BoxRec

Makabu-Mchunu Rematch on January 29, King Says Canelo Will Be Ringside

Mexican superstar Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will be a very interested observer, because Hall of Fame promoter Don King has announced the details for the world title rematch between WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu and the number one challenger, WBC silver champion Thabiso Mchunu.

King plans to stage the fight in his home state of Ohio on Saturday, Jan. 29.

The card will take place at the W.D. Packard Music Hall in Warren, OH.

At the recent World Boxing Council convention in Mexico, Canelo - who is currently the undisputed champion at super middleweight - received approval to make a tremendous jump in weight to face Makabu for the cruiserweight belt.

Canelo wants to fight for the cruiserweight title in the month of May.

King, who represents Makabu, came to an agreement with Mchunu’s representatives on the championship fight, and the winner will advance to fight Canelo.

According to King, Canelo will be ringside for the fight.

“This is going to be one action packed WBC world championship fight with a very big fight on the horizon for the winner,” said King.

“They are both warriors and this war for the recognition of the homeless will start the new year in grand style, recognizing the homeless, and helping others.”

Makabu (28-2 with 25 KOs) is from the Democratic Republic of The Congo, defended his championship in his hometown of Kinshasa as he stopped Nigeria’s Olanrewaju Durodola with two solid left hooks in the seventh round last December.

Makabu, who has won his last nine decisions, won the vacant title on Jan. 31, 2020 in winning a unanimous decision against Michael Cieslak.

Thabiso (23-5, 13 KOs), who hails from South Africa and is nicknamed “The Rock”, became the WBC silver titlist with a unanimous decision over Denis Lebedev on Dec. 21, 2019. He last defended his title and scored another unanimous victory over Evgeny Tishchenko on March 27, 2021. Thabiso has won his last four fights.

Also on the card, a ten round heavyweight sensational attraction will pit undefeated Jonathan Guidry (18-0-2, 10 KOs) of Dulac, Louisiana risking his perfect record against Alonzo Butler (34-3-2, 25 KOs) of Chattanooga, TN.

well, all the talk of canelo-makabu, but this is a tough fight for makabu. mchunu was ahead on the cards in their first fight and rocked makabu bad early on

Surely this is don king shenanigans. You got a guy that had the best opportunity in boxing coming in may, and you put him in a tough fight January? Madness. I’d say there is a lass than 20% chance this fight happens.

Agree, this is crazy news.

Mchunu is still a threat and this can kind of mess up plans for Reynoso and Nelo.

Isn’t this a mandatory?

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑27 Nov 2021, 19:24 Isn’t this a mandatory?

Mabey but your not going to tell me that WBC wouldent allow him to delay the mandatory and fight canelo.... few % on 40 million instead of few % of 1 million.....

It doesn't matter who wins this bc Canelo will fight the winner.

and either one will give him the well deserved brutal wake up call.

most probably so, if they fight for the 200 belt at frikkin 200.

gregregegg wrote: ↑27 Nov 2021, 17:28 Surely this is don king shenanigans. You got a guy that had the best opportunity in boxing coming in may, and you put him in a tough fight January? Madness. I’d say there is a lass than 20% chance this fight happens.

What is Don King doing these days, he is quiet for months / years but he only now seems to pop up not to deliberately rob his fighters (as he used to) but now he wants to seemingly sabotage them AND dkp.

Now all of his justified critics aside, there is a part of me that finds this sad that don king was once the guy who put on some of the greatest events.

WBC Prez: Makabu-Mchunu Winner Will Go Against Canelo

World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman indicates that Mexican superstar Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will face the winner of the upcoming rematch between WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu and mandatory challenger Thabiso Mchunu.

At last month's WBC convention in Mexico, Canelo made an official request - which the sanctioning body approved - to fight for the WBC cruiserweight title.

At the moment Canelo is the undisputed world champion at super middleweight, which has a weight limit of 168-pounds.

Canelo's leap will be tremendous, as the cruiserweight limit is 200-pounds.

The Mexican fighter has captured world titles at 154, 160, 168 and 175-pounds.

It was believed that Canelo would fight Makabu for the cruiserweight belt on Cinco De Mayo weekend in May.

But, Mchunu would not step aside from his mandatory shot - so he will fight Makabu on January 29th at the Packard Music Hall in Warren, Ohio.

Promoter Don King, who will stage the Makabu-Mchunu event, expects Canelo to be ringside for the fight.

Sulaiman likes the idea of the rematch, because it will build the names of both fighters for a potential clash with Canelo in the United States.

“The winner of Makabu vs. Mchunu will go against against Canelo. There are many fights that are already in the pipeline and that is one of them. It is important to make Makabu and Mchunu known, known to the international boxing community at these levels. They are known in Africa and Russia, but we have to see them on a card and thus heat up a fight [with Canelo]," Sulaiman said.

"The WBC will always support Canelo, he is our Franchise Champion, which allows him to seek any type of challenge and not hindering him is a virtue with that designation. [As Franchise Champion] he has an open path to seek alternative paths and we are going to support him unconditionally."

Man how much step aside did Mchunu have to turn down for this fight?

I guess he figures that hitting the Canelottery himself is worth taking a shot at beating Makabu.

bobcatbox wrote: ↑02 Dec 2021, 16:40 Man how much step aside did Mchunu have to turn down for this fight?

I guess he figures that hitting the Canelottery himself is worth taking a shot at beating Makabu.

What step aside?

He’s fighting him next?

presumably step aside to let makabu fight canelo straight away instead. but mchunu was very close to beating makabu in their first fight and it wouldnt be a shock if he did it here. like mentioned, probably think its worth trying to win this and get a canelo fight himself

If Thabiso Mchunu upsets Ilunga Makabu, expect Canelo to abandon trying to capture the WBC cruiserweight title, and instead focus on the 175lbs division.

Thabiso Mchunu‘s resume is fairly poor, to the point he’s won’t considered a commercially viable opponent for Canelo (i.e. meaningless win providing negligible interest and prestige).

Team Canelo will be hoping Ilunga Makabu wins this one.

mchunu's resume wont really be any worse than makabu's. most ppl have no idea of who makabu has beat either, merely that he's a cruiserweight champion. if they know any result of makabu's it's probably him being brutaally ktfo by bellew

mchunu and makabu would be pretty interchangeable as cruiser champs i think. i hope that canelo prefers to unify at 175 instead though, regardless of who has the wbc cruiser title

either way, unify at 175 or fight makabu-mchunu winner, i think they are both decent enough fights though i do prefer 175

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑28 Dec 2021, 20:55 mchunu's resume wont really be any worse than makabu's. most ppl have no idea of who makabu has beat either, merely that he's a cruiserweight champion. if they know any result of makabu's it's probably him being brutaally ktfo by bellew

mchunu and makabu would be pretty interchangeable as cruiser champs i think. i hope that canelo prefers to unify at 175 instead though, regardless of who has the wbc cruiser title

either way, unify at 175 or fight makabu-mchunu winner, i think they are both decent enough fights though i do prefer 175

I think we're essentially arguing about which turd smells the worst... and in my mind, Makabu's are less pungent than Mchunu's.

I feel Makabu's bowel movements are sufficiently inoffensive, to the point they may be palatable to the mainstream masses, whereas Mchunu’s ṡḣḭṫṡ are far too disgraceful to comprehend.

So in my mind, Team Canelo would rather face anyone than Mchunu.

Enlightened-One wrote: ↑28 Dec 2021, 21:53

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑28 Dec 2021, 20:55 mchunu's resume wont really be any worse than makabu's. most ppl have no idea of who makabu has beat either, merely that he's a cruiserweight champion. if they know any result of makabu's it's probably him being brutaally ktfo by bellew

mchunu and makabu would be pretty interchangeable as cruiser champs i think. i hope that canelo prefers to unify at 175 instead though, regardless of who has the wbc cruiser title

either way, unify at 175 or fight makabu-mchunu winner, i think they are both decent enough fights though i do prefer 175

I think we're essentially arguing about which turd smells the worst... and in my mind, Makabu's are less pungent than Mchunu's.

I feel Makabu's bowel movements are sufficiently inoffensive, to the point they may be palatable to the mainstream masses, whereas Mchunu’s ṡḣḭṫṡ are far too disgraceful to comprehend.

So in my mind, Team Canelo would rather face anyone than Mchunu.

They are 100% interchangeable profile wise (zero). The belt is the profile here. I dont know what match up team canelo think is more winnable but id say thats what determines there preference on a winner.

that's my view too, really no one knows anything about either aside from the most hardcore of the hard (guys like us), they would just both be dudes with cruiser belts for canelo and the vast majority of ppl out there. the belt in another division is the sell point. 100 percent interchangable i think is right

hell, makabu, mchunu....these mo fos even sound alike

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑28 Dec 2021, 22:35 that's my view too, really no one knows anything about either aside from the most hardcore of the hard (guys like us), they would just both be dudes with cruiser belts for canelo and the vast majority of ppl out there. the belt in another division is the sell point. 100 percent interchangable i think is right

hell, makabu, mchunu....these mo fos even sound alike

I don't know, Sky Sports did the hard sell on Makabu being the massive favourite over Bellew.

And despite that loss, Makabu has already KO'd Mchunu and subsequently captured and successully defended the WBC cruiserweight title.

Whereas, Mchunu's record is deeply unimpressive.

I think you're trying to polish a turd.

He's not a rubbish fighter, but Mchunu's record is poor compared to Makabu's.

Enlightened-One wrote: ↑28 Dec 2021, 22:59

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑28 Dec 2021, 22:35 that's my view too, really no one knows anything about either aside from the most hardcore of the hard (guys like us), they would just both be dudes with cruiser belts for canelo and the vast majority of ppl out there. the belt in another division is the sell point. 100 percent interchangable i think is right

hell, makabu, mchunu....these mo fos even sound alike

I don't know, Sky Sports did the hard sell on Makabu being the massive favourite over Bellew.

And despite that loss, Makabu has already KO'd Mchunu and subsequently captured and successully defended the WBC cruiserweight title.

Whereas, Mchunu's record is deeply unimpressive.

I think you're trying to polish a turd.

He's not a rubbish fighter, but Mchunu's record is poor compared to Makabu's.

Both 6 foot, southafrican southpaws, cruiserweights, whos names are basicaly the same. Their mums probably get them mixed up, let alone the casuals you are aiming for when picking a canelo opponent....(boxing fans are in, your trying to get the PPV from 700,000 buys to over a million, thats fishing in the casual pond).

Enlightened-One wrote: ↑28 Dec 2021, 22:59

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑28 Dec 2021, 22:35 that's my view too, really no one knows anything about either aside from the most hardcore of the hard (guys like us), they would just both be dudes with cruiser belts for canelo and the vast majority of ppl out there. the belt in another division is the sell point. 100 percent interchangable i think is right

hell, makabu, mchunu....these mo fos even sound alike

I don't know, Sky Sports did the hard sell on Makabu being the massive favourite over Bellew.

And despite that loss, Makabu has already KO'd Mchunu and subsequently captured and successully defended the WBC cruiserweight title.

Whereas, Mchunu's record is deeply unimpressive.

I think you're trying to polish a turd.

He's not a rubbish fighter, but Mchunu's record is poor compared to Makabu's.

nah, no turd being polished, rather 2 turds just being about the same level of stank (well tbf neither are bad fighters). their records are very similar, makabu's notable edge is that he beat mchunu (while down on the cards with 2 rounds left). if mchunu beats makabu it evens that out

i think its all about canelo winning a title in another division, who has the belt means little, and makabu and mchunu are pretty similar anyway. they look the same, sound the same, and are of similar level.

id think the champ being makabu or mchunu would make virtually no difference to how well the fight is received or its commercial success. its all about dat cruiser belt

There is not much splitting the two. Mchunu has couple of more losses. He also has couple of good wins. I was pretty impressed by him beating Chambers. I though Eddy would win that one for sure. He also has wins over peak Durodola Tischenko and old Lebedev.

Makabu has Cieslak and Kydryashov. Nothing else really stands out. Their previous fight is pretty much what separates the two.

I think Mchunu is the better boxer but Makabu has more natural gifts like speed and power.

I am looking forward to this match. Solid cruiser championship fight.

I don't think Canelo really cares who wins this. Hes after the belt. Mchunu might be the easier style matchup for him.

Does Canelo really need a commercially viable opponent? Avni Yildirim case and point.

Press Release

Hall of Fame promoter Don King is coming home to Warren, Ohio to stage a championship night of boxing on Saturday, Jan. 29.

Tickets for the night of boxing set for the W.D. Packard Music Hall in Warren, OH are on sale at Ticketmaster or the W.D. Packard Music Hall. The tickets will be priced at $550, $350, $250, $175 and $80.

The main event will pit WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Junior Makabu (28-2 with 25 KOs) and the number one challenger, WBC Silver champion Thabiso Mchunu (23-5, 13 KOs), in a mandatory rematch.

The winner is hopeful of the opportunity to defend the title against Mexican superstar Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in May. Back in November, Canelo, who is currently the undisputed champion at super middleweight, made an official request to the World Boxing Council to secure approval to fight for the WBC title at cruiserweight.

In addition to Makabu-Mchunu, King has been busy working the phones to put together other fights for the fight,.

King has now announced that WBA "regular" heavyweight champion Trevor Bryan (21-0, 15 KOs) will be featured in a co-main event special attraction.

Two other championship fights will showcase the NABA Cruiserweight title as Johnnie Langston (9-3, 3 KOs) of Sarasota, FL will square off against Nick Kisner (22-5-1, 6 KOs) of Baltimore, MD.

The NABA Middleweight Championship will be up for grabs as local product Michael Moore (18-3, 8 KOs) of Cleveland, OH will meet Anthony Lenk (17-7, 7 KOs) of Niagara Falls, NY.

King hopes to add more fights to the card in the coming days.