riding a two-fight winning streak. He is looking for a massive upset in his home country, effectively dethroning the champion and keeping the belts in his nation all in one night.

In his previous bout, Osaka’s 33-year-old took a split decision against Lerato Dlamini. Last March, the former WBO bantamweight champion stopped Kevin Villanueva in five rounds.

A reported chief support fight for this card is a second world title fight. This expected to be a rematch between Melvin Jerusalem and Yudai Shigeoka. Jerusalem defeated Shigeoka by split decision in March 2024. With the victory, the rough and tumble 30-year-old Filipino became a two-time world champion, as well as the new WBC minimumweight titleholder. Jerusalem (23-3, 12 KOs) made the first successful defense of 105 lb world title by unanimous decision against Luis Castillo. Japanese 27-year-old former champion Shigeoka (9-1, 5 KOs) bounced back from his loss to Jerusalem with a win by unanimous decision against Samuel Salva last August.

[Errol Spence Jr. vs. Sebastian Fundora Canceled!]

The Errol Spence-Sebastian Fundora clash for the WBO-WBC Super Welterweight World Championships has been rumored to be scrapped. Two weeks ago, the WBO's newest president, Gustavo Olivieri, shut down the sanctioning of the match. This was a massive blow to the fight happening and angered many boxing fans.

This is because the setup for the match was highly supported. Another reason for fan disapproval is that Spence would be an excellent name on Fundora's resume, considering Spence may be coming down to his final years in the sport. Spence has only lost once, a TKO finish at the hands of pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford.

Some fans, influencers, and longtime media outlets were comfortable with the decision. People such as Kevin Iole feel that Spence does not deserve the title shot because he lost his last world championship opportunity, and has not been active. The WBO reasons that Errol Spence has not competed at 154 lbs, is not ranked at 154 lbs, and DQ w/ Damani, as it stands, does not agree with the WBO's decision, or support it.

This is because of the highly hypocritical behavior of the WBO. Currently, talks have increased between all parties involved for a fight between Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez for the potentially once-again Undisputed Super-Middleweight World Championship. Even if Alvarez doesn't manage to regain the IBF title from William Scull before the fight happens, the WBO and two other sanctioning bodies would be involved.

Terence Crawford will not be ranked at 168 lbs, nor has he fought there in the past. How can the WBO willfully sanction Crawford vs. Canelo, but deny Errol Spence and Sebastian Fundora the opportunity to fight with their title on the line? If the fight between Canelo and Crawford does get made, this will be a major example of the hypocrisy of sanctioning bodies in the sport. As a sanctioning body, you cannot pick and choose favorites, but the potential Crawford-Canelo clash later this year would be exactly that on the WBO's part.

In the meantime, Fundora has been getting closer to a new fight with a new opponent. Fundora is finalizing a fight against 5th-ranked world contender Chordale Booker for March on PBC on Prime Video in Las Vegas. Fundora has been out of the ring for 10 months, coming off an injury, and needs to get active. Booker is a good tune-up fight due to his status in the division. After losing by devastating knockout to Austin "Ammo" Williams, Booker strung together six wins to get himself back into the world-level picture. Any other fighter aside from Booker in the top 10 would have been dangerous to fight after a long layoff. Xander Zayas and Charles Conwell are two names that come to mind. Before Fundora potentially unifies his belts with Terence Crawford's, this fight with Booker will help him warm up.

[Sam Goodman Pulls Out of Naoya Inoue Title Fight, Ye Joon Kim Set to Fight Instead on January 24th!]

According to Sam Goodman's promoter, No Limit, Goodman had a recurrence of an eyebrow cut he suffered last month in sparring that led to the initial Dec. 24 bout being postponed to January 24th in Tokyo. Goodman (19-0, 8 KOs) needed four stitches to close the first cut he had over his left eye. After yet another cut during sparring, the 26-year-old world-title hopeful now will need plastic surgery that will sideline him for approximately six months, Australian news sources reported. This is the second time in 30 days that Goodman has pulled out of a fight with Inoue, making his future at the world championship circuit uncertain.

The responsibility has now been charged to Ye Joon Kim, a scrappy challenger with a lower world ranking in the super-bantamweight division than Goodman. The South Korean is currently placed at 57th, according to BoxRec. Kim (21-2-2, 13 KOs) will challenge for a world title for the first time in his 12-year career, and he'll do it against one of the sport's pound-for-pound greats on less than two weeks' notice. Hopefully, Kim has been in the gym while waiting for his next fight. This one will be his biggest.

Kim, 32, has won two fights since a shocking decision defeat to a Seattle, Washington-based Rob Diezel. His most recent victory was a stoppage win over Rakesh Lohchab in May of last year.

That same month, Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) knocked out Luis Nery with 50,000-plus in attendance at a sold-out Tokyo Dome. In September, Inoue retained his four 122-pound belts with a seventh-round TKO of TJ Doheny. Inoue, currently listed as the third pound-for-pound boxer according to BoxRec, is already an all-time great, now a four-division champion who has dominated every weight class in which he has reigned. Coming in as a late replacement for Goodman, Kim will need to make a strong impression on the fans and stand his ground when it counts.

Essentially, he will have to take it to "The Monster." The key could be a heavy-handed power jab, resorting to the clinch when Inoue storms him with combinations, and boxing compactly inside. Whatever it takes, Kim must earn Inoue’s respect to avoid an early finish. Inoue’s sixth-round knockout against Luis Nery showed that even he is not an infallible fighter.

He was dropped against Nery and fought his way back to an impressive win, but the knockdown displayed that a weakness of Inoue's is punching between his punches. Inoue was dropped while he was throwing a hook to the body, with Nery throwing a brilliant left hook over the top. Kim would be wise to take advantage of the gaps in Inoue's defense while he is throwing shots with ill intentions. He will need to retain his composure in the face of such a dangerous opponent. For Inoue, this will be his third defense of the Undisputed Super Bantamweight World Championship. The event will be streamed live on ESPN+ this Friday at 4:15 a.m. ET/1:15 a.m. PT from Ariake Arena, Koto-Ku, in Tokyo, Japan.

[Haney to Return on Turki Al-Al-Sheikh/The Ring Card!]

Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia are temporarily going down separate routes, but will be sharing the same card. Suppose the rumors swirling around social media are true. In that case, Haney will be facing former 140-lb standout Jose Ramirez, while Ryan Garcia will be facing either former WBA Super Lightweight Champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero, or Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz.

Cruz, also sharing the title of former WBA Super-Lightweight Champion with Romero, has been looking for a rematch with Rayo Valenzuela. Unfortunately, this has not come to pass since dropping his title to Valenzuela in his first world title defense. Romero, who ironically dropped the same belt to Cruz, is looking for fights to help reestablish himself as a credible challenger for a world title.

Fighting Ryan Garcia, who is currently unranked at 140 and 147 lbs, would help in terms of stock and competition, but not very much in rank. This could be alleviated by Turki Al-Al Sheikh, the new owner of The Ring. His rankings could be shifted by any of these potential fights, which could force the hand of world champions in the weight class such as Jarron “Boots” Ennis, or Mario Barrios.

The rumored plan is for these fights to happen in New York City this summer, taking place in the open area of Times Square. If this becomes a reality, it would mark the first outdoor fight in New York City in many years. The proposed plan is for Garcia and Haney to advance upon victory to a rematch in the welterweight division, generating more millions than their first encounter.

The stipulations for this were outlined via Mike Coppinger. First, Garcia would have to enroll in 24/7-365 drug testing, operated by the WBC, VADA, or another entity. Second, the match will occur at a contractual weight of 147 lbs. Third and finally, the lawsuit filed by the Haney team would need to be paused or settled. The final stipulation is what made headlines just a few days ago, as the news broke that representatives of Devin Haney had placed a 90-day pause on their lawsuit against Ryan Garcia and Golden Boy Promotions.

This 90-day pause is expected to give both teams more time to negotiate while alleviating the pressure that Garcia and Golden Boy were feeling during the active phase of the suit. Another interesting facet of the potential rematch between Haney and Garcia is the possibility of a third fight happening in the contract.

Haney's opponent Ramirez last fought in November in Saudi Arabia when he suffered the second loss of his career, falling by unanimous decision to Arnold Barboza in a 10-round fight. Ramirez showed vulnerability to some of Haney's best tools during his fight with Barboza, so he will need to spend plenty of time in the gym with the right sparring partners to prepare.

Rounding out the card is an IBF World Heavyweight Championship Final Eliminator between Martin Bakole (21-1, 16 KO) and Efe Ajagba (20-1, 14 KO). This will be an action-packed fight that will more likely than not end with a brutal knockout. Ajagba hasn't necessarily stood out among the heavyweights in the Top Rank stable, but he’s a big boy with legitimate stopping power. Bakole is no slouch either, in his last performance, he soundly upset rising American heavyweight hopeful Jared Anderson by knockout. In fact, the reason that this fight is happening is because Agit Kabayel and Zhilei Zhang both ducked Bakole when they were mandated by the IBF to fight him. Ajagba is the only man to answer the call without fear, and fans are anxiously waiting to see what the result of their clash will be this May.