Daniel Ivanovski to Make Pro Debut in September

Daniel Ivanovski is scheduled to make his pro debut on September 7 at the Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. The event will be promoted by Future Promotions.

If the African American Heritage Museum in Louisville, Kentucky seems like an unconventional place for a Jewish boxer to fight, Ivanovski won't be the first. Yuri Foreman fought at the same venue in December of 2020 and was set to fight there in in March of 2021 before he came down with covid.

Ivanovski has some high-level amateur experience. He won the 2022 Israeli amateur championship at heavyweight. He competed at the under-22 European championships later that year.

His pro debut is scheduled to take place at cruiserweight, which is comparable in weight to an amateur heavyweight. Ivanovski's fight is marked for four rounds.

Yonatan Landman to Fight in Tanzania

Yonatan Landman is scheduled to fight Hussein Mashaka at Magereza Hall on the island of Zanzibar in Tanzania. The six-rounder is slated to take place on August 15.

At 4-0, Landman has been busy since turning pro on January 31 this year. He has fought twice in Ghana and twice in Azerbaijan so far. This will be the third straight month Yonatan has fought. Each of his fights have ended in a knockout victory.

Mashaka is a 35 year old from Tanzania with a record of 3-6-1. He was 3-2-1 from 2009-2011 and then spent eleven and half years away from the ring. He has lost four straight since coming back and has been knocked out in each of those fights. Mashaka throws a straight jab and is elusive defensively, but he has poor punch technique otherwise. Occasionally, he'll bum-rush opponents which will test Landman's patience under fire.

As long as Landman keeps his cool and takes advantage of the openings Mashaka will provide, the Tanzanian shouldn't put up much resistance. Though this will be the most experienced opponent Landman has faced as a pro, Yonatan's last opponent Aghasalim Mustafazade had more skills.

Mashaka. though, will not only have an experience advantage, but he's also the naturally bigger man. A light flyweight in his first iteration, recently he has fought at least twenty pounds heavier. His size, experience, and awkwardness will pose a challenge for Landman.

Jackie Fields Beats Best Friend to Win Gold Medal

Jackie Fields won the gold medal as a featherweight one hundred years ago today at the Paris Olympics. To win gold, he had to beat his best friend Joe Salas.

The Fight City published my article about Fields's gold medal win and the emotional struggle he and Salas felt in having to fight one another.

David Malul to Make Debut in September

Fresh off an excellent showing in this year's Ring Masters, David Malul has decided to turn professional. He's scheduled to fight on September 14 at the Paramount Theatre in Huntington, New York, USA in a four-rounder.

The 21 year old from Queens told The Jewish Boxing Blog, "I decided to go pro because I have a deep passion for boxing and a strong desire to push myself to the highest levels."

Malul began boxing when he was 16 years old at John's Gym in the Bronx. There he developed his style, which he describes as "a blend of strategic aggression and defensive agility." He explains, "I like to stay on my toes, finding the right moments to strike while staying aware of my opponent's moves."

David is "eager and excited" for his first prizefight. "It's a big moment, and I have a lot of adrenaline pumping," he acknowledged, "but I'm also confident in the hard work and training I've put in."

The junior middleweight believes this fight is just the start of something big. "I want to test my skills against the best and see how far I can go in the sport." A Saturday in mid-September will merely signify the first step for the ambitious young fighter.

Feldman-Malumbu Cancelled

The scheduled fight between Josh Feldman and Welcome Malumbu was cancelled at the last moment today. They had planned to fight at Box Camp Booysens in Johannesburg on a card streamed live on DAZN.

The fight was to be the second of the night, but Malumbu withdrew just before the event started. He was apparently sick and decided not go through with the fight, Malumbu had come in comfortably under the weight limit yesterday.

Feldman, 3-0, had hoped to showcase his skills on the DAZN platform for the first time. He said he had the best camp of his life heading into the fight. The late cancellation must be frustrating for the 19 year old. Hopefully, he'll have another fight scheduled quickly.

Feldman and Malumbu Make Weight

Junior middleweights Joshua Feldman and Welcome Malumbu both made weight ahead of their clash tomorrow at Box Camp Booysens in Johannesburg, South Africa. The fight will be streamed on DAZN.

Feldman, a 19 year old from Cape Town, weighed 154 pounds. With a record of 3-0, Feldman has been remarkably disciplined when it comes to his weight. He has weighed in between 153 and 154 for all four fights.

Welcome Malumbu, who is from the Democratic Republic of Congo, has fought all eight of his bouts in South Africa. He is 0-8, but will have faced opponents with a combined record of 20-0 as of tomorrow. Malumbu weighed 149 pounds, comfortably within his normal range. The lightest Malumbu has weighed was 145.3 pounds back in 2017. The heaviest he has weighed in was 150.8 pounds the following year.

At the press conference yesterday, Feldman said, "I hope he brings his 'A' game because I'm ready for a tough fight.

This bout is scheduled for four rounds. For The JBB's preview of the fight, click here.

courtesy of SA Boxing Talk

Yonatan Landman Moves to 4-0

Beneath a giant Azerbaijani flag and a watchful portrait of the country's longtime leader Ilham Aliyev, super flyweight Yonatan Landman scored a third round knockout victory in the capital city of Baku yesterday. He showed improved patience and targeted his southpaw opponent's lengthy body.

Landman started the fight aggressively, but remained under control. In earlier fights, he had been a bit too wild at the beginning. Aghasalim Mustafazade, a 23 year old from Baku, pawed with his jab while looking to set up a snapping straight left. Landman was prepared for the attack and didn't get caught.

As the fight progressed, Mustafazade became less interested in unleashing his offense. Landman's body assault and one-twos wore down the Bakuvian boxer. Yonatan did an excellent job of controlling center ring throughout the fight. Mustafazade made a mistake by constantly circling to his left, directly into the path of Landman's devastating right to the body. The alternative was to circle
into Landman's punishing left hook, but he should've varied his movement more.

In the third round, Landman's pressure forced Mustafazade to run. The 19 year old from Israel calmly stalked his prey and caught him with a hard combination to the body while the Azeri was on the ropes. The referee gave the count and then waved off the fight.

Landman, who continues to show improvement, is now 4-0. Mustafazade is 0-2.

Josh Feldman to Fight on DAZN

Josh Feldman's next fight is scheduled to be streamed on DAZN, one of the major players in boxing. The 19 year old is slated to face Welcome Malumbu at Box Camp Booysens in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Box Rec now lists Malumbu, a fighter from the Democratic Republic of Congo, as 0-8. The Promoter Boxing 5 and various reports on the fight claim his record is 0-6. To be clear, no one is trying to hide anything. BoxRec had Malumbu's record as 0-6 until this week.

In researching Malumbu's career, The Jewish Boxing Blog found his first two fights listed under the name "Welcome Malubu." It didn't take a leap of faith to connect the dots, however.

Malumbu has two public Facebook accounts. The older account contains pictures from fights included in both BoxRec entries, "Malubu" and Malumbu, so it was clear they were the same person. The JBB listed Welcome's record as 0-8 back in June, but didn't notify BoxRec of the duplicate entries until this week, which they promptly corrected.

Though Malumbu has a poor record, he is not a bad fighter. If we include Josh, Malumbu's opposition will be 20-0 when he will have faced them. He gave solid prospects, Athenkosi Plaatjies and Darrin Rossouw, tough fights.

Feldman, a native of Cape Town, isn't taking Malumbu lightly. "In the past sixth months, I've gotten a lot stronger," he told SA Boxing Talk recently. "My fitness has gotten a lot better. I'm pacing myself better. So I'm really excited about the fight."

Josh says he won't press for the knockout. "This is the type of opponent I can really showcase my abilities [against] and really outbox him. If the knockout comes, it comes."

Feldman-Malumbu is scheduled for four rounds at junior middleweight.

Yonatan Landman to Fight Next Week

Fresh off a win in Ghana last month, Yonatan Landman is scheduled to fight again next Tuesday, July 9 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Landman has been moved well by his father Shai. This will be his fourth fight in under six months, a rarity these days.

BoxRec lists Landman's opponent as 23 year old Aghasalim Mustafazade of Baku. Mustafazade lost his only pro fight back in 2021. He was over the featherweight limit in that fight while Landman has been either a flyweight or super flyweight in his bouts, more than ten pounds lighter.

A 19 year old from Kiryat, Israel, Landman has shown good power in either hand early in his career. He's 3-0 with three KOs. He has started his fights a bit frantically, but once he settles down, he exhibits controlled aggression. While he has the ability to step up the competition, there's no need to rush. His dad recognizes it's important to build up Yonatan's experience at this stage of his budding pro career.

This bout, Landman's second in Azerbaijan, is scheduled for four rounds.