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WBA Champion David Morrell to Defend Title Against Sena Agbeko on Showtime PPV Undercard David Morrell, the WBA "regular" super middleweight champion, will defend his title against Sena Agbeko as part of the Showtime Pay-Per-View undercard for the highly anticipated lightweight fight between Gervonta “Tank” Davis and "King” Ryan Garcia. The event is set to take place on April 22 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Morrell, who holds a record of 8-0 with 7 KOs, is coming off a dominant stoppage win over mandatory challenger Aidos Yerbossynuly in November. If he is successful in his upcoming defense, Morrell has his sights set on facing the WBC's interim-champion, David Benavidez, at the end of the year. “I’m very excited to be the co-main event of this incredible night for boxing,” said Morrell. “On April 22, I’m going to dispatch my opponent in sensational fashion. And after this fight, I want the ‘Mexican Monster’ David Benavidez." Agbeko, with a record of 27-2 and 21 KOs, has won his last four contests and 12 of his last 13. He picked up a unanimous decision victory over previously unbeaten Isaiah Steen in his last outing on ShoBox. “I’m very thankful to my entire team for this incredible opportunity to fight for the title,” said Agbeko. “This is a stern test against one of the best super middleweights in the world. I want to win the belt and be the fighter that everyone is going after. I have a great team behind me and I can’t wait to properly introduce myself to the boxing world on April 22.” The co-main event of the night promises to be an exciting matchup between two talented fighters. Boxing fans around the world will be eagerly anticipating this event, which has the potential to be a fight for the ages.

Shakur Stevenson reportedly received $3 million for his knockout victory over Shuichiro Yoshino in last week's main event at Top Rank. Yoshino suffered his first professional defeat when Stevenson stopped him in round six of the 12-round main event. Shakur Stevenson, the super featherweight kingpin, is now 20-0. Yoshino's toughest opponent thus far was Shakur Stevenson, whom he failed to defeat. Shuichiro Yoshino remains one of Japan's most regarded fighters and is anticipated to bounce back stronger after this defeat. Here's a breakdown of Shakur Stevenson vs. Shuichiro Yoshino's Purse and Salary. According to rumors, Shakur Stevenson was entitled to 70% of PPV sales with a $1 million guaranteed base price. It means 'Fearless' has earned up to $3 million from his recent fight with Shuichiro Yoshino. Previous boxing earnings for Shuichiro Yoshino have not been revealed. Yet, he may have received the largest salary of his career. He was guaranteed $400,000 if he owned 30% of the PPV shares. The Japanese star appears to have made roughly $500k from his fight with Shakur Stevenson. If the ESPN PPV hadn't clashed with UFC 287 Pereira vs Adesanya 2 at the Box Office, the combatants could have made more money. UFC 287 drew a lot of attention from fight fans, which seemed to overshadow Shakur Stevenson's fight tonight. Yet, the American fighter walked away with a tidy $3 million paycheck.

Leon Edwards is currently under fire from Colby Covington for refusing to offer him a championship opportunity regardless of UFC President Dana White has previously declared him a potential contender. At UFC 286 in March of this year, Edwards successfully dispatched Kamaru Usman by majority decision. The current welterweight champion has indicated that Covington, 35, does not meet the standards of a championship opportunity and that he is not enthusiastic about facing him. Edwards discussed Colby's absence and their future battle with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour: “He’s getting rewarded for not taking fights. When it was me, I got removed from the rankings. So this Dana White privilege is definitely real.” After Edwards successfully defended his title at UFC 286, it was UFC President Dana White who declared during the post-fight press briefing that Covington would serve as Edwards' upcoming opponent. After UFC 287 over the weekend, White appeared to reaffirm his commitment to the Covington vs. Edwards bout, even speculating that it would take place at the O2 Arena in London, England, in July. "London has been incredible to us. It's been amazing. We're supposed to have a Fight Night in July. I want it to be a pay-per-view." Covington responded on Twitter to Edwards' refusal to allow him a crack at the championship by saying that he doesn't think he earned it. Covington drew analogies from the past and stated that he would continue to fight for the chance to win the welterweight championship. "Don’t want to give me a title shot mumble mouth? I recall the British not wanting to give Americans our freedom either... So we took it. See you in July junior." If the fight with "Chaos" emerges, the event will probably shift away from being a UFC Fight Night to a pay-per-view as "Rocky" is the current welterweight champion and battles out of England. The UFC may make greater money and attract a lot of attention with Edwards vs. Covington. It remains to be seen how the fight will play out, but one thing is for certain: there will be no shortage of drama in the lead-up to the potential fight. Whether fans love him or hate him, Covington has established himself as one of the most polarizing figures in MMA, and his feud with Edwards is only adding to his reputation as a trash-talking, controversy-courting fighter.

Ryan Garcia and Gervonta "Tank" Davis' lightweight grudge bout is less than two weeks away. On April 22, the showdown of unbeatens will be broadcast live on Showtime pay-per-view from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Davis' chief trainer Calvin Ford is developing a strategy to punish Garcia during the bout. "Tank just needs to listen and do what he’s been doing all along. I’ve seen the journey to here a long time ago. That night is his night. We’ll walk through that fire or that desert or whatever we have to walk through," Ford said. “I’m still looking for that fighter to bring the best out of Tank. No one has seen the best out of him yet. Coaches that have been around us for years know that people haven’t seen all that he can do. I don’t train Tank for knockouts, I train him for punishment. Hector Luis Garcia got a glimpse of it in the last fight. I want him to punish Ryan." Garcia has a size and reach advantage. In June 2021, Davis increased his weight to the 140-pound junior welterweight limit and defeated the much larger Mario Barrios. Ford believes that his fighter won't use the same strategies against Garcia. “I wouldn’t say the Mario Barrios fight is the example of how Tank fights a taller fighter like Ryan Garcia, because each fighter fights differently. He was able to handle what Barrios wanted to do, but we’ll see if that’s how Ryan wants to fight. Whatever you want to bring, you better come bring it," Davis said. “He’s taking pages out from some of the greatest in the sport. We’ve got a lot of different people coaching different parts of his game and everyone is doing their part.”

Shakur Stevenson was taken aback when ESPN's Bernardo Osuna gave him a post-fight statement from Devin Haney in the ring on Saturday night. Stevenson believes Haney will easily defeat Vasiliy Lomachenko next month, but he had anticipated that Haney would give up his four lightweight titles and compete in the 140-pound weight class instead. Haney claimed that he will stay in the lightweight class following a victory over Lomachenko and would want to meet Stevenson in what would be an intriguing matchup between unbeaten American lightweights. Stevenson, 25, from Newark, wants to compete for the IBF, WBA, WBC, and WBO 135-pound titles in one fight, not just the WBC one, so he hopes Haney means what he says. In the main event of ESPN's three-bout show, Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) defeated Tokyo's Yoshino (16-1, 12 KOs) to become the mandatory challenger for one of Haney's four belts according to the WBC. “Tell him come on,” Stevenson told a group of reporters after he stopped Yoshino. “If that’s what he wanna do, I mean, I don’t know why would he watch [the Youshino fight] and say that? I never seen Devin Haney really even hurt anybody before. He ain’t really got the punching power, so if he watched that he could tell that I could punch. I don’t know what would make him say, ‘Let’s do it.’ Maybe he’s just a competitor. Maybe I just gotta respect that.” Haney is regarded as one of the sport's top technicians. The undisputed lightweight champion, a native of Oakland, defeated Australia's George Kambosos Jr. (20-2, 10 KOs) in both of his most recent bouts, both lasting 12 rounds. If Stevenson gets that chance later this year, he still has a sneaking suspicion that he'll shock a lot of people by soundly defeating Haney. “I think it’s gonna be easy work,” Stevenson said. “I think I’m gonna smoke him. I think I’m gonna shock everybody by smoking him, making it a real easy fight. Everybody’s gonna be like, ‘Damn, dude is who he say he is.’ ”

Logan Paul, the popular YouTube star, and social media influencer have recently announced that he has signed a new multi-year deal with WWE after continuing to impress with his natural charisma and in-ring abilities. The news has sent shockwaves through the wrestling community and has left fans eagerly anticipating what the future holds for this controversial figure in the ring. Paul went ahead and made the deal official on Instagram. The financial details of the agreement were not made public, but Paul renewed his contract with WWE for some years after first joining the company in 2022. “I feel incredibly blessed to have found something that I’m good at, at 28 years old,” Paul told ESPN about his new contract. “And the fact that the organization believes I’m good enough to continue hopefully building this WWE legacy is mind-blowing.” This is not the first time that Logan Paul has been involved with the WWE. He made his debut in the wrestling world in April 2021 when he appeared as a guest commentator on WWE's flagship show, Monday Night Raw. Paul's original agreement was meant to be a one-year engagement for several performances, including appearances at major WWE pay-per-view actions, but in the end, he was merely a part-time participant. His involvement in the WWE has been a natural fit for his larger-than-life personality. He has already been involved in several storylines, including a feud with Kevin Owens that culminated in a match at WrestleMania 37. He has also been involved in segments with Sami Zayn and other WWE superstars. Paul has just participated in WrestleMania 39, in which he wrestled in a prominent bout against Seth Rollins during the two-night show. Paul, a wrestler famed for his daredevil stunts, once smashed down his business partner KSI during his match after leaping from the top rope and out of the ring. It remains to be seen what the future holds for Logan Paul in the WWE. Will he continue to be involved in storylines and matches, or will he take on a more behind-the-scenes role? Whatever the case may be, it's clear that the WWE sees value in his larger-than-life personality and social media presence. Fans will have to stay tuned to see what happens next in this unpredictable world of professional wrestling.

Joe Joyce Open to Potential Showdown with Former Teammate Anthony Joshua Joe Joyce has welcomed former GB teammate Anthony Joshua’s mention of his name as a potential future opponent, once his return fight against Jermaine Franklin has been settled on Saturday night. Joyce, who holds the WBO Interim world championship, is set to take on Chinese giant Zhilei 'Big Bang' Zhang at the Copper Box Arena on April 15. “I like the Joe Joyce fight, it’s one that interests the people and Joe Joyce is from the same country as me, so it makes sense,” Joshua said during his media activities ahead of his return to the ring this weekend. Fighting Joyce would offer Joshua a route back towards world title contention, and the potential for a direct shot at the full championship. However, Joyce is not convinced that Joshua is truly interested in facing him in the near future. “I thought he might have thrown his phone in the Hudson river after he lost in New York and stopped replying to my messages,” Joyce commented to the Sun. “I have a proper fight in two weeks against someone that he didn’t want that smoke with and backed away from - a fellow 6ft 6in Olympic silver winner. He’s fighting someone without that pedigree, who again looks about a foot shorter than him." Joyce is referencing Joshua’s infamous defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr. in June 2019, where Joyce claims that Joshua backed away from a potential bout between the two. He also notes that Joshua has opted to face Jermaine Franklin instead of his former sparring partner and fellow Olympic medalist, Dillian Whyte, who lost to Alexander Povetkin in their last bout. “I saw AJ and Eddie (Hearn) promise that the winner of Franklin and Whyte last November was going to get this AJ fight and they’ve gone with the geezer who lost! I would love that fight in the summer. Two of the best in the UK going at it. The winner fights Tyson Fury! But I’m just not sure he really wants it. It’s an easy fight to make - my management and his management know each other well; and I would imagine Frank and Eddie and BT/DAZN would combine on it no problem. British boxing needs these fights - no more messing around.” Joyce’s skepticism of Joshua’s intentions is palpable, but the potential for a high-profile showdown between the two remains intriguing. Joyce and Zhang will go toe-to-toe on April 15, while Joshua will face off against Franklin on April 9. The future of British heavyweight boxing could very well be decided in the coming months, and fight fans will be eagerly anticipating the next moves of these top contenders.

Alex Pereira suffered his first octagon defeat on Saturday in the main event of UFC 287, falling to Israel Adesanya late in the second round, giving up the UFC middleweight belt to his longtime adversary. On Sunday, Pereira issued his first reaction to the defeat, thanking his supporters and assuring fans that he is healthy following his first knockout loss in MMA. Pereira also shared a video of the two former kickboxers turned MMA champions exchanging post-fight respect backstage. I’m just here to let u know that I’m fine! I want to thank my family, my team and all the people who are supporting me during my journey. Now I just have to rest and continue with the plans that are already on motion. Thanks God. Pereira's next move is unknown. Though the MMA rivalry between him and Adesanya is deadlocked at one win apiece — and Pereira leads the kickboxing series 3-1 — UFC president Dana White hinted Saturday that a step up to 205 pounds could be next for "Poatan." Some, on the other hand, have asked for an MMA trilogy battle to end the feud between Pereira and "The Last Stylebender."

Tim Tszyu’s mandatory fight with undisputed world champion Jermell Charlo has been further delayed due to the champion’s hand injury. The fight was initially scheduled for July but it has now been pushed back to fall as Charlo is still recovering. Meanwhile, Tszyu will stay busy with a fight by early June. Tszyu expressed his frustration at the situation, saying, “The bloke hasn’t fought for 12 months. How long can you keep postponing a fight?” He also believes that Charlo is taking the fight seriously now and wants to be 120% ready, unlike before when he was taking Tszyu lightly. Despite the delay, Tszyu remains focused on improving and growing as a fighter. He wants to stay active and adapt to different styles, and is looking forward to facing someone who will give him a challenge. The Australian fighter saw action last month, when he scored a ninth round knockout of former world champion Tony Harrison. He is currently ranked number one by the WBO and number two by the WBC at junior middleweight. Tszyu’s fight with Charlo is highly anticipated, and many boxing fans are eager to see if he can dethrone the undisputed champion. However, with the delay, it remains to be seen when the two fighters will finally step into the ring together.

David Benavidez eyes Canelo Alvarez after Caleb Plant victory David Benavidez put on an impressive display last weekend at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, defeating Caleb Plant to claim the WBC super-middleweight title. With the win, Benavidez has set his sights on a potential showdown with pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez. Alvarez, who is set to defend his undisputed throne against John Ryder on May 6th, has been open to the idea of facing Benavidez in the near future. However, the Mexican superstar also has revenge on his mind, following his loss to Dmitry Bivol earlier this year. Despite Alvarez being regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder believes that Benavidez would have the upper hand in a potential matchup. "Canelo too small for him," Wilder said in an interview with ESNEWS. "That’s an easy fight for David in my opinion." Benavidez himself has also stated that he has earned his shot at Alvarez, and is eager to prove himself against the Mexican star. However, he understands that anything can happen in the ring, and remains focused on continuing to improve and stay ready for any opportunity that comes his way. A matchup between Alvarez and Benavidez would undoubtedly be a highly-anticipated event, with two of the best fighters in the sport going head-to-head. But first, Alvarez must take care of business against Ryder, while Benavidez will need to continue his impressive run and prove himself against other top contenders in the super-middleweight division.

Jorge Masvidal has influenced the careers of numerous competitors, notably Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen. Masvidal is probably one of the most popular fighters to ever come from the Sunshine State, being from Miami and having a career spanning more than two decades. So it's understandable that fans and competitors alike were moved when "Gamebred" declared his retirement after losing a decision to Gilbert Burns in the co-main event of UFC 287, also held in Miami. Respect was arguably best demonstrated by fellow Floridan Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen, who wrote on Twitter following UFC 287 to express his admiration for Masvidal. "@gamebredfighter you are an inspiration my man! 20 years in the game, starting from nothing, to becoming a multi million dollar man and the king of your city all while helping those around you. You are forever a legend and thank you for making such a profound impact in this sport. I’m happy I was able to be apart of your journey," Eblen wrote. "I wouldn’t be the fighter I am now without you. In many ways this is a team sport and I’m happy I was on your team. Now on to bigger better things outside of fighting! Happy for you my brother, I’ll always be rooting for you and always be in your corner 🫡 Vamanos!" He discussed the impact "Gamebred" had on his career as a fighter, claiming that he would not be where he is today if he had not been able to learn through training with Masvidal as a teammate and buddy.

Christian Rodriguez had a successful day at work as he stopped the hype train of 18-year-old Raul Rosas Jr., who ran out of gas and failed his fight at UFC 287. Since then, some UFC peers encouraged Rosas Jr. to keep pushing on following his defeat, some used the occasion to make fun of the rookie fighter. It was a heart-stopping start to the UFC 287 main card opener as Rodriguez went toe-to-toe with Rosas Jr. in a fierce battle of wills. Rodriguez faced near-defeat as Rosas Jr. locked in multiple submission attempts, including a standing rear-naked choke that left fans on the edge of their seats. But Rodriguez didn't give up, surviving the round and then coming back stronger in the following rounds. With heavy wrestling and grappling, Rodriguez began to dominate the exchanges, even attempting submissions of his own. In a thrilling conclusion, Rodriguez ended the fight on top, emerging victorious with a unanimous decision. Even Rosas Jr. acknowledged his likely defeat, giving credit to Rodriguez for his impressive performance in the octagon. Rosas Jr., who aims to go down as the youngest-ever champion in UFC history, is going to benefit from this, according to broadcast commentator Joe Rogan for the company. The 25-year-old Rodriguez expressed regret for going one pound above the bantamweight threshold on Friday before the fight. But during a post-fight interview, he praised the Mexican fighters' skills. “He’s really, really good,” Rodriguez said about Rosas. “I respect his skill set. I want to apologize for being a pound overweight. But that kid brings it. “I’ve been training with the best team. I just stopped a good hype train so I hope you guys can follow my journey.” Several fighters responded to Rosas Jr.'s defeat on Twitter. Chris Weidman, a former middleweight champion of the UFC, expressed that the DWCS alum will benefit from this fight's ego-check: While some of them poked fun at Rosas Jr. and wrote: