BoxRec

Bell wants Zepeda-Roach winner after unexpected title shot vs. Mason

Albert Bell didn’t see it coming, but he’s happy it happened.

The 33-year-old lightweight contender was a few weeks away from facing Andy Cruz in an IBF eliminator on July 18. Those plans, however, drastically changed as he’ll now get a crack at the WBO 135-pound strap held by Abdullah Mason on July 4 at Wolfstein Center in Cleveland.

Mason (20-0, 17 KOs), ranked No. 5 by The Ring, was scheduled to take on former world champion Joe Cordina, but the Welshman was denied a visa to enter the United States.

Bell will have to prepare for a stylistically different opponent, but having waited so long for a chance to become a world champion, the Toledo native jumped at the chance to face Mason, the youngest male world champion in boxing, who is 11 years his junior.

“If you know my story, this is the opportunity I've been waiting on,” Bell told The Ring. “To get a direct shot at the belt made too much sense. May the best man win.”

Bell (28-0, 9 KOs) has already been putting in the work during training camp. He'll be in fight shape. He could hardly stop himself from smiling. That grin isn’t solely because of what’s directly in front of him, but also because of what may come in the future.

He doesn’t want to get too ahead of himself, but he wants to face whoever has the WBC lightweight title next. William Zepeda and Lamont Roach will clash for the vacant strap on August 1.

“I feel like both would be tough fights,” Bell said. “I got big goals. All I want is big fights."

Mason vs. Bell will stream worldwide on DAZN and will be televised by TNT in the U.S.

Charles Conwell set for return vs. Paul Kroll on August 1

Charles Conwell is ready to get back in the saddle, 14 months after suffering the first loss of his professional career.

Conwell (21-1, 16 KOs) is set to face Paul Kroll (12-0-2, 8 KOs) on August 1 at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, a source with direct knowledge of the deal told The Ring.

The junior middleweight fight will be featured on the card headlined by a lightweight title doubleheader: Lamont Roach Jr. vs. William Zepeda for the vacant WBC title, and IBF champion Raymond Muratalla making the first defense of his lightweight crown against Robson Conceicao.

Conwell and Kroll are no strangers, as their amateur careers developed along parallel paths.

Conwell was a 2016 United States Olympian at 165 pounds while Kroll was the American 152-pound representative in the 2016 Olympic qualifiers but failed to qualify for the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Conwell also beat Kroll in the 2015 Golden Gloves finals, and they’ve previously sparred each other as well.
“The fight against Paul Kroll was offered, and I said yes,” Conwell told The Ring.

“I’m ready to get back into the ring. I’ve been locked in and ready. I’ve been training since March, and am ready to show everyone a new and improved version of myself.”

The last time Conwell, a 28-year-old Cleveland native, graced the squared circle was in April last year when he suffered a 12-round split decision loss against Jorge Garcia Perez.

Kroll has also been inactive. The 30-year-old from Philadelphia has fought only once in the last 30 months, a second-round stoppage win against Antoni Armas in March last year.

Roach-Zepeda card adds Gurgen Hovhannisyan-Uila Mau’u

Heavyweight contender Gurgen Hovhannisyan has a new date and a much more serious setting for his next showcase fight.

Armenia's Hovhannisyan (10-0, 9 KOs) will face New Zealand's Uila Mau’u (10-0, 9 KOs) on August 1 at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, a source with direct knowledge of the deal told The Ring.

The heavyweight fight was originally scheduled for the ill-fated and since-scrapped July 11 show in San Francisco, which was promising to shatter outdoor attendance records by surpassing 132,000.

Hovhannisyan-Mau’u will now have a solidified slot on the undercard of the lightweight title doubleheader between Lamont Roach and William Zepeda for the vacant WBC title, and IBF champion Raymond Muratalla’s title defense against Robson Conceicao. The show is presented by Golden Boy and Premier Boxing Champions and will broadcast on DAZN and TNT as part of the second installment of "The Fight."

"Big Gug" Hovhannisyan, ranked No. 8 by the WBA, last fought in March and scored a fifth-round stoppage win against Cesar Navarro. Hovhannisyan is coached by Hall of Fame trainer Joe Goossen and tied to Al Haymon's PBC.

"Mayhem" Mau’u will mark the first unbeaten that Hovhannisyan, 28, has faced in his five-year career. Mau’u, 34, has not fought outside of the New Zealand boxing circuit in his three-year career.

Surprisingly good undercard for golden boy standards