Sagiv Ismailov to Fight Fran Verdeguer

Sagiv Ismailov is scheduled to fight Francisco Verdeguer on March 23 at Centro Deportivo Boxing Unitres in Picanya, Spain. Ismailov has been active lately, fighting four times last year, but he faces a tougher test this time.

Ismailov (7-0, 2 KOs) is a 21 year old resident of Ashdod, Israel who has shown a lot of improvement in his last three fights. He's turning into an adept defensive fighter with a smart and creative offense. He showed a lot of dimensions in his last fight on December 23 against Evghenii Shabazov. That fight was Sagiv's first six-rounder and he finished strong.

Verdeguer is a 5'11" 30 year old from Albal, Spain. He's essentially had two different pro careers. He went 1-3 from 2012-2014 before he spent nearly eight years away from the ring. After winning his debut in 2012, Verdeguer dominated Ivan Salcines in the first round of their fight back in 2013, pounding away at his opponent's body and putting combinations together. But Verdeguer never saw Salcines's short left hook. By the time he woke up, the fight was over.

Verdeguer, now donning an array of face tattoos including a giant cross on his left cheek, decided to reignite his career after the birth of his child. In his first fight back, he faced 10-2 David Loy. In the fourth round, Loy tackled Verdeguer over the ropes in frustration. Verdeguer fell on the ring apron while Loy landed on the floor. The fight continued, and Verdeguer pulled off the upset by split decision. He has lost his last three, but his opponents were a combined 12-0 when he faced them.

The Spaniard's record is an unimpressive 2-6, but that's misleading. A former Spanish junior amateur champion, he is rated as the fifth best light heavyweight in Spain, according to Espabox. He's ranked above several fighters with better records because of the strength of his opposition. After falling to Jose Antonio Traicovich by decision in 2022, Martin Foru knocked him out with a left hook in the second round at York Hall in London.

Last fight, he faced Cyrano Lorenzo on March 4, 2023. Because Verdeguer kept his left low, Lorenzo landed some early right leads. Verdeguer adjusted, but his hands weren't fast enough to compete with Lorenzo. He tried to parry with his right, but it was often too slow. He landed some sneaky punches and the occasional combination, however.

Verdeguer has some advantages over Ismailov. He's naturally the bigger man. While Ismailov has never weighed in over 170 pounds, Verdeguer has fought as heavy as a cruiserweight. The Spaniard has faced the tougher opposition and he lands thudding punches and is a willing body puncher. The fight will also be in his home country.

Ismailov cannot take this opponent likely. He'll want to use his hand and foot speed advantages. Verdeguer doesn't show much foot movement, so Ismailov should box early and only stay in the pocket when the fight is under control. The left hook could be the ticket to knockout. It's the punch responsible for Verdeguer's two KO losses.

This fight is scheduled to be in the super middleweight division according to BoxRec. It's slated for six rounds.

Josh Feldman to Face Sibusiso Muteleni Amid BSA Turmoil

Junior middleweight Joshua Feldman is scheduled to face Sibusiso Muteleni on March 8 at Box Camp Booysens in Johannesburg, South Africa. Boxing in the country, however, has grinded to a virtual standstill due to legal issues.

Zizi Kodwa, the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture in South Africa, completely replaced the board of Boxing South Africa (BSA) last November. BSA regulates the sport in the country. The new board took over on December 12. The day after, it repealed the suspension of Operations Director, Mandla Ntlanganiso.

The National Professional Boxing Promoters Association sued Minister Kodwa, arguing that the NPBPA hadn't been consulted before the board was replaced, which violated the law. As a result of the lawsuit, the new board has since ceased to function. The old board's term ran out on December 11, so there is currently no active commission in the country. South African boxers cannot fight abroad either since BSA is responsible for granting them approval to do so.

Boxing5 Promotions head Larry Wainstein, who promotes Feldman, criticized the NPBPA. He said in an interview with SA Boxing Talk, "They represent maybe twenty promoters in the country. They don't represent all the promoters. They don't represent the boxers. There are 705 registered licensed boxers. There must be countrywide- and I'm guessing because I've asked for the number and nobody can even tell me the number- fifty promoters." Wainstein then suggested the NPBPA was the tail wagging the dog.

Promoter Rodney Berman postponed his March 9 show and expressed frustration with the impasse. "This state of flux makes it impossible to go ahead as planned," he said.

Jackie Brice, another promoter, has canceled his proposed March 16. He fumed to Ink Sport, "The National Professional Boxing Promoters Association is killing boxing in this country." Bruce recently resigned from the association.

Wainstein intends to go ahead with his March 8 card, or "tournament" as shows are called in South Africa. He has asked Minister Kodwa to appoint an interim board so that boxing can continue while the legal process runs its course.

It is in this context that Feldman (2-0), a 19 year old southpaw from Cape Town, prepares for his third professional fight. His opponent, Muteleni, is from Guateng. He lost his lone pro fight on May 28 last year to Douniama Gislain by first round KO. Muteleni threw a few jabs, but mostly walked in behind a high guard and paid the price. He was knocked down twice. After the second knockdown, he stayed on a knee for the count.

Hopefully, Feldman and his fellow South African boxers will be allowed to fight soon. "They're complaining about the minister never followed procedure. Ok, he never followed procedure," Wainstein acknowledged before asking, "Must all the other people be held to ransom because the [NPBPA] want to be seen as putting their people in place?

For the sake of South African boxing, let's hope not.

Cletus Seldin Speaks at Opening Press Conference for March 15 Bout

Cletus Seldin addressed fans and media at the opening press conference of a 360 Promotions event scheduled to take place on March 15 at Madison Square Garden Theater in New York, New York, USA. Seldin is expected to take on Jose Angulo on a card headlined by Callum Walsh.

“Finally! Finally! It took me six years to get back to this opportunity," Seldin began. It has actually been even longer, over twelve years, since he last fought at Madison Square Garden Theater. His mention of six years likely references the point when he neared the top of the sport. At the end of 2017, Seldin fought on HBO in back-to-back months. After a jaw-dropping third round knockout of Roberto Ortiz on November 11 that year, Cletus suffered his only career defeat a month later. Pundits instantly wrote him off.

Touching on his inactivity since his HBO stints, Seldin said, "I've been held back through this entire time. And for me to be here at Madison Square Garden in New York has been one hell of a ride."

Cletus then turned his attention to the March fight before laying out his credentials. "I’m excited! I'm going to show the best version of "The Hebrew Hammer." We're fighting at Madison Square Garden! I’m 27-1 with [23] knockouts. I'm ranked 9th in the world by the WBA."

Recognizing this is a moment of heightened antisemitism and his role as an athlete is to inspire the fans, Cletus declared, "And if there’s ever been a time for a Jew in New York to be fighting and winning, it’s now!"

He concluded, "So come out March 15. Irish crowd, Jewish crowd, one hell of a place. New York, we are ready to rock and roll!”

Yonatan Landman Wins Pro Debut

Yonatan Landman won his professional debut yesterday at the ABU Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. The flyweight won by knockout 31 seconds into the first round.

Landman is a 19 year old from Kiryat, Israel. He has been trained in the art of combat almost as long as he's been trained in the art of using the potty. His father Shai began coaching him when Yonatan was just four years old. After a decade of kickboxing, Yonatan switched to boxing four years ago.

For six weeks Landman prepared to fight Ramazan Babayev, a 33 year old veteran of ten fights from Lankaran, Azerbaijan. The day before the fight, the promoter told Landman that Babayev had broken his leg. Yonatan and Shai didn't know anything about the new opponent, Agayev Gasim, who was two pounds heavier than Yonatan. In fact, Yonatan still doesn't know his name.

It didn't matter. Landman (110.7 pounds) landed a sharp jab and a sweeping right to score a quick knockout of his overmatched opponent, who came in at 112.5 pounds. Landman credits his father's game plan for the victory. "I did exactly what my father told me to do," Yonatan told The Jewish Boxing Blog, "and it worked out better than expected."

Landman is next scheduled to fight on March 5 at the famed Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra, Ghana. BoxRec currently lists Landman's opponent as Simon Tackie (0-2).