Boxing Bulletin June- Josh Taylor vs Teofimo Lopez, 3 Matchroom debuts!
After a fabulous month of boxing in May we move on to June with the likes of Josh Taylor making his long-awaited return to the ring. Sunny Edwards will be in his first fight under Matchroom as will Regis Prograis. Adam Azim and Josh Kelly return to action and Claressa Shields defends her IBF World Flyweight Title.
Josh Taylor return
16 months on from the controversial points win he received over Jack Catterall, Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs) makes his return. He takes on Teofimo Lopez (18-1, 13 KOs) in Madison Square Garden putting his WBO Super-Lightweight World Title on the line. This will be Lopez’s 3rd fight at this weight with back-to-back wins against Pedro Campa and Sandor Martin. These wins, and step up in weight came after his surprise loss to George Kambosos Jr in 2021 for his Undisputed Lightweight crown.
Taylor is a former undisputed champion himself and has subsequently dropped all bar the WBO belt since the much-contested bout with Jack Catterall. They were set to settle the score and rematch this year until Taylor pulled out with an injury and then went in a different direction to take on Teofimo.
Sunny Edwards Matchroom debut
Sunny Edwards (19-0, 4 KOs) makes his debut with new promoter Eddie Hearn at The Ovo Arena Wembley. Sunny is targeting unification fights this year but may be forced to wait after Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez broke his jaw in his win last month.
Sunny will want to impress with many more eyes now on him now with his new platform DAZN as will Ellie Scotney who goes for World Title glory against Cherneka Johnson on this card too. Originally scheduled to land on the Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron undercard, Ellie has had to bide her time but will be looking to grab the opportunity with both hands!
Prograis and Berlanga in action
Two boxers also deputizing for Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom this month are Americans Regis Prograis and Edgar Berlanga.
Prograis (28-1, 24 KOs) who signed with Matchroom last month, takes on Danielito Zorrilla (17-1, 13 KOs) who is a replacement for the originally scheduled Liam Paro. Prograis will be looking to set up a fight with fellow new signing, Jack Catterall for later this year.
Edgar Berlanga (20-0, 16 KOs) has been tipped to face Canelo Alvarez and has called for that fight to land in September if Canelo doesn’t have the rematch against Dmitrii Bivol. Before that, he faces Jason Quigley (20-2, 14 KOs) in what is a huge opportunity for the Irishman who lost to Demetrius Andrade in 2021.
JUNE 3RD- CLARESSA SHIELDS VS MARICELA CORNEJO- DETROIT, USA- SALITA PROMOTIONS & DAZN (Undisputed Middleweight Title)
JUNE 10TH- SUNNY EDWARDS VS ANDREWS CAMPOS (IBF World Flyweight Title), CHERNEKA JOHNSON VS ELLIE SCOTNEY (IBF World Super-Bantamweight Title)– WEMBLEY ARENA, LONDON- MATCHROOM & DAZN
JUNE 10TH- JAIME MUNGUIA VS SERGIY DEREVYANCHENKO- TOYOTA ARENA, CALIFORNIA- GOLDEN BOY & DAZN
JUNE 10TH- JOSH TAYLOR VS TEOFIMO LOPEZ- MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NEW YORK- TOP RANK, ESPN & SKY SPORTS (WBO World Super-Lightweight Title)
JUNE 16TH- ADAM AZIM VS ARAM FANIIAN- YORK HALL, LONDON- BOXXER & SKY SPORTS
JUNE 17TH: REGIS PROGRAIS VS DANIELITO ZORRILLA- NEW ORLEANS, USA- MATCHROOM & DAZN-MATCHROOM & DAZN (WBC World Super-Lightweight Title)
JUNE 18: TIMTSZYU VS CARLOS OCAMPO- GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA- NO LIMIT BOXING & MAIN EVENT TV (WBO “Interim” Super-Welterweight World Title)
JUNE 24TH: JOSH KELLY VS GABRIEL ALBERTO CORZO- NEWCASTLE- WASSERMAN & DAZN
JUNE 24: JOSHUA FRANCO VS KOZUTO IOKA 2- TOKYO, JAPAN
JUNE 24TH: EDGAR BERLANGA VS JASON QUIGLEY- MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NEW YORK- MATCHROOM & DAZN
By Lee Browne
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