Meng's date with destiny confirmed

Meng "Cold Blood" Fanlong will challenge IBF light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev of Russia for two world titles on Sept 25 in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs) was supposed to defend against the 2012 Chinese Olympian on March 28 in Quebec City, Canada, but the fight was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In Beterbiev's last outing, 11 months ago, he stopped WBC champ Oleksandr Gvozdyk (17-1, 14 KOs) in the 10th round in Philadelphia.

Meng (16-0, 10 KOs), said in February he hoped his title challenge would provide China with a much-needed morale boost.

"My fellow citizens need something to help them escape from this very difficult time," said the 32-year-old southpaw from Chifeng, Inner Mongolia.

"I hope to bring some positivity, happiness and joy to them with this fight. I want to put pride in their hearts."

Meng won a lopsided decision over Germany's Adam Deines in June 2019 in Macao to become Beterbiev's mandatory challenger. In his last outing, on Oct 5 in the US, Meng stopped Mexico's Gilberto Rubio in two rounds.

Meng was guaranteed the largest purse of his career for the title bout after Beijing-based Longjoy Sports won the initial purse bid, offering $1.9 million to eclipse Top Rank's $1.315 million offer.

After Longjoy defaulted on its bid, Las Vegas-based Top Rank took over the promotion and guaranteed Beterbiev 65 percent ($854,750) while Meng was guaranteed 35 percent ($460,250).

"I am truly honored to be fighting Beterbiev for the championship belts; I have worked very hard to earn the mandatory position and I plan on being the first Chinese light heavyweight champion in boxing history," Meng said when the deal was finalized. "This is just the beginning."

The 35-year-old Beterbiev, who lives and trains in Montreal, is boxing's only current champion with a perfect knockout percentage. He'll be looking to score his 16th consecutive KO in his fourth defense of the IBF 175-pound (79 kilograms) title that he captured in 2017 by stopping Germany's Enrico Koelling.

To earn the No 1 ranking with the IBF, Meng KO'd Chris Eppley of the US and Frank Buglioni of England before decisioning Deines.

Tyson doubts

Now that former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson's eight-round exhibition against ex-four-division champ Roy Jones Jr has been postponed from Sept 12 to Nov 28, at least one of their contemporaries thinks it's a bad sign.

Former IBF, WBA and WBC super-middleweight champion Carl Froch suspects that the postponement could cause the 54-year-old Tyson to lose patience and start fouling Jones once the bell rings.

Moreover, they will be wearing 16-ounce gloves, which are much bigger than the 10-ounce gloves typically used for heavyweight matches. Englishman Froch said it's going to be a lot harder for Tyson to dispatch Jones with gloves that large, and he might not be able to do it.

Jones, 51, fought just two years ago, easily beating Scott Sigmon by a 10-round unanimous decision in February 2018. Tyson hasn't fought since June 2005 when he lost to Kevin McBride by a six-round stoppage.

"Will Mike lose the plot like he did against (Evander) Holyfield and bite a chunk of Roy's ear off?' Froch said on his Froch on Fighting podcast.

"There could be a danger if he gets really frustrated. Those 16-ounce gloves are going to be more difficult to knock his opponent out. And they're going to be breathing out of their a** after three or four rounds, too.

"Tyson smokes, and that's a bad habit for a boxer who needs to have the full lung power to be able to fight hard for an extended period. What happens if he's unable to knock Jones out quickly? Does he then fall apart like he did in his losses to Holyfield and Lennox Lewis? I think it's highly possible."