Boxing

Eddie Hearn Hints Leigh Wood Could Drop WBA Title, Not Compulsory Fight Otabek Kholmatov


Via Knitting Ambrosio: Eddie Hearn says he is trying to talk management to get Leigh Wood’s obligated Otabek Kholmatov to start talking about what could be the start of negotiations for a step-by-step deal.

Hearn is adamant that newly crowned WBA featherweight champion Wood (27-3, 16 KOs) will fight Josh Warrington in September at the City Ground in Nottingham, England.

That means Hearn will try to reach an agreement with Kholmatov, 24, to step down. Hearn said that if Wood dropped the WBA belt, #2 Rammond Fordone of Matchroom’s fighters, will fight Kholmatov for the vacant belt.

It wouldn’t be so bad if Kholmatov stepped aside as long as the deal was fair, and he was guaranteed to fight the winner of the fight between Wood and Warrington. The bad thing is that the winner of that fight will vacate the WBA title, leaving Kholmatov to fight Ford.

According to what Hearn was saying, he would use Raymond Ford’s name as a way to convince Kholmatov’s leadership to agree to resign. Which means, if Kholmatov’s team doesn’t agree with Hearn’s offer to split, he will mention that he needs to fight Raymond Ford for the vacant WBA belt.

Ford is a good fighter, but he’s not invincible. He’s been fighting for an eight-round draw with Aaron Perez in 2021.

Hearn says he’s so confident Ford will beat Kholmatov that he’ll bet his house. Of course, Hearn doesn’t know much about Kholmatov, so it’s likely that Ford (14-0-1, 7 KOs) will suffer the first loss of his career. Oh good.

It’s important that Leigh Wood avoids playing Kholmatov because that’s a game he is likely to lose, and that would ruin the big City Grounds game in September against Warrington.

“It was a tough fight. [Otabek] Kholmatov is a dangerous fight. He’s unproven in many ways, but he’s a talent. Everyone knows he’s a talent,” said Eddie Hearn, promoter of Matchroom. boxing society about the WBA ordering Leigh Wood to defend his featherweight belt against his mandatory Otabek Kholmatov next.

“I am not saying it was a war for nothing, but no one has ever heard of Kholmatov. We can’t use that as an excuse because that’s what you do when you don’t want to fight someone. Filip Hrgović [for example]’No one has ever heard of him.’

“Shut up; he obliges, so we have to deal with him. If we have to fight him, we have to fight him,” Hearn said of the undefeated Kholmatov.

“We had a lot of communication with people claiming to represent Kholmatov, it was a mess. So we’ll have to see what happens there. Is there any agreement made when ]Kholmatov will step aside ].

“Look, we wanted to do Wood-Warrington, and we wanted to do it at the City Ground. So if there is a deal to be done. There’s another young gentleman that I don’t talk about much, and that’s young Raymond Ford, who came in 2nd with the WBA.

“So if that belt is vacated, then Kholmatov will fight Raymond Ford. Let me tell you now. I will support Raymond Ford defeating Kholmatov. Style makes combat.

“That kid is a special warrior. So let’s see what happens, but my ambition is to make Wood-Warrington at the City Grounds in September. Yes, but always win the title if you can,” Hern said when asked if the Wood vs. Warrington will take place with or without Leigh’s WBA featherweight belt.

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