David O. Morrell Jr. vs. John Ryder - WBA Ordered (again)

[peter barlow]

Any update on this

[Ruthless-RKO]

Any update on this

I hope so..

Not that I’ve heard yet.

[maverick23]

I don’t think it’ll happen.

Eddie’s talking about Ryder fighting Bivol next.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I don’t think it’ll happen.

Eddie’s talking about Ryder fighting Bivol next.

Like a voluntary then..

They should order Morrell against the regular champion, if there is one.

You know eliminating the meaningless belts.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Morrell-Ryder: WBA Grants Final 10-Day Extension To Reach Deal For Ordered Secondary Title Fight

David Morrell will not be among those who will have to turn in his secondary title.

That said, negotiations for his next ordered fight will have to reach a resolution to avoid that fate.

The reigning WBA “World” Super middleweight titlist has been granted a ten-day extension to work out terms for a title defense versus mandatory challenger John Ryder. The twice-ordered title fight remains in play, though requiring stronger confirmation than has been provided to this point.

Per a WBA ruling Wednesday evening, the two sides will now have until August 28 to present the sanctioning body with a deal in place to avoid a purse bid hearing.

Morrell—who fights under the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) banner—is represented by Warriors Boxing, while Ryder fights for Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.

The fight was initially ordered on January 19, the same day Morrell was elevated from WBA “interim” to “World” titlist. The order also came one month after both posted wins on separate shows last December.

Morrell (5-0, 4 KOs) defeated Mike Gavronski via third-round knockout in a non-title fight last December 26 at Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles. The win came eight days after England’s Ryder (29-5, 16 KOs) scored an eight-round, unanimous decision victory over Mike Guy at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

A deal was believed to have been reached, with industry whispers of a summertime showdown on the horizon. Those plans were stalled, with Morrell permitted to enter a voluntary title defense. It came this past June 27, knocking out Mexico’s Mario Cazares in the first round of their PBC on Fox headliner from The Armory in his adopted hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Two fights prior, Morrell earned the WBA interim super middleweight title following a twelve-round, unanimous decision win over then-unbeaten Lennox Allen. He was then advanced to WBA “World” titlist once the belt became available after its previous claimant, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (56-1-2, 38KOs) soundly outpointed WBA “Super” champ Callum Smith in their title consolidation clash last December 19 in San Antonio, Texas. Alvarez emerged as the unified WBA “Super”/WBC super middleweight titlist following the win.

Guadalajara’s Alvarez has since added the WBO title following an eighth-round injury stoppage of unbeaten Billy Joe Saunders in front of a record-breaking U.S. indoor boxing crowd this past May at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Renewed talks are currently ongoing for a four-belt undisputed championship showdown with IBF titlist Caleb Plant (21-0, 12 KOs), with the two likely to collide in the fourth quarter of 2021 should they come to terms this time around.

Morrell is afforded his secondary title in the meantime, though locked into a mandatory title defense versus Ryder.

Per WBA rule C.13 addressing Bout Limitations, “within sixty (60) days of the expiration of the mandatory defense period, a World Champion may not fight a boxer who is not the Mandatory Contender, or the next highest ranked boxer (if there is no Mandatory Contender), nor may a designated contender fight during the same period for anything other than the championship.

“During the pendency of a required contract negotiation or purse bid period for a championship or eliminator fight, no champion, official contender, or boxer directly affected by the period can sign an agreement for, or participate in, a bout different than the one that is the subject of the negotiation or bid period.”

Given the circumstances, Morrell’s secondary title status remains unaffected by the WBA’s recent efforts to reduce the number of titlists within its organization. A series of title consolidation fights have been ordered in the past two weeks.

The act stems from the controversial August 7 Fox-aired WBA interim welterweight title fight which saw Venezuela’s Gabriel Maestre (4-0, 3 KOs) claim a twelve-round, split decision win over Mykal Fox (22-3, 5 KOs) that had many observers suggesting outright corruption. A rematch has since been ordered, with Maestre stripped of the interim title as to disallow “a champion’s advantage” in the rematch.

Morrell-Ryder was already ordered (twice) before current reform efforts were launched. However, it does apply pressure on both sides to reach a deal to avoid a purse bid hearing, if not the threat of the belt being phased out.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Hearn Could See Jacobs-Ryder Winner Securing Position To Face David Morrell

It has been a long time since Daniel Jacobs boxed in the UK, but an ambition that was formed as a 17-year-old is being fulfilled on Saturday night when he boxes John Ryder at Alexandra Palace in London.

It was December 2004 when Jacobs came to the UK as part of a United States amateur team to face England. He boxed against Martin Murray, who went on to have quite a career himself, winning both bouts, the first at a dinner show in a Hilton on the Edgware Road in London and the second in at the Olympia, an old ballroom in Liverpool, on an event that received huge exposure as it featured Amir Khan’s first bout since picking up a silver medal at the Athens Olympics.

“That was a long time ago,” Jacobs said. “I was a baby.

“My ambition now is to accomplish the goal I always set for myself as a young professional. I remembered the experience as an amateur and I always said I wanted to headline a show, whether it is a title fight or not, here.

“If I win this, I go on to a title fight, so my decision to take this was based on the opportunity to fight in front of some Brits, some amazing fans and an amazing atmosphere.”

Jacobs turned 35 last week, the autumn years for any boxing career, let alone one that saw him boxing for a world title 12 years ago. It would be easy to suggest that the former WBA and IBF middleweight champion was on the downward slope, particularly taking account of his last fight, a split decision over Gabe Rosado after a performance that he admits was “lacklustre”.

But he is putting no deadline on the end of his career and says victory against Ryder, in a WBA super-middleweight title eliminator, would put him on the verge of some big fights again.

“It puts me right back in there for a title fight and to fight some of the best fighters in the 168 division – anyone with a belt,” Jacobs said. “It puts me right back to where I left off.

“Last time was not my best performance, but it wasn’t so much about my opponent as my mental state. Not being able to have my trainers that I grew up with, I wasn’t in the best place for the last couple of years, but we have settled our differences and got back together as one big happy family and I look forward to showing the world where I am at when I am in a good mental state.

“This isn’t an excuse for why I went out there and had a lacklustre performance, but the truth is, I just wasn’t in a good space in my life. Boxing is more mental than it is physical.”

While Canelo Alvarez is holding all the belts at super-middleweight now, there are some exciting matches that could be made for Jacobs, with Demetrius Andrade moving up from middleweight, David Morrell and maybe even a fight against the likes of Jermall Charlo in the future.

“It seems the shift has moved from 160 to 168,” he said. “I’m happy to make that process faster, being that this is my third fight at 168, so I am going to be a bit more acclimatised to this weight class.

“I am making weight easy, I’m stronger, there are no weight restrictions, so I am not going to be drained in the fight like I was in a lot of the title fights I had. So, there are no excuses this time and I am looking forward to capitalising on this opportunity.

“I’m not putting any time limit on my career. I am just taking it one step at a time.”

Promoter Eddie Hearn said taking the fight against a Londoner in London is a sign that Jacobs still has plenty of ambition.

“I would have said I am not sure [that he is still ambitious], but the fact that he is here says a lot,” Hearn said.

“He could have fought in America and he was quite surprised that our opportunities for him were ‘come to London and fight John Ryder’.

“It was a name that had been mentioned to him, but he would have probably thought it would be in Brooklyn. So, this feels a little bit like him saying ‘I’ll come and I show you’. He needs to make a statement. Because the Rosado fight – he got the win but behind closed doors it was just low energy.

“He will get a fight from John too. It was interesting that [Jacobs] said he doesn’t think the loser is done, because I do, and John does. John needs that mentality in this fight, because if he tries to box Daniel Jacobs, he will have absolutely no chance. He has to get up on his chest and work him.”

There is no prospect of Jacobs getting a rematch with Canelo any time soon, but Hearn feels the winner on Saturday will be looking at a fight for the WBA title against Morrell.

“Canelo won’t stay at 168 forever,” Hearn said. “For now, we have David Morrell Jr as the regular champion and Canelo as the super champion. At some point Canelo will move on – that is when the winner of this fight will be in a position to box Morrell to be super champion.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

This is funny, Hearn saying winner could fight Morrell, but the WBA twice ordered Morrell vs. Ryder anyway.

Ryder probably getting paid more to fight Jacobs of course.

[JxhDel.]

Obviously Danny Jacobs has to fit into this, given the magnitude of his status.