Joshua Feldman to Debut in July

Southpaw junior middleweight Joshua Feldman is scheduled to make his professional debut on July 15 against fellow debutant, Potego Ntsoane. The bout will be on the undercard of a Deejay Kriel fight at Box Camp Booysens in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Feldman, a teenager, is trained by Colin Nathan, a well-respected Jewish coach and manager. Both Feldman and Nathan are from South Africa. Joshua had a fight scheduled for June 10, but it was cancelled.

Ntsoane is also from South Africa. He was scheduled to fight Obakeng Masithi on May 27, but that fight was cancelled. Both men are anxious to get their pro careers started after the disappointing cancellations.

For more on Feldman, click here.

Joshua Feldman (far right)

Cletus Seldin-Adrien Broner Won't Happen

Cletus Seldin and Adrien Broner were looking at a late summer clash against one another. Both sides had signed a contract, but the fight has now been called off. There were negotiations about two years ago for a Seldin-Broner bout, but obviously nothing materialized. It's a fight Seldin publicly said he wanted, but for the second time he comes away disappointed.

Seldin (26-1, 22 KOs), who separated from his longtime promoter Joe DeGuardia earlier this year, last fought in October of 2021. The 36 year old had hoped to get a big fight soon to put him right back into title contention.

Broner (35-4-1, 24 KOs) is a 33 year old former four-division world champion. Issues outside the ring have sent his career into a tailspin. A win over lightly-regarded Bill Hutchinson earlier this month was Broner's first fight in 28 months and only his second since a January 2019 loss to Manny Pacquiao.

This week, Broner went on a podcast while intoxicated, and it predictably turned into a disaster. His appearance on the podcast was one of the most talked about boxing stories over the past couple of days with many believing the interview signified rock-bottom for Broner. Many are questioning his team for allowing him to do an interview in that state.

It might be a blessing in disguise for Cletus. Broner is now promoted by 91 year old Don King. In the past King struck a menacing figure and garnered a reputation for cheating fighters. These days the nonagenarian isn't taken as seriously. He's now known for popping up here and there and staging bizarre shows. Broner also may not be in the right fame of mind to fight so soon, so it's better for Cletus to find out now rather than after weeks of training and cutting weight.

Hopefully, Seldin can land another fight quickly. 

Kapuler Out of European Games

The International Boxing Association (IBA, formerly AIBA) was deemed to be so corrupt by the International Olympic Committee that it was barred from running the boxing tournament at the Olympics. The European Games have proven to be no better. As a result of some bizarre scoring, junior middleweight Miroslav Kapuler is out of the tournament.

Kapuler faced a fellow southpaw, Vakhid Abbasov of Serbia. Kapuler usually boxes, but he was the aggressor against Abbasov. Miroslav landed a hard overhand left early in the contest that wobbled Abbasov. The 26 year old Israeli had Abbasov off balance several times during the opening round.

Only one of the five judges gave Miroslav the first round. It's important not to make unfounded allegations, but it sure seemed as if Abbasov then knew the fix was in, because he ran the next two rounds. As long as he stood upright, he knew he was going to win. In the second, Abbasov tried to pot-shot from the outside with his hands down. It was a slow round, but Kapuler got the better of the few exchanges.

Tactics and infractions are supposed to be part of the scoring criteria in amateur boxing. Abbasov's tactics in the final round were to run and when Kapuler caught him, foul. Incredibly, all five judges gave both the second and the third rounds to Abbasov. Kapuler was composed after seeing the scores following each round, but it was hard to miss an undercurrent of frustration bubbling under the surface the rest of the way.

If there was a round to give Abbasov, it was the first, but Kapuler deserved to win the fight. Instead, three judges scored the bout 30-27, one had it 29-28, and another 30-26 all for Abbasov. One of the judges was from Algeria, which doesn't even recognize the state of Israel. Frankly, he should not have been allowed to judge the contest. In fact, an Algerian boxer even refused to compete against Kapuler during March's IBA World Championships because of politics. But the Algerian judge didn't even turn in the worst card. Mohamed Thowfeek Safrask of Sri Lanka somehow called the third round a 10-8 for Abbasov. He should not be allowed to judge boxing anymore.

Kapuler has a style suited for the amateur ranks, but the judges screw him regularly. A slick boxer, he showed some dog in him during this bout. He's 3-0 as a pro and can make a nice career as a prizefighter if he can find a good situation.