Zhang targets AJ while Pacquiao eyes Mayweather: Five Boxing Stories You Might Have Missed

Clear out the confetti and bin the Christmas tree, because big time boxing is on its way back. While Saudi Arabia’s Day of Reckoning show made sure pugilistic endeavours were never far from our minds over the holidays, now the rest of the boxing world is awaking from its hangover.

Despite a brief respite from major fights, the sport has provided no end of stories for fans to chew over. Here are five that you might have missed while you were devouring turkey leftover sandwiches and talking to relatives you hope not to see for another 12 months.

WBA Ranking Madness (Again)

The sanctioning body that brought you the idiotic ‘regular’ championship and the unwanted super cruiserweight division have done it again. The World Boxing Association have released their new rankings and they are curious to say the least.

Martin Bakole has ascended to the status of number one contender, despite not fighting since October 2023. His last victory, over 43-year-old Carlos Takam who had lost two of his last three fights, has propelled him above Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois. Yes, the pair who beat Otto Wallin and Jarrell Miller respectively last month.

The weirdness doesn’t end there. Deontay Wilder drops out of the rankings entirely by virtue of losing to Joseph Parker. He had previously occupied the top slot. Joseph Parker, who beat the NUMBER ONE contender, is installed at number four in the rankings. 

If all that didn’t give you enough of a headache, how about anonymous 10-0 Lenier Pero going in above the established likes of Fabio Wardley, Filip Hrgovic and Agit Kabayel? The WBA’s credibility is in tatters at this point, it really is. 

Gervonta Davis Becomes Full Champion

Speaking of the WBA, their ‘regular’ title policy came under the spotlight again this week. Gervonta Davis held their secondary title at lightweight, but has now been upgraded to full championship status. The move has come about due to Devin Haney vacating the ‘super’ title to move to light welterweight.

‘Tank’ has come out against this move in the past. Rather than being content with his status as a promoted champion, the 29-year-old was keen to challenge Haney for the belt in the boxing ring. The fistic world would have backed him in that endeavour. A match-up between the unbeaten pair would be one of the finest attractions the sport could stage.

Davis recently converted to Islam, taking the name Abdul Wahid. We have chosen to refer to him as Davis in this article for the sake of clarity and because it is unclear at this stage whether he will compete under his Islamic name.

Pacquiao Announces Mayweather Clash

Manny Pacquiao has taken it upon himself to announce a 2024 exhibition with Floyd Mayweather. I use this phrasing because so far nobody in the Mayweather camp has confirmed the bout, supposedly set to take place in the Rizin organisation in Japan. The same company staged Floyd’s 2018 exhibition win over Tenshin Nasukawa.

Pacquiao attended the company’s New Year card and took to the ring to announce the bout to the live crowd. The unofficial bout has been mooted for a long time, with both men active on the burgeoning exhibition scene. 

Mayweather has contested seven such bouts, with opponents varying from influencers like Logan Paul and Deji Olatunji to kickboxers like Nasukawa and Mikuru Asakura. Mayweather’s lucrative side hustle reached its nadir when he went to a no-contest with John Gotti III, the grandson of the notorious crime family head John Gotti. Mayweather is scheduled to face Gotti III in a rematch in February.

Pacquiao has an exhibition on the docket too. He faces Muay Thai star Buakaw Banchamek in April. Which makes the announcement, if you can call it that, of a Mayweather fight all the more strange.

While nobody is expecting either man to have any trouble in their upcoming exhibitions, it is still unusual to announce a fight when the combatants already have dates in the diary. This, coupled with the lack of confirmation from Mayweather, means you should take Floyd vs Pacquiao II with a pinch of salt for now.

Drug Suspension For Krzysztof Glowacki

Two-time WBO cruiserweight champion Krzysztof Glowacki will serve a four-year ban from the sport after failing a drugs test. UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) have confirmed that Glowacki’s sample after his January 2023 loss to Richard Riakporhe contained the banned steroid boldenone.

The ban is backdated to April 2023 and, given the Pole is 37 years old, it is likely he has competed in his last boxing match. Glowacki transitioned to MMA after the Riakporhe loss, perhaps conscious that his days in boxing were numbered. He has won his sole bout in the discipline, going viral for scoring a knockout while flat on his back in the process. 

Glowacki was once a very good cruiserweight, but he had lost three of his last four boxing bouts and had not held a world title since 2019. Either way now, it looks like his career boxing at a significant level is over.

Zhang Wants ‘AJ’ Rematch

Anthony Joshua beat Zhilei Zhang in the quarter-finals of the 2012 Olympic Games. While ‘AJ’ went on to win a gold medal, Zhang had to bide his time. Well, the Chinese superstar is done waiting. After a huge 2023 that saw him knock Joe Joyce out twice, the WBO interim heavyweight champion wants a rematch with Joshua in the pros.

Speaking to Fight Hype, Zhang blasted Joshua’s rumoured bout with Filip Hrgovic, saying “it doesn’t make much commercial sense”. Comparing the proposed fight with one against himself, ‘Big Bang’ added “If he comes to me the whole of China, the UK and the Middle East would be watching”.

While Zhang is correct about the commercial viability of their fight, particularly given the Olympic history, he’s unlikely to get the fight just yet. The reason behind ‘AJ’ pursuing Hrgovic is that their clash will likely be for the vacant IBF heavyweight title. 

The sanctioning body are allowing Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk to contest their belt as part of their undisputed title fight on the proviso they vacate it in the aftermath. Once the title is vacant, the IBF will order Joshua vs Hrgovic to fill the gap. While Zhang’s promise of a global audience is tempting, the fight will likely come in a title defence once ‘AJ’ has conducted his business, if at all.