.jpg){kind=link}
If you blinked this weekend, you missed a lot. Moscow delivered a heavyweight double-header that reshuffled the division’s deck, a Filipino minimumweight quietly put himself on the world-title radar, and the Fury-Joshua saga took another twist that nobody asked for. Let’s dig in.
Gassiev Puts the Heavyweights on Notice
Murat Gassiev (34-2, 27 KOs) did exactly what a champion is supposed to do on Saturday night at the VTB Arena in Moscow — he made a late-replacement opponent look out of his depth. Peter Kadiru (23-2, 13 KOs), who stepped in after Tony Yoka withdrew with a back injury, came in 28 pounds heavier than the champion. For five rounds, the size difference kept things competitive. For the sixth, Gassiev decided he’d had enough.
The former cruiserweight king trapped Kadiru along the ropes and unloaded hooks to head and body until the German’s corner threw in the towel. It was Gassiev’s first defense of the full WBA heavyweight championship — the belt Oleksandr Usyk vacated last month — and he made it count.
What’s next is the real question. Gassiev told reporters immediately after the fight that he wants unification bouts. With Usyk retired from the division and the belts scattered across Fury (WBC), Dubois (IBF), and Joshua (WBO if the Prenga fight goes through), the Russian is the odd man out in a British-dominated top tier. But a win over Kadiru, even a dominant one, doesn’t buy you a seat at the big table. Gassiev needs a big name next — someone like Dillian Whyte or a resurgent Andy Ruiz — before he can talk about sharing a ring with Fury or Joshua.
Joyce’s Juggernaut Days Are Over
The co-main event was harder to watch. Artem Suslenkov (15-0, 10 KOs) stopped Joe Joyce in the 11th round, and if you’ve followed Joyce’s last few fights, you saw this coming from a mile away.
Joyce (16-5) was once the most feared body puncher in the heavyweight division. His win over Daniel Dubois in 2023 felt like the start of something — a late-blooming Juggernaut who would crash the top of the division. But three losses in four fights now tell a different story. Suslenkov, a 28-year-old Russian who’d never fought anyone near Joyce’s level, beat him to the punch all night, landed sharp combinations, and never let the 40-year-old Joyce get set.
The stoppage came in the 11th, but Joyce had checked out mentally rounds earlier. He pressed forward out of instinct, not conviction. His punches lacked the snap that once made him a nightmare to fight. Suslenkov’s win is legitimate, but it says as much about Joyce’s decline as it does about the Russian’s rise.
For Joyce, this has to be it. Five losses, mounting damage, and now a stoppage to a regional-level fighter. The Juggernaut has earned the right to walk away. I hope he does.
Fury-Joshua: The 2 a.m. Problem
In news that broke midweek and is still being digested: Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua would reportedly need a 2 a.m. start time if it’s staged at Wembley, according to the organiser Turki Alalshikh. The logic makes sense — a prime-time U.S. audience means a London card starts when the bars are closing — but it’s a brutal ask for the 90,000 fans who’d fill the stadium.
The fight is expected in October or November, and the venue still isn’t locked. Saudi Arabia, Wembley, or a purpose-built stadium somewhere in between — every option comes with trade-offs. The boxing itself will sell, but the logistics are becoming a bigger storyline than the actual match-up, which is never a good sign.
Mayweather-Zambidis Gets the Green Light
A federal judge denied CSI’s attempt to block the Floyd Mayweather-Mike Zambidis exhibition fight, rejecting a temporary restraining order that would have kept Mayweather from fighting outside his CSI promotional contract. Translation: Mayweather’s endless exhibition tour continues, and Zambidis — a Greek kickboxer with no pro boxing record — will get his payday. If you’re Filipino like me, you’re probably thinking the same thing: wouldn’t Manny Pacquiao vs Mayweather 2 make more sense than this?
Filipino Corner: Sumabong Unifies, Raquinel Delivers
The weekend’s best news for Philippine boxing came from Tagbilaran City, where Joseph “The Hunter” Sumabong (11-1, 5 KOs) unified the WBO Asia-Pacific and OPBF minimumweight titles with a dominant unanimous decision over Taiwanese slugger Jheng Ciou (9-1-1).
Sumabong dropped Ciou in the third round and never let up, winning wide on all three cards (99-90, 98-91, 97-92). The 24-year-old Bohol native is now ranked inside the top 10 of all four major sanctioning bodies and is closing in on a world title shot. At 105 pounds, the division is wide open — and Sumabong is making a compelling case to be the next Filipino world champion.
Across the sea in Osaka, bantamweight Jayr Raquinel (19-3-1, 14 KOs) scored a decisive victory over Mexico’s Kenbun Torres on Sunday, adding to a strong weekend for Filipino boxing. Raquinel’s win in Japan is the kind of under-the-radar result that builds depth in our talent pipeline — not every Pinoy fighter needs to headline in Las Vegas to matter.
Meanwhile, WBO No. 1 ranked superbantamweight Carl Jammes Martin continues to wait for his shot, recently telling PhilBoxing that he’s not afraid of Naoya Inoue or John Riel Casimero. That’s the kind of confidence you want to see from a Filipino contender. Martin is one big win away from forcing a mandatory title shot.
What’s Next
The schedule is stacked through the rest of July:
- July 18 — Diego Pacheco vs Immanuwel Aleem (DAZN) in Carson, CA
- July 25 — Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga (DAZN PPV) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- July 25 — Errol Spence Jr. vs Tim Tszyu (PBC PPV on Prime Video) in Sydney
- Aug. 22 — Rolly Romero vs Teofimo Lopez for the WBA welterweight title
Between Gassiev’s title defense, Joyce’s likely farewell, and a Filipino prospect knocking on the world-title door, this wasn’t the loudest weekend in boxing — but it was a meaningful one. And sometimes, the weekends that feel quiet in the moment turn out to be the ones we look back on as turning points.